Alitretinoin Douglas Side Effects

Like all medicines, this medicine can cause side effects, although not everybody gets them.
Very common effects (may affect more than 1 in 10 people): Headache.
Raised blood fats: higher levels of fats (triglycerides) and cholesterol in the blood.
Common effects (may affect up to 1 in 10 people): Blood cell disorders: increase in the number of blood platelets (cells that help blood to clot), decrease in the number of red and white blood cells seen in blood tests.
Thyroid problems: decreased levels of thyroid hormones.
Eye problems: inflammation of the eye (conjunctivitis) and eyelid area; eyes feel dry and irritated.
Ask a pharmacist for suitable eye drops. If the patient wears contact lenses and get dry eyes, the patient may need to wear glasses instead.
Ear problems: persistent noise in the ears (tinnitus).
Dizziness.
Blood and circulation: flushing, high blood pressure (hypertension).
Gut and stomach problems: feeling sick (nausea), being sick (vomiting), dry mouth.
Muscle and joint pain: muscle pain, joint pain, lack of energy (fatigue). High levels of muscle breakdown products in the blood if the patient exercises vigorously.
Skin and hair problems: dryness of the skin, especially of the face, dry and inflamed lips, redness of the skin, itchy skin rash, inflamed skin, hair loss.
Liver problems: raised liver enzymes seen in blood tests.
Uncommon effects (may affect up to 1 in 100 people): Sight problems including blurred vision, distorted vision, cloudy surface on the eye (corneal opacity, cataracts).
If the patient's sight is affected, stop taking Alitretinoin immediately and contact a doctor.
Skin problems: itchy skin, skin peeling, rash, dry skin eczema.
Ear, nose and throat problems: nose bleeding.
Gut and stomach problems: indigestion (dyspepsia).
Bone disorders: extra growth of bone, including the spine disorder ankylosing spondylitis.
Rare effects (may affect up to 1 in 1,000 people): Lasting headache, along with feeling sick (nausea), being sick (vomiting) and changes in the patient's eyesight including blurred vision. These may be signs of benign intracranial hypertension.
If the patient experiences these symptoms, stop taking Alitretinoin immediately and contact a doctor.
Blood and circulation: inflammation of blood vessels.
Skin and hair problems: nail disorders, increased sensitivity of the skin to sunlight, hair texture changes.
Mental problems: Rare effects (may affect up to 1 in 1,000 people): Depression or related disorders: Signs of this include sad or altered mood, anxiety, feelings of emotional discomfort.
Existing depression getting worse.
Becoming violent or aggressive.
Very rare effects (may affect up to 1 in 10,000 people): Some people have had thoughts or feelings about hurting themselves or ending their own lives (suicidal thoughts), have tried to end their own lives (attempted suicide), or have ended their lives (suicide). These people may not appear to be depressed.
Unusual behaviour.
Signs of psychosis: a loss of contact with reality, such as hearing voices or seeing things that are not there.
Contact a doctor straight away if the patient gets signs of any of these mental problems. The doctor may tell the patient to stop taking Alitretinoin. That may not be enough to stop the effects. The patient may need more help, and the doctor can arrange this.
Other side effects: Other side effects have occurred in a very small number of people but their exact frequency is unknown: Severe allergic reactions: Signs include: raised and itchy rash (hives); swelling, sometimes of the face or mouth (angioedema), causing difficulty in breathing; collapse.
Contact a doctor immediately if the patient gets these symptoms. Stop taking Alitretinoin.
Gut and stomach disorders: Severe stomach (abdominal) pain, with or without bloody diarrhoea, feeling sick (nausea) and being sick (vomiting).
Stop taking Alitretinoin immediately and contact a doctor. These can be signs of serious gut conditions.
Problems seeing at night: Sight problems normally return to normal once treatment is stopped.
Blood and circulation: Swelling of the hands, lower legs and feet (peripheral oedema).
Side effects of other medicines in the same family as Alitretinoin: These effects haven't been seen in Alitretinoin so far, but they can't be ruled out.
They are very rare and may affect less than 1 user in 10,000.
Diabetes: Excessive thirst; frequent need to urinate; blood tests show an increase in the blood sugar.
These can all be signs of diabetes.
Bone disorders: Arthritis; bone disorders (delayed growth, changes to bone density); growing bones may stop growing.
Eye and visual disorders: Colour blindness and colour vision gets worse; intolerance to contact lenses.
In rare cases soya oil can lead to severe allergic reactions.
Reporting of side effects: If the patient gets any side effects, talk to a doctor or pharmacist. This includes any possible side effects not listed in this leaflet. The patient can also report side effects directly via Yellow Card Scheme at: www.mhra.gov.uk/yellowcard or search for MHRA Yellow Card in the Google Play or Apple App Store. By reporting side effects the patient can help provide more information on the safety of this medicine.