Bad news if you're currently using acne-fighting products: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently released a consumer update warning that some products made with benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid can result in "rare but serious and potentially life-threatening allergic reactions or severe irritation."
Since 1969, the FDA has received reports of 131 adverse reactions associated with these products. They include throat tightness, shortness of breath, wheezing, low blood pressure, fainting, or collapse. In some isolated cases, hives, itching of face or body (even where the medication hadn't been applied), and swelling of eyes, face, and lips were also reported. About 40 percent of the adverse reactions occurred within the first 24 hours after people had used the products. No deaths have been reported, but 44 percent of the people who suffered from these reactions required hospitalization.
You may have noticed that these products already contain warnings about skin irritation on their Drug Facts labels—but the FDA says that the potential reactions it’s warning consumers about are much more dangerous. "There is currently no mention of the possibility of these very severe allergic reactions on the product labels," Mona Khurana, M.D., a medical officer at FDA, said in the update. "It's important that consumers know about them and that they know what to do if they occur."
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So what should you do if one of your go-to products lists benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid in the Active Ingredient(s) section of its Drug Facts label? It's important to keep in mind that these reactions are pretty rare—after all, there have been less than 150 recorded instances of them in the last 45 years. The FDA is also unsure if the reactions that did occur were caused by the active ingredients in these products, the inactive ingredients, or a combination of both.
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If you have products in your medicine cabinet containing the aforementioned ingredients and you’ve been using them regularly without a problem, then you're probably OK to continue using them. For new products, Khurana recommends applying them to a small area for three days. If you don't seem to have any issues, then you can go ahead and follow the usage instructions on the bottle.
If, however, you think you might be experiencing an allergic reaction, stop using the product immediately and seek medical attention. For more information, visit the FDA's Web site.
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