Beloderm

Package Leaflet: Information for the User

BELODERM, 0.5 mg/g, ointment

Betamethasone

Read the package leaflet carefully before using the medicine, as it contains important information for the patient.

• Keep this package leaflet, you may need to read it again.
• If you have any further questions, ask your doctor or pharmacist.
• This medicine has been prescribed for you. Do not pass it on to others. It may harm them, even if their symptoms are the same as yours.
• If you experience any side effects, including any not listed in this leaflet, please tell your doctor or pharmacist. See section 4.

Table of Contents of the Package Leaflet

• 1. What is Beloderm and what is it used for
• 2. Important information before using Beloderm
• 3. How to use Beloderm
• 4. Possible side effects
• 5. How to store Beloderm
• 6. Contents of the pack and other information

1. What is Beloderm and what is it used for

Beloderm ointment contains the active substance betamethasone in the form of betamethasone dipropionate. Betamethasone is a synthetic fluorinated corticosteroid (adrenal cortex hormone) with strong effects, used locally in dermatology. Betamethasone dipropionate has strong anti-inflammatory, antipruritic, and vasoconstrictive effects.
Indications
Beloderm ointment is indicated for the local treatment of inflammatory and pruritic skin diseases that respond to corticosteroid therapy.

2. Important information before using Beloderm

When not to use Beloderm:

• if you are allergic to the active substance or any of the other ingredients of this medicine (listed in section 6);
• in skin tuberculosis;
• in viral skin infections (e.g., common herpes, cowpox, chickenpox);
• in acne, perioral dermatitis, rosacea;
• in the anal and genital areas;
• in diaper dermatitis;
• in fungal or bacterial skin infections, unless the doctor also prescribes appropriate causal treatment.

Warnings and precautions

Before starting treatment with Beloderm, discuss it with your doctor, pharmacist, or nurse.
If a skin allergic reaction (itching, burning, or redness of the skin) occurs after using Beloderm ointment, inform your doctor. The doctor will decide whether to discontinue the medicine.
Do not use occlusive dressings, as they may enhance the absorption of the medicine through the skin.
It is not recommended to use the medicine on the face, due to the risk of skin inflammation (similar to acne-like changes), perioral dermatitis, skin atrophy, and rosacea.
Avoid contact with the eyes and mucous membranes. Do not use in or around the eyes.
If you experience blurred vision or other vision disturbances, contact your doctor.
In the case of skin infection, the doctor will prescribe appropriate antibacterial or antifungal treatment.
Beloderm ointment should not be used to treat venous leg ulcers.
Since corticosteroids are absorbed through the skin, there is a risk of systemic side effects of corticosteroids, including adrenal suppression, when using Beloderm ointment. Therefore, avoid using it on large areas of the body, on damaged skin, in large doses, for prolonged periods, or in patients with liver function disorders or children.
Beloderm ointment should only be used on the axillary and inguinal areas in exceptional cases, due to increased absorption.
Beloderm ointment should be used with caution in patients with psoriasis, as local corticosteroid therapy in psoriasis can be hazardous, including the risk of disease recurrence due to the development of tolerance, the risk of generalized pustular psoriasis, and general toxic effects due to skin function disorders.

Children and adolescents

It is not recommended to use Beloderm in children under 12 years of age, due to frequent reports of adrenal suppression, Cushing's syndrome, and increased intracranial pressure after local use of potent corticosteroids.

Beloderm and other medicines

Tell your doctor or pharmacist about all medicines you are taking, have recently taken, or might take.
No interactions with other locally used medicines are known.

Pregnancy, breastfeeding, and fertility

If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, think you may be pregnant, or are planning to have a baby, ask your doctor or pharmacist for advice before using this medicine.
Pregnancy
Beloderm ointment should only be used in pregnant women if the expected benefits to the mother outweigh the potential risk to the fetus. However, it should be used for a short period and on a small area of the body.
There are no results from studies on the safety of local corticosteroid use in pregnant women. However, it is known that these substances can be absorbed through the skin.
Breastfeeding
The doctor will consider whether to stop breastfeeding or using Beloderm ointment, taking into account the potential risk of side effects in the infant and the benefits of treatment for the mother.
Do not use the medicine on the breast before breastfeeding.
It is not known whether locally used corticosteroids, including betamethasone dipropionate, are absorbed through the skin to an extent that may pass into breast milk. Systemically administered corticosteroids (orally or by injection) pass into breast milk.

Driving and using machines

There are no data on the harmful effects of Beloderm ointment on the ability to drive or use machines.

3. How to use Beloderm

Always use this medicine exactly as your doctor has told you. If you are not sure, ask your doctor.
Beloderm ointment is for use on the skin only.

Adults and children over 12 years

A thin layer of the medicine should be gently rubbed into the affected areas of the skin once or twice a day. Do not use an occlusive dressing. Treatment should not last more than 14 days. Do not use more than 50 g of the medicine per week.

Use in children

It is not recommended to use the medicine in children under 12 years of age.
If you feel that the effect of the medicine is too strong or too weak, ask your doctor.

Using more than the recommended dose of Beloderm

During prolonged use (more than 2 weeks), use on large areas of the skin, or on damaged skin, and in the case of occlusive dressings, as well as in children, due to increased absorption of the active substances into the bloodstream, overdose and systemic side effects of corticosteroids may occur.
Overdose symptoms characteristic of corticosteroids include adrenal suppression, Cushing's syndrome, mild intracranial hypertension, growth and development retardation in children, increased blood sugar levels (hyperglycemia), and glycosuria.
If you have used more than the recommended dose of the medicine, contact your doctor immediately.
The doctor will decide whether to discontinue the medicine.
If symptoms such as fever, muscle pain, joint pain, and general weakness occur, the doctor will consider using a systemic corticosteroid.

Missing a dose of Beloderm

Do not use a double dose to make up for a missed dose.
If you have any questions about using the medicine, ask your doctor or pharmacist.

4. Possible side effects

Like all medicines, this medicine can cause side effects, although not everybody gets them.
Local use of betamethasone dipropionate may cause atrophic skin changes, irreversible striae, dry skin, widening of small blood vessels, folliculitis, excessive hair growth, acne-like changes, allergic contact dermatitis (burning, swelling, and inflammatory blisters on the skin), perioral dermatitis, itching, skin discoloration, suppression of sweat gland function (hypohidrosis), and secondary infections.
Due to the absorption of the active substances into the blood, systemic side effects of betamethasone, characteristic of corticosteroids (see above - Using more than the recommended dose), may also occur.
Systemic side effects are rare and occur mainly in the case of prolonged use of the medicine, use on large areas of the skin, under occlusive dressings, and in children, and usually disappear after discontinuation of the medicine.
Frequency not known (cannot be estimated from the available data): blurred vision.

Reporting side effects

If you experience any side effects, including any not listed in this leaflet, please tell your doctor or pharmacist, or nurse. Side effects can be reported directly to the Department of Drug Safety Monitoring of the Office for Registration of Medicinal Products, Medical Devices, and Biocidal Products
Al. Jerozolimskie 181C
02-222 Warsaw
Phone: +48 22 49 21 301
Fax: +48 22 49 21 309
website: https://smz.ezdrowie.gov.pl
Side effects can also be reported to the marketing authorization holder.
By reporting side effects, you can help provide more information on the safety of this medicine.

5. How to store Beloderm

Keep this medicine out of the sight and reach of children.
Store in a temperature below 25°C.
Shelf life after first opening the tube: 3 months when stored at a temperature below 25°C.
Do not use this medicine after the expiry date which is stated on the packaging after the words: Expiry date.
The expiry date refers to the last day of the month.
Medicines should not be disposed of via wastewater or household waste. Ask your pharmacist how to dispose of medicines no longer required. These measures will help protect the environment.

6. Contents of the pack and other information

What Beloderm ointment contains

The active substance is betamethasone.
1 g of ointment contains 0.5 mg of betamethasone in the form of betamethasone dipropionate.
The other ingredients are: liquid paraffin, white petrolatum.

What Beloderm looks like and contents of the pack

The medicine is a white ointment.
Beloderm is available in aluminum tubes containing 15 g or 30 g of ointment, placed in a cardboard box.

Marketing authorization holder

Belupo s.r.o.
Cukrová 14,
81108 Bratislava, Slovakia
Phone: +421 2 5932 4330
Fax: +421 2 5932 4331

Manufacturer

BELUPO Pharmaceuticals & Cosmetics
Ulica Danica 5
48 000 Koprivnica
Croatia

Date of last revision of the package leaflet: