What are the possible side effects of Betamethasone?
Get emergency medical help if you have signs of an allergic reaction: hives; difficult breathing; swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat.
Call your doctor at once if you have:
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fast, slow, or irregular heartbeats;
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blurred vision, tunnel vision, eye pain, or seeing halos around lights;
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bumps on the skin, or raised blotches (purple, pink, brown, or red);
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chest pain, swollen glands;
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a seizure;
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swelling, rapid weight gain, shortness of breath;
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any wound that will not heal;
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pain and swelling or stiffness in your joints with fever or general ill feeling;
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severe pain in your upper stomach spreading to your back;
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severe depression, changes in personality, unusual thoughts or behavior; or
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increased adrenal gland hormones--weight gain in your face and shoulders, slow wound healing, skin discoloration, thinning skin, increased body hair, tiredness, mood changes, menstrual changes, sexual changes.
Betamethasone can affect growth in children. Tell your doctor if your child is not growing at a normal rate while using Betamethasone.
Common side effects may include:
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headache, depression, mood swings;
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sleep problems (insomnia);
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numbness, tingling, burning pain;
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skin redness, itching, or discoloration;
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thinning skin, stretch marks;
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muscle weakness; or
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nausea, bloating, stomach pain.
This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.
See also:
Betamethasone side effects (in more detail)
Side effects of Betamethasone in details
Applies to Betamethasone topical: topical application cream, topical application foam, topical application gel/jelly, topical application lotion, topical application ointment
Other dosage forms:
- topical application cream, topical application lotion, topical application ointment, topical application spray
In addition to its needed effects, some unwanted effects may be caused by Betamethasone topical (the active ingredient contained in Betamethasone). In the event that any of these side effects do occur, they may require medical attention.
Major Side Effects
You should check with your doctor immediately if any of these side effects occur when taking Betamethasone topical:
More common:
- Burning, itching, or stinging at the application site
- Hair loss
- thinning of the hair
- Blistering, burning, crusting, dryness, or flaking of the skin
- irritation
- itching, scaling, severe redness, soreness, or swelling of the skin
- redness and scaling around the mouth
- thinning of the skin with easy bruising, especially when used on where the skin folds together (e.g. between the fingers)
Minor Side Effects
Some of the side effects that can occur with Betamethasone topical may not need medical attention. As your body adjusts to the medicine during treatment these side effects may go away. Your health care professional may also be able to tell you about ways to reduce or prevent some of these side effects. If any of the following side effects continue, are bothersome or if you have any questions about them, check with your health care professional:
Less common:
- Acne or pimples
- burning, crawling, itching, numbness, prickling, "pins and needles", or tingling feelings
- Burning and itching of the skin with pinhead-sized red blisters
- burning, itching, and pain in hairy areas, or pus at the root of the hair
- increased hair growth on the forehead, back, arms, and legs
- lightening of normal skin color
- lightening of treated areas of dark skin
- reddish purple lines on the arms, face, legs, trunk, or groin
- softening of the skin
What is the most important information I should know about Betamethasone?
- Betamethasone solution may cause dizziness. These effects may be worse if you take it with alcohol or certain medicines. Use Betamethasone solution with caution. Do not drive or perform other possibly unsafe tasks until you know how you react to it.
- Betamethasone solution may lower the ability of your body to fight infection. Avoid contact with people who have colds or infections. Tell your doctor if you notice signs of infection like fever, sore throat, rash, or chills.
- If you have not had chickenpox, shingles, or measles, avoid contact with anyone who does.
- Carry an ID card at all times that says you take Betamethasone solution.
- Tell your doctor or dentist that you take Betamethasone solution before you receive any medical or dental care, emergency care, or surgery.
- Long-term use may cause cataracts, glaucoma, and eye infections. Contact your doctor right away if you develop any unusual changes in your vision.
- Betamethasone solution may cause an increase in blood pressure, salt and water retention, and calcium and potassium loss. Talk with your doctor to see if you need to decrease the amount of salt in your diet or take a potassium, calcium, or vitamin D supplement.
- Do not receive a live vaccine (eg, measles, mumps) while you are taking Betamethasone solution. Talk with your doctor before you receive any vaccine.
- Diabetes patients - Betamethasone solution may affect your blood sugar. Check blood sugar levels closely. Ask your doctor before you change the dose of your diabetes medicine.
- Lab tests, including blood electrolytes, blood calcium levels, blood pressure, and vision tests, may be performed while you use Betamethasone solution. These tests may be used to monitor your condition or check for side effects. Be sure to keep all doctor and lab appointments.
- Caution is advised when using Betamethasone solution in CHILDREN; they may be more sensitive to its effects.
- Corticosteroids may affect growth rate in CHILDREN and teenagers in some cases. They may need regular growth checks while they take Betamethasone solution.
- PREGNANCY and BREAST-FEEDING: If you become pregnant, contact your doctor. You will need to discuss the benefits and risks of using Betamethasone solution while you are pregnant. It is not known if Betamethasone solution is found in breast milk. If you are or will be breast-feeding while you use Betamethasone solution, check with your doctor. Discuss any possible risks to your baby.
Betamethasone contraindications
You should not use this medication if you are allergic to Betamethasone, or if you have a fungal infection anywhere in your body.
Before taking Betamethasone, tell your doctor about all of your medical conditions, and about all other medicines you are using. There are many other diseases that can be affected by steroid use, and many other medicines that can interact with steroids.
Your steroid medication needs may change if you have any unusual stress such as a serious illness, fever or infection, or if you have surgery or a medical emergency. Tell your doctor about any such situation that affects you during treatment.
Steroid medication can weaken your immune system, making it easier for you to get an infection or worsening an infection you already have or have recently had. Tell your doctor about any illness or infection you have had within the past several weeks.
Avoid being near people who are sick or have infections. Call your doctor for preventive treatment if you are exposed to chicken pox or measles. These conditions can be serious or even fatal in people who are using steroid medication.
Do not receive a "live" vaccine while you are taking Betamethasone. Vaccines may not work as well while you are taking a steroid.
Do not stop using Betamethasone suddenly, or you could have unpleasant withdrawal symptoms. Talk to your doctor about how to avoid withdrawal symptoms when stopping the medication.
Carry an ID card or wear a medical alert bracelet stating that you are taking a steroid, in case of emergency.
References
- DailyMed. "BETAMETHASONE: DailyMed provides trustworthy information about marketed drugs in the United States. DailyMed is the official provider of FDA label information (package inserts).". https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailyme... (accessed September 17, 2018).
- European Chemicals Agency - ECHA. "Betamethasone: The information provided here is aggregated from the "Notified classification and labelling" from ECHA's C&L Inventory. ". https://echa.europa.eu/information-o... (accessed September 17, 2018).
- HSDB. "BETAMETHASONE". https://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/s... (accessed September 17, 2018).
Reviews
The results of a survey conducted on ndrugs.com for Betamethasone are given in detail below. The results of the survey conducted are based on the impressions and views of the website users and consumers taking Betamethasone. We implore you to kindly base your medical condition or therapeutic choices on the result or test conducted by a physician or licensed medical practitioners.User reports
1 consumer reported side effects
Did you experience side effects while taking Betamethasone drug?According to the report by ndrugs.com, the below mentioned statistics discuss the number of people who experienced side effects after taking Betamethasone drug. Every drug produces at least minor unwanted effects, which we call side effects. The side effects can be bothersome, or they can be minor so patients do not know they are experiencing them. The side effects of the drug depend on the individual, severity of disease, symptom, and associated conditions in the patient. The most deciding factor is the drug dosage. The higher the dosage, the higher the therapeutic result, and the more side effects. Every patient need not have the same intensity of side effect. When the side effects are greater, immediately consult your health care provider.
Users | % | ||
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It has side effects | 1 | 100.0% |
Consumer reviews
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Information checked by Dr. Sachin Kumar, MD Pharmacology