Dementia and OTC medicines

31 January 2015: After research in the United States linked some over-the-counter (OTC) medicines to dementia, the Daily Mail asked “if other over-the-counter medicines are as safe as we presume?”.

Royal Pharmaceutical Society president Ash Soni was interviewed by the newspaper. The Daily Mail looked at examples of OTC medicines, including eczema creams such as Hc45 hydrocortisone. Ash said: “The main side effect is skin-thinning if used for more than four weeks. Thinner skin is more prone to ageing and your eczema is also more likely to flare up. So hydrocortisone creams shouldn’t be used on the face unless prescribed by a doctor. In fact, you should always have eczema properly diagnosed before buying these products as hydrocortisone can make other skin conditions — such as acne, rosacea and impetigo — worse.”

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Citation
The Pharmaceutical Journal, Dementia and OTC medicines;Online:DOI:10.1211/PJ.2015.20067808

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