NOTICE: This Consumer Medicine Information (CMI) is intended for persons living in Australia.
APOHEALTH HYDROCORTISONE 1% CREAM
Contains the active ingredient hydrocortisone acetate
Consumer Medicine Information
What is in this leaflet
This leaflet answers some common questions about APOHEALTH Hydrocortisone 1% Cream. It does not contain all the available information. It does not take the place of talking to your doctor or pharmacist.
All medicines have risks and benefits. Your doctor has weighed the risks of you taking this medicine against the benefits they expect it will have for you.
If you have any concerns about taking this medicine, ask your doctor or pharmacist.
Keep this leaflet with the medicine.
You may need to read it again.
What is this medicine
The name of your medicine is APOHEALTH Hydrocortisone 1% Cream. It contains the active ingredient called hydrocortisone acetate. It is available as a cream.
APOHEALTH
Hydrocortisone 1% Cream is a type of cortisone and belongs to the group of medicines called corticosteroids.
What this medicine is used for
APOHEALTH Hydrocortisone 1% Cream is a topical corticosteroid therapy for non-infected inflammatory conditions of the skin e.g. eczema, dermatitis.
APOHEALTH Hydrocortisone 1% Cream is used on the skin to relieve the redness, swelling, itching and discomfort of skin problems such as rashes due to eczema, dermatitis, soap, detergent, cosmetics, jewellery, insect bites, itching anal and genital areas not due to infection, and sunburn.
Your doctor or pharmacist however, may have recommended APOHEALTH Hydrocortisone 1% Cream for another purpose.
Ask your pharmacist or doctor if you have any questions about why APOHEALTH Hydrocortisone 1% Cream has been recommended or prescribed to you.
APOHEALTH Hydrocortisone 1% Cream is only available from your pharmacist.
Before you use this medicine
When you must not use it
Do not use this medicine if you have an allergy to:
any medicine containing hydrocortisone acetate.
any of the ingredients listed at the end of this leaflet.
any other similar medicines.
Do not use this medicine on:
Untreated bacterial infections
Parasitic skin infections (such as scabies)
Viral skin infection (such as herpes simplex, cold sores, shingles or chicken pox)
Tuberculous conditions of the skin
Vaccinia (cowpox: a viral disease passed from cattle)
Varicella (a rare form of chicken pox)
Acne or rosacea
Cuts or open wounds.
Do not use APOHEALTH Hydrocortisone 1% Cream on psoriasis unless recommended by your doctor.
APOHEALTH Hydrocortisone 1% Cream should not be used if you suffer from poor circulation of blood in the skin region, as it may result in skin ulcers.
Do not use occlusive dressings or waterproof bandages unless a doctor has told you to.
Ask your doctor (or pharmacist) to be sure that you do not have any of these conditions.
Do not use APOHEALTH Hydrocortisone 1% Cream after the expiry date printed on the pack.
It may have no effect at all, or worse, it may give an entirely unexpected effect if you use after the expiry date.
Do not use APOHEALTH Hydrocortisone 1% Cream if the packaging shows sign of tampering or the seal on the tube is broken, or if the product does not look quite right.
Before you start to use it
Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you have allergies to any other medicines, foods, preservatives or dyes.
Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you have or have had any of the following medical conditions:
any other health problems such as diabetes or problems with your immune system
serious eye conditions including cataract, glaucoma or central serous chorioretinopathy (CSCR).
Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant or are breastfeeding.
Your doctor can discuss with you the risks and benefits involved.
If APOHEALTH Hydrocortisone 1% Cream is to be applied to the breast, do not apply the cream to the breast before breast feeding. Ensure that the breast area is free of the cream before breastfeeding.
Using other medicines
Tell your doctor (or pharmacist) if you are using other creams, ointments or lotions or taking any medicine, including any that you get without a prescription from your pharmacy, supermarket or health food shop.
Some medicines may interfere with APOHEALTH Hydrocortisone 1% Cream if it is used excessively or for prolonged periods. Some of these medicines include medicines to treat epilepsy, diuretics, oral contraceptive pills and immunosuppressants.
Your doctor or pharmacist has a list of medicines that may interfere with APOHEALTH Hydrocortisone 1% Cream.
If you have not told your doctor (or pharmacist) about any of the above, tell them before you start using APOHEALTH Hydrocortisone 1% Cream.
Use in Children
Do not use in children under 2 years unless your doctor tells you to do so.
How to use this medicine
How to use it
Apply a thin layer to affected areas two to four times a day or as directed. Rub in gently. Reduce the number of applications as the disorder subsides.
Do not apply this cream under occlusive dressings or waterproof bandages unless on the advice of a doctor.
It is important to use APOHEALTH Hydrocortisone 1% Cream exactly as your doctor (or pharmacist) has told you.
If you use it less than you should, it may not work as well and your skin problem may not improve.
Using it more often than you should may not improve your skin problem any faster and may cause or increase side effects.
Use APOHEALTH Hydrocortisone 1% Cream at the same time every day.
How long to use it
Do not use APOHEALTH Hydrocortisone 1% Cream for more than 7 days except on the advice of a doctor. If your condition persists, see your pharmacist or doctor.
Reduce the number of applications as the disorder subsides. If you use APOHEALTH Hydrocortisone 1% Cream for a long time, the chance of side effects increases.
If you forget to use it
If you forget to use APOHEALTH Hydrocortisone 1% Cream, use it as soon as you remember and then go back to your normal times for applying APOHEALTH Hydrocortisone 1% Cream.
Do not try to make up for the amount you missed by using more than you normally use.
If you swallow it
Telephone your doctor or Poisons Information Centre (phone 13 11 26) or go to the accident and emergency centre at your nearest hospital immediately if anyone swallows APOHEALTH Hydrocortisone 1% Cream.
While you are using this medicine
Things you must do
Tell all your doctors and pharmacists who are treating you that you are using APOHEALTH Hydrocortisone 1% Cream.
Tell your doctor if you feel that APOHEALTH Hydrocortisone 1% Cream is not helping your condition.
Tell your doctor if you become pregnant while using APOHEALTH Hydrocortisone 1% Cream.
Things you must not do
Do not use APOHEALTH Hydrocortisone 1% Cream under dressings or on large areas of skin unless your doctor tells you.
Do not use APOHEALTH Hydrocortisone 1% Cream in or near the eyes.
Do not give APOHEALTH Hydrocortisone 1% Cream to anyone else even if their symptoms seem similar to yours.
Do not use APOHEALTH Hydrocortisone 1% Cream to treat other conditions unless your doctor tells you.
Your doctor or pharmacist has recommended APOHEALTH Hydrocortisone 1% Cream especially for you and your condition. If you use it for another condition, it may not work or make the condition worse.
Things to be careful of
Do not use large amounts of APOHEALTH Hydrocortisone 1% Cream for a long time.
If you use large amounts for long time, the chance of systemic absorption through the skin and the chance of side effects increase.
Ask your doctor (or pharmacist) if you are concerned about the length of time you have been using APOHEALTH Hydrocortisone 1% Cream.
Only use APOHEALTH Hydrocortisone 1% Cream under the arm or in the groin if your doctor tells you.
Possible side effects
Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you do not feel well while you are using APOHEALTH Hydrocortisone 1% Cream.
APOHEALTH Hydrocortisone 1% Cream helps most people with skin problems but it may have some unwanted side effects in a few people.
Side effects reported by some people using APOHEALTH Hydrocortisone 1% Cream include:
itching
burning
dryness
acne-form eruptions
thinning of the skin
blurred vision
In addition to the above side effects prolonged or over-use of this product may cause the following side effects in some people:
high blood pressure
elevated cholesterol and triglyceride levels in the blood
cataracts
glaucoma
central serous chorioretinopathy (CSCR)
APOHEALTH Hydrocortisone 1% Cream may cause other side effects. If you have any other side effects, check with your doctor.
Do not be alarmed by this list of possible side effects. You may not experience any of them.
Storage and disposal
Storage
Keep APOHEALTH Hydrocortisone 1% Cream where young children cannot reach it.
A locked cupboard at least one-and-a-half metres above the ground is a good place to store medicines.
Keep APOHEALTH Hydrocortisone 1% Cream in a cool dry place where the temperature stays below 25 °C.
Do not leave APOHEALTH Hydrocortisone 1% Cream in the car or on windowsills.
Heat can destroy some medicines.
Disposal
If your doctor tells you to stop using APOHEALTH Hydrocortisone 1% Cream or it has passed its expiry date, ask your pharmacist what to do with any APOHEALTH Hydrocortisone 1% Cream left over.
Further information
This is not all the information that is available on APOHEALTH Hydrocortisone 1% Cream. If you need more information, ask a doctor or pharmacist.
Product description
What it looks like
APOHEALTH Hydrocortisone 1% Cream is a soft white cream.
APOHEALTH Hydrocortisone 1% Cream is packed in 30g tubes.
Ingredients
Hydrocortisone acetate 1% or 10 mg/g is the active ingredient in APOHEALTH Hydrocortisone 1% Cream.
It also contains the following inactive ingredients:
soft white paraffin,
liquid paraffin,
cetomacrogol 1000,
cetostearyl alcohol,
chlorocresol (preservative),
citric acid and
sodium citrate dihydrate
Australian Registration Numbers
APOHEALTH Hydrocortisone 1% Cream
AUST R 295687
Sponsor
Apotex Pty Ltd
16 Giffnock Avenue
Macquarie Park NSW 2113
The APOTEX and APOHEALTH trademarks are used under licence.
This leaflet was last updated in:
June 2018.
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