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What the label lists and what reports show

Chlorothiazide side effects

Chlorothiazide's FDA label lists its adverse reactions in its own words. FAERS holds 1,282 reports naming it through July 30, 2026; the reaction reported most often, leaving out the conditions it is used for, product-use terms and outcomes, is dyspnoea (81 reports).

  • Generic listed
  • A presentation discontinued

Check it at the source: the chlorothiazide FDA label on DailyMed (effective August 4, 2026, Sagent Pharmaceuticals); the FDA FAERS public dashboard.

What does the label list?

From the label: adverse reactions

The following adverse reactions have been reported and, within each category, are listed in order of decreasing severity. Body as a Whole: Weakness. Cardiovascular: Hypotension including orthostatic hypotension (may be aggravated by alcohol, barbiturates, narcotics or antihypertensive drugs). Digestive: Pancreatitis, jaundice (intrahepatic cholestatic jaundice), diarrhea, vomiting, sialadenitis, cramping, constipation, gastric irritation, nausea, anorexia. Hematologic: Aplastic anemia, agranulocytosis, leukopenia, hemolytic anemia, thrombocytopenia. Hypersensitivity: Anaphylactic reactions, necrotizing angiitis (vasculitis and cutaneous vasculitis), respiratory distress including pneumonitis and pulmonary edema, photosensitivity, fever, urticaria, rash, purpura. Metabolic: Electrolyte imbalance (see PRECAUTIONS ), hyperglycemia, glycosuria, hyperuricemia. Musculoskeletal: Muscle spasm. …

Source: FDA drug label, Sagent Pharmaceuticals, effective August 4, 2026 (SPL set 82dd0bdd-e6bd-48ea-8f58-c8bf71bbfe2c), via openFDA; the full label on DailyMed

What do FAERS reports show?

1,282 reports list chlorothiazide among the medicines taken, each a report of something that happened, not proof the medicine caused it; 201 are coded as a death and 647 as a hospital stay. Counts follow how widely a medicine is used and watched, and they are not a measure of how risky it is. Of the 18 reactions below, 7 are named by the same term (in US spelling) in the label's adverse reactions, warnings or patient leaflet; a reaction the label does not name may still be there under another word, and a report does not show that the medicine caused it.

Reports received each year

The 25 most reported reactions

  • Off Label Use (a use or a product term, not a reaction)87
  • Dyspnoea81
  • Pyrexia80
  • Diarrhoea (named in the label)73
  • Hypotension (named in the label)72
  • Drug Ineffective (a use or a product term, not a reaction)67
  • Pneumonia64
  • Respiratory Failure63
  • Pain59
  • Vomiting (named in the label)56
  • Death (an outcome recorded in the report)52
  • Cough47
  • Headache (named in the label)47
  • Renal Failure (a use or a product term, not a reaction)45
  • Condition Aggravated (a use or a product term, not a reaction)42
  • Cardiac Arrest40
  • Nausea (named in the label)40
  • Fatigue (named in the label)37
  • Hospitalisation (an outcome recorded in the report)37
  • Pulmonary Hypertension37
  • Acute Kidney Injury36
  • Hypertension36
  • Drug Interaction (a use or a product term, not a reaction)35
  • Respiratory Distress (named in the label)35
  • Asthenia34

Source: FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) via openFDA, reports through July 30, 2026; reactions as MedDRA preferred terms

What next?

Chlorothiazide: the full record
label, generics, price, shortages, recalls
Side effects hub
the most reported medicines and reactions