Tretinoin Side Effects

Brand Names: Vesanoid

Please note - some side effects for Tretinoin may not be reported. Always consult your doctor or healthcare specialist for medical advice. You may also report side effects to the FDA at http://www.fda.gov/medwatch/ or 1-800-FDA-1088 (1-800-332-1088).

Side Effects of Tretinoin - for the consumer

Tretinoin

All medicines may cause side effects, but many people have no, or minor, side effects. Check with your doctor if any of these most COMMON side effects persist or become bothersome when using Tretinoin:

Bone pain; dry skin and mouth; fever; hair loss; headache; increased sweating; itching; nausea; rash; tiredness; vomiting; weakness.

Severe allergic reactions (rash; hives; itching; difficulty breathing; tightness in the chest; swelling of the mouth, face, lips, or tongue); dizziness; hearing loss; heart attack; severe headache; shortness of breath; unusual bruising or bleeding; vision changes; weight gain.

Tretinoin Cream

All medicines may cause side effects, but many people have no, or minor, side effects. Check with your doctor if any of these most COMMON side effects persist or become bothersome when using Tretinoin Cream:

Redness, peeling, or feeling of warmth; sensitivity to sunlight; skin irritation; stinging at application site.

Severe allergic reactions (rash; hives; itching; difficulty breathing; tightness in the chest; swelling of the mouth, face, lips, or tongue); severe redness, swelling, blistering, or crusting of the skin.

Tretinoin Emollient Cream

All medicines may cause side effects, but many people have no, or minor, side effects. Check with your doctor if any of these most COMMON side effects persist or become bothersome when using Tretinoin Emollient Cream:

Burning; dry skin; itching; peeling; redness; stinging or warmth at application site; unusual sensitivity to wind and cold.

Severe allergic reactions (rash; hives; itching; difficulty breathing; tightness in the chest; swelling of the mouth, face, lips, or tongue); blistering, crusting, swelling, or excessive redness of the skin; changes in skin color.

Tretinoin Gel

All medicines may cause side effects, but many people have no, or minor, side effects. Check with your doctor if any of these most COMMON side effects persist or become bothersome when using Tretinoin Gel:

Redness, peeling at application site; sensitivity to sunlight; skin irritation; warmth or stinging at application site.

Severe allergic reactions (rash; hives; itching; difficulty breathing; tightness in the chest; swelling of the mouth, face, lips, or tongue); severe redness, peeling, swelling, blistering, or crusting of the skin.

Tretinoin Liquid

All medicines may cause side effects, but many people have no, or minor, side effects. Check with your doctor if any of these most COMMON side effects persist or become bothersome when using Tretinoin Liquid:

Redness, peeling at application site; sensitivity to sunlight; skin irritation; warmth or stinging at application site.

Severe allergic reactions (rash; hives; itching; difficulty breathing; tightness in the chest; swelling of the mouth, face, lips, or tongue); change in skin color; severe redness, peeling, swelling, blistering, or crusting of the skin.

For the professional

Tretinoin

The skin of certain sensitive individuals may become excessively red, edematous, blistered, or crusted. If these effects occur, the medication should either be discontinued until the integrity of the skin is restored, or the medication should be adjusted to a level the patient can tolerate. True contact allergy to topical Tretinoin is rarely encountered. Temporary hyper- or hypopigmentation has been reported with repeated application of Tretinoin. Some individuals have been reported to have heightened susceptibility to sunlight while under treatment with Tretinoin. To date, all adverse effects of Tretinoin have been reversible upon discontinuance of therapy.

Overdosage: If medication is applied excessively, no more rapid or better results will be obtained and marked redness, peeling, or discomfort may occur. Oral ingestion of the drug may lead to the same side effects as those associated with excessive oral intake of Vitamin A.

Dosage and Administration: Tretinoin Cream or Gel should be applied once a day, before retiring, to the skin where acne lesions appear, using enough to cover the entire affected area lightly. Gel: Excessive application results in “pilling” of the gel, which minimizes the likelihood of over application by the patient.

Application may cause a transitory feeling of warmth or slight stinging. In cases where it has been necessary to temporarily discontinue therapy or to reduce the frequency of application, therapy may be resumed or frequency of application increased when the patients become able to tolerate the treatment.

Alterations of vehicle, drug concentration, or dose frequency should be closely monitored by careful observation of the clinical therapeutic response and skin tolerance.

During the early weeks of therapy, an apparent exacerbation of inflammatory lesions may occur. This is due to the action of the medication on deep, previously unseen lesions and should not be considered a reason to discontinue therapy.

Therapeutic results should be noticed after two to three weeks but more than six weeks of therapy may be required before definite beneficial effects are seen.

Once the acne lesions have responded satisfactorily, it may be possible to maintain the improvement with less frequent applications, or other dosage forms.

Patients treated with Tretinoin acne treatment may use cosmetics, but the area to be treated should be cleansed thoroughly before the medication is applied.

Tretinoin Cream

In double-blind, vehicle-controlled studies involving 179 patients who applied Tretinoin Cream, USP (Emollient) 0.05% to their faces, adverse reactions associated with the use of Tretinoin Cream, USP (Emollient) 0.05% were limited primarily to the skin. During these trials, 4% of patients had to discontinue use of Tretinoin Cream, USP (Emollient) 0.05% because of adverse reactions. These discontinuations were due to skin irritation or related cutaneous adverse reactions.

Local reactions such as peeling, dry skin, burning, stinging, erythema, and pruritus were reported by almost all subjects during therapy with Tretinoin Cream, USP (Emollient) 0.05%. These signs and symptoms were usually of mild to moderate severity and generally occurred early in therapy. In most patients the dryness, peeling, and redness recurred after an initial (24 week) decline.

In spontaneous post-marketing adverse event reporting for Tretinoin Cream, USP (Emollient) 0.05%, approximately 2% of those were for skin hypo- or hyperpigmentation. Other spontaneously reported adverse events predominantly appear to be local reactions similar to those seen in clinical trials.

Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to ensure that the information provided is accurate, up-to-date, and complete, but no guarantee is made to that effect. In addition, the drug information contained herein may be time sensitive and should not be utilized as a reference resource beyond the date hereof. This information does not endorse drugs, diagnose patients, or recommend therapy. This drug information is a reference resource designed as supplement to, and not a substitute for, the expertise, skill , knowledge, and judgement of healthcare practitioners in patient care. The absence of a warning for a given drug or drug combination in no way should be construed to indicate that the drug of drug combination is safe, effective, or appropriate for any given patient. Drugs.com does not assume any responsibility for any aspect of healthcare administered with the aid of information provided. The information contained herein is not intended to cover all possible uses, directions, precautions, warnings, drug interactions, allergic reactions, or adverse effects. If you have questions about the drugs you are taking, check with your doctor, nurse, or pharmacist.