⚠️ Warnings
If an allergic reaction develops during treatment, therapy must be discontinued immediately.
Areas treated with the cream should not be covered with an occlusive dressing unless strictly necessary. Local and systemic toxicity is common, particularly with prolonged continuous use on extensive areas of broken skin, in flexures, or with polyethylene occlusion. When used in children or on the face, treatment must be limited to 5 days. Long-term continuous therapy is undesirable in all patients regardless of age.
The cream must not be applied to the eyes or the periorbital area because of the risk of cataract, glaucoma, fungal eye infections and exacerbation of herpes.
Certain body areas, such as the groin, axillae and the perianal region, are more susceptible to the development of striae during Belogent therapy. Application of the product to these sites must therefore be as brief as possible.
Do not use to treat wounds or leg ulcers.
Systemic absorption of betamethasone dipropionate may produce reversible suppression of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis with the potential for glucocorticoid insufficiency after discontinuation of treatment. In some patients, Cushing's syndrome may develop. Patients receiving high doses of highly potent corticosteroids over extensive cutaneous areas should have HPA axis function assessed regularly. If signs of HPA axis suppression appear, treatment should be either discontinued, administered less frequently, or substituted with a less potent corticosteroid.
Recovery of HPA axis function after dose reduction is usually rapid and complete. Rarely, symptoms of corticosteroid withdrawal similar to those seen with systemic therapy may occur.
Use in children: Children may show greater susceptibility than adult patients to topical corticosteroid-induced HPA axis suppression and to exogenous corticosteroid effects, owing to greater absorption resulting from a higher surface-area-to-body-weight ratio.
Belogent cream should be used to treat nappy rash only when strictly necessary.
If fungal superinfection of the lesions develops, additional antifungal therapy is required.
Long-term topical use of gentamicin may lead to the development of bacterial resistance to aminoglycosides. For this reason, topical gentamicin is not recommended in immunocompromised patients or other high-risk groups. If resistance or secondary infection develops during treatment, the product must be discontinued and appropriate therapy initiated.
Visual disturbance
Visual disturbance may be reported with systemic and topical use of corticosteroids. If a patient presents with symptoms such as blurred vision or other visual disturbances, referral to an ophthalmologist should be considered for evaluation of possible causes, which may include cataract, glaucoma or rare diseases such as central serous chorioretinopathy (CSCR), which have been reported following systemic and topical corticosteroid use.
This product contains cetostearyl alcohol, which may cause local skin reactions (e.g. contact dermatitis), and chlorocresol, which may cause allergic reactions.
