What the label lists and what reports show
Malathion side effects
Malathion's FDA label lists its adverse reactions in its own words. FAERS holds 100 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 pain (11 reports).
- Generic listed
Check it at the source: the malathion FDA label on DailyMed (effective July 15, 2026, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Inc.); the FDA FAERS public dashboard.
What does the label list?
From the label: adverse reactionsMalathion has been shown to be irritating to the skin and scalp. Other adverse reactions reported are chemical burns including second-degree burns. Accidental contact with the eyes can result in mild conjunctivitis. It is not known if OVIDE Lotion has the potential to cause contact allergic sensitization.
Source: FDA drug label, ANDA091559 (Cohance Lifesciences), as published by Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Inc., effective July 15, 2026 (SPL set 945f46fa-4b79-49fd-a890-477f251e2164), via openFDA; the full label on DailyMed
What do FAERS reports show?
100 reports list malathion among the medicines taken, each a report of something that happened, not proof the medicine caused it; 2 are coded as a death and 11 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 23 reactions below, none is 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.
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?
- Malathion: 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