Where to apply catapres patch

Safety and effectiveness in pediatric patients have not been established in adequate and well-controlled trials. Most systemic adverse effects during Catapres-TTS transdermal therapeutic system therapy have been mild and have tended to diminish with continued therapy. Other skin reactions were localized vesiculation 7 patients , hyperpigmentation 5 , edema 3 , excoriation 3 , burning 3 , papules 1 , throbbing 1 , blanching 1 , and a generalized macular rash 1.

In additional clinical experience, contact dermatitis resulting in treatment discontinuation was observed in of patients about 19 in after a mean duration of treatment of 37 weeks. The incidence of contact dermatitis was about 34 in among white women, about 18 in in white men, about 14 in in black women, and approximately 8 in in black men. Because these reactions are reported voluntarily from a population of uncertain size, it is not always possible to estimate reliably their frequency or establish a causal relationship to drug exposure.

Decisions to include these reactions in labeling are typically based on one or more of the following factors: 1 seriousness of the reaction, 2 frequency of reporting, or 3 strength of causal connection to CATAPRES-TTS transdermal therapeutic system. Body as a Whole: Fever; malaise; weakness; pallor; and withdrawal syndrome.

Cardiovascular: Congestive heart failure; cerebrovascular accident; electrocardiographic abnormalities i. Dermatological: Angioneurotic edema; localized or generalized rash; hives; urticaria; contact dermatitis; pruritus; alopecia; and localized hypo or hyper pigmentation. Genitourinary: Difficult micturition; loss of libido; and decreased sexual activity. Metabolic: Gynecomastia or breast enlargement and weight gain.

Musculoskeletal: Muscle or joint pain; and leg cramps. Ophthalmological: Blurred vision; burning of the eyes and dryness of the eyes. The most frequent which appear to be dose-related are dry mouth, occurring in about 40 of patients; drowsiness, about 33 in ; dizziness, about 16 in ; constipation and sedation, each about 10 in Body as a Whole: Fatigue, fever, headache, pallor, weakness, and withdrawal syndrome.

Cardiovascular: Bradycardia, congestive heart failure, electrocardiographic abnormalities i. Cases of sinus bradycardia and AV block have been reported, both with and without the use of concomitant digitalis. Central Nervous System: Agitation, anxiety, delirium, delusional perception, hallucinations including visual and auditory , insomnia, mental depression, nervousness, other behavioral changes, paresthesia, restlessness, sleep disorder, and vivid dreams or nightmares.

Dermatological: Alopecia, angioneurotic edema, hives, pruritus, rash, and urticaria. Gastrointestinal: Abdominal pain, anorexia, constipation, hepatitis, malaise, mild transient abnormalities in liver function tests, nausea, parotitis, pseudo-obstruction including colonic pseudo-obstruction , salivary gland pain, and vomiting.

Genitourinary: Decreased sexual activity, difficulty in micturition, erectile dysfunction, loss of libido, nocturia, and urinary retention. Metabolic: Gynecomastia, transient elevation of blood glucose or serum creatine phosphokinase, and weight gain. Musculoskeletal: Leg cramps and muscle or joint pain. Oro-otolaryngeal: Dryness of the nasal mucosa. Ophthalmological: Accommodation disorder, blurred vision, burning of the eyes, decreased lacrimation, and dryness of the eyes. Hypertension may develop early and may be followed by hypotension, bradycardia, respiratory depression, hypothermia, drowsiness, decreased or absent reflexes, weakness, irritability and miosis.

The frequency of CNS depression may be higher in children than adults. Large overdoses may result in reversible cardiac conduction defects or dysrhythmias, apnea, coma and seizures.

Signs and symptoms of overdose generally occur within 30 minutes to two hours after exposure. As little as 0. After their removal, the plasma clonidine levels will persist for about 8 hours, then decline slowly over a period of several days. There is no specific antidote for clonidine overdosage.

Dialysis is not likely to significantly enhance the elimination of clonidine. This patient developed hypertension followed by hypotension, bradycardia, apnea, hallucinations, semicoma, and premature ventricular contractions. The patient fully recovered after intensive treatment. There have been rare reports of the need for patch changes prior to 7 days to maintain blood pressure control. Therefore, gradual reduction of prior drug dosage is advised.

Some or all previous antihypertensive treatment may have to be continued, particularly in patients with more severe forms of hypertension. Patients with renal impairment may benefit from a lower initial dose. Patients should be carefully monitored. Since only a minimal amount of clonidine is removed during routine hemodialysis, there is no need to give supplemental clonidine following dialysis. See chart below.

Clean the chosen application area with soap and water. Rinse the area and wipe it with a clean, dry tissue. Remove the patch from the pouch. Remove the clear plastic protective backing from the pouch by gently peeling off one half of the backing at a time.

Avoid touching the sticky side of the patch. Place the patch on the skin site sticky side down by applying firm pressure on top of the patch. Wash your hands with soap and water to remove any medication that may be on your hands. Continue to use Clonidine Patches even if you feel well. If you forget to wear or change a patch, put one on as soon as you can. If it is almost time to put on your next patch, wait until then to apply a new patch and skip the one you missed. Do not apply extra patches to make up for a missed dose.

If you miss changing the transdermal patch for 2 or more days, check with your doctor right away. If your body goes without this medicine for too long, your blood pressure may go up to a very high level and cause serious side effects. Store the patches at room temperature in a closed container, away from heat, moisture, and direct light. After removing a used patch, fold the patch in half with the sticky sides together. Make sure to dispose of it out of the reach of children and pets. All rights reserved.

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