What the label lists and what reports show
Desonide side effects
Desonide's FDA label lists its adverse reactions in its own words. FAERS holds 4,960 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 macular degeneration (787 reports).
- Generic listed
Check it at the source: the desonide FDA label on DailyMed (effective February 3, 2026, Alembic Pharmaceuticals Inc.); the FDA FAERS public dashboard.
What does the label list?
From the label: adverse reactionsIn controlled clinical trials, the total incidence of adverse reactions associated with the use of desonide cream USP, 0.05% was approximately 1%. These adverse reactions were pruritus, pain, folliculitis, rash, peripheral edema, pustular rash, sweating, erythema, irritation, and burning. Laboratory abnormalities were found in 3% of the patients. These were hyperglycemia (2%) and liver function abnormality (1%). The following additional local adverse reactions have been reported infrequently with topical corticosteroids, and they may occur more frequently with the use of occlusive dressings and higher potency corticosteroids. These reactions are listed in approximate decreasing order of occurrence: dryness, folliculitis, acneiform eruptions, perioral dermatitis, allergic contact dermatitis, secondary infection, skin atrophy, striae, miliaria, burning and hypopigmentation.
Source: FDA drug label, Alembic Pharmaceuticals Inc., effective February 3, 2026 (SPL set c3420815-e9d8-4c19-b601-b918b0aa1f84), via openFDA; the full label on DailyMed
What do FAERS reports show?
4,960 reports list desonide among the medicines taken, each a report of something that happened, not proof the medicine caused it; 196 are coded as a death and 1,101 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 22 reactions below, 3 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
Source: FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) via openFDA, reports through July 30, 2026; reactions as MedDRA preferred terms
What next?
- Desonide: the full record
- label, generics, price, shortages, recalls
- Report a side effect to the FDA
- MedWatch
- Side effects hub
- the most reported medicines and reactions