ALDARA Reviews (IMIQUIMOD)Average Rating: 2.9 (856 Ratings)Filter ResultsCompare ALDARA with similar:
Type: Rx Drug
|
Results are sorted by length of time drug was taken longest to shortest. Key to Ratings: 1=LOW (I would not recommend taking this medicine.) Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 |
More on ALDARA: Reviews Summary | Drug Safety Information
| RATING | REASON | SIDE EFFECTS FOR ALDARA | COMMENTS | SEX | AGE | DURATION/ DOSAGE | DATE ADDED |
| 2 | BCC - constants | I used consistently over the last 6 years. First experience was horrible. The liver can't remove the toxic waste fast enough which makes you feel like you have the flu. Once a year I dreaded the process putting up with the nasty lesions for weeks, but I thought I was at least getting ahead of my bcc's. Decided to rethink the whole process, because I was getting more and more lesions every year. Found out through research and a great website Topicalinfor.com, why I kept having so many reoccurences. | I have followed the protocol through Topicalinfo.com (a personal journey of another bcc person) WOW!!! It has been life transforming. Detoxifying the pancreas, learning about enzymes, applying enzymes topically and taking orally, without unnatural side effects has been great. Boosting my immune system to heal myself using daily healthy (well researched) nutritional supplements, 3000 mg Calcium and 3000 mg. Vitamin C, pro-biiotics, whole nutrition multivitamins, on and on. Great online support system too. Long and short Aldara after 5 consistent years didn't help. All I did was chase spots. | F | 48 | 5 years | 5/28/2008 | 4 | Vaginal warts | I used this cream on and off for over 4 years for small vaginal warts, with periods of freezing every few months, without much success. I could get to the point where they looked like they were going but always flared up when I stopped treatment. I suffered horrid side effects like wearing of the skin, blisters, burning, itching, thrush and bv infections. BUT I've recently restarted using the cream AND for some reason its working much better with hardly any side effects! The only thing I've done differently this time round is to thoroughly wash and DRY the area and allow the cream to soak in or dry BEFORE standing up and moving around. Maybe this allows the cream to ONLY be absorbed by the area you put it on! You know what I'm saying girls :-) I've used it 2-3 times per week for the last 2 weeks and things are looking much better! I am officially converted from thinking this cream is an evil substance that has minimum effect to feeling like its doing a pretty good job with no side effects! | F | 31 | 4 years | 2/27/2013 | 5 | superficial basal cell carcinoma | Redness, itching and scabs formed after the first week. | I found theat once the scabs formed it was best to stop applying the Aldara and to soak the area then rub lightly with a wash rag and the dead skin rubs right off like a sun burn. Once the area clears up start another round of 4 to 5 days of treatment, again stop when the scabs form. I have been using Aldara off and on for over a year on several areas of my face. After having surgery on 6 different locations on my face, it is great to have a non evasive cure. | M | 50 | 1 years | 3/7/2006 | 5 | Basal Cel Carcinoma-Gorlin Syndrome | Redness, itchiness, clear discharge, scabbing, A redness which continued (but gradually went away months after using), occasional bleeding. Never had any flu-like symptoms (and dont believe they are related to Aldara). Because of genetic disorder (gorlin Syndrome) took for a long time (1 year) on differing parts of body....got swollen glands (under chin, by neck, and armpits) and am not sure if this part was do to the aldara---but I stopped applying and the swollen glands stopped a week or so later each time | I have had numerous (100 plus) basal cell carcinomas. With the genetic disorder I hvae called Gorlin Syndrome and being fair complected, I wish I had discovered it earlier...before the multiple surguries and consequential scars on my face to have them removed. What it allows you to do is control when you apply it (and even when you can stop) and you can always go back to the area if all of the bcc was not gotten. I have used it both on superficial basal cells and with success on basal cells which were already lumps... The stuff works. The stuff avoids surgery....Its just a question of weather you can accept the redness, itching, scabbing, etc. I do not believe it when people say they have flu-like symptoms due to Aldara. I have never had those. Then again, maybe it affects people differently. | M | 37 | 1 years | 12/24/2006 | 4 | HPV/GW | Pain, Redness, Some swelling, Soars around the site, Itching, Burning when urinating, Soar to touch. | I think the symptoms that everyone is explaining is exactly what is supossed to be going on. I was first diagnosed with HPVGW and given the AlDara cream to diminish the warts and it was successful, however, I do think that most of you are using this incorrectly, which is causing you to have the very painful and blistering side effects. If you see the wart is shrinking then you need to ease up on the amount of cream you are using. This cream is like an acid and will eat away at your skin causing you to develop an open soar and yes it can look similar to herpes but don't be alarmed. The bottle says to use 3X's at week at nighttime, rub into the affected area but try not to touch un-infected areas. Rub directly onto the wart and no where else is what my doctor had explained to me. You don't have to use it until you develop a soar, I believe with experience in using this for a year and half now, if you just keep applying it until the wart disappears, then you might only need one or two more applications. The best thing for you to do is not itch the area, it will just cause you to be soar, try rubbing vaseline or some type of petroleum jelly on the area to keep form rubbing other areas as well. This is the best advice I can give and it seems to work for me. I have only had a max of maybe 4 warts in 2 years and they all have been diminished my the cream. | F | 23 | 1 years 30 MG 3X W | 3/13/2010 | 3 | gw | ive had warts for some years and has always used aldara which seem to work until recently. i think i may have been using to much cream because yes the rash came and the herpe like sores which were super painful. I am discontinuing this medicine after that exp good luck to all future users | M | 39 | 12 months | 2/18/2009 | 4 | HPV | redness, itching, swolleness, white patchy ulcers, extreme sensitivity, pain upon urination, bleeding due to to dryness and irritation from underware sticking, fatigue due to lack of sleep from itching at night, anxiety and irritability due to presence of painful skin symptoms from aldara (not a psychological side effect of medication). Symptoms resided with time, however, I noticed that I would have random weeks where symptoms got more severe. | I have been using Aldara off and on for the past 11 months. At points in my treatment I was in so much pain, that I could almost feel myself slipping into a depression. The thought of having HPV coupled with the horrible side effects of Aldara led me to cry myself to sleep every night. I do believe that Aldara works, and with having two resistant stains of external HPV, I have found Aldara to be succesful in removing most of the warts, and keeping them away. My treatment with Aldara has been long term and extensive, but I have been happy with it. I might have to have some final resistant warts laserd off. I have also lost a lot of sleep from using the aldara, becasue on the the nights that I have it on, I frequently wake up itching, and in pain. On several occasions, i have had really bad reactions, where I develop white ulcer like sores. It is so painful, to the point where I can barely walk and sit down. The symptoms usually last for a week. I tried skipping 2 treatments till I felt | F | 22 | 11 months | 4/21/2006 | 3 | GW | extreme itching, burning, redness, and now little red sores that hurt | Ive been using Aldara pretty faithfully for 10 months and it has helped somewhat. The warts are definitely not getting worse but theyre also not getting that much better. The itching really does wake up in the middle of the night tho its horrible. A few days ago a couple little red sores popped up and I got so scared thinking it was herpes. Thank god I found this site and not I'm pretty sure its just a side effect of the medicine, it sounds pretty common. I feel better after reading everyone elses comments I hope it works as well for me as it did for some of you | F | 18 | 10 months | 11/20/2006 | 1 | genital warts | None - reinfected myself during application of it. Useless product. | I didn't benefit from it, but can see others have. I took it for 10 months and only saw the condition worsen. Have gone on to use cryo technique, acid, and then podofilox application, and now using the gel at home. None have worked and condition deteriorates daily...am very concerned that these are not warts and now the side effects from the cryo/podo treatments are disfiguring. If someone can treat successfully w/Aldara my hat's off to you...but didn't work here. | F | 37 | 10 months | 11/30/2006 | 3 | GW | If used correctly only minor irration. | Im a healthy 24yr old male. I have tried condylox. which in my case is like putting acid on the head of your penis. I wouldnt recommend that to any one and if they do. use it wisely. As far as the aldara goes I have never completed a four week cycle so I cant say if effectivly eliminates lesions but it will clear them up. Then your left with either real tender skin or a open wound. after I do a one week cycle I would stop treatment to allow healing. In which I would use neosporan on the infected area. This is to promote healing and prevent scaring. I cant say its not working but the problem still occurs. This may be because I have not used it as prescribe. | M | 24 | 6 months | 2/20/2009 | 2 | flat warts | no side effects, aldara doesnt seem to be doing anything | I've been taking ALDARA for over six months. They said I should use it every other day and then I have treatments once a month. They said it would take about 5 -12 treatments to get rid of them completely. I have had over 8 treatments and they have not decreased in size or number, I can tell no difference. | F | 19 | 6 months | 3/29/2006 | 1 | Genital Warts | Burning, Bleeding, Itching, Erosion, Chaffing, Redness, Dryness, TOO MANY TO COUNT | Don't take this....I was on it for 6 months and it was absolute hell...My gyno recommended I try Condylox Gel 0.5% and this stuff is EXCELLENT! After one week of application, 85% of my warts were gone! It does not burn or itch; it does not make you bleed or dry! Please try it if you are fed up with trying Aldara. There is another way to deal with genital warts: Condylox Gel 0.5%. You will feel so much better! | F | 22 | 6 months | 2/13/2005 | 1 | Genital Warts | Red like blisters, pain urinating, pain walking, fever, vomiting, itching, burning, swallon labia 2 years after and my skin still splits and tears. | I was prescribed Aldara firstly 2 years ago gone April. For the first month of using Aldara it was fine to use with a mild burning sensation. The more I used it the greater this pain got. I rang my doctor as I was concerned as I was never told about these side effects. She advised to continue using the product. So I did. I then noticed red like blisters which made it painful to walk and urinate. I went back to my doctor who then told me I had herpes and also prescribed me Valtrex. I continued using both medications with no success. I then went and got a second, third, fourth and fifth opinion as the pain was so bad and I had now had 2 months off work. They all said the same thing. I then went to a sexual health clinic and the lady here told me never to use Aldara as one single application can lead to life long problems and that she had seen some horror stories. She also told me I did not have herpes phew! She told me to stop using any medication and have salt baths daily to cleanse the area to help it heal. Once it had healed she simply burnt them off. This caused no pain and they were gone the following day. Although the aldara got rid of the warts, it caused immense pain and they still came back. I lost my job as I could not walk or urinate without a great deal of pain for 6 months. 2 YEARS ON MY SKIN STILL TEARS AND THIS CAUSES A GREAT DEAL OF PAIN WHEN GOING TO THE TOILET EVERY SO OFTEN. DO NOT USE THIS PRODUCT! SOME PEOPLE MAY HAVE LESS SEVERE SIDE-EFFECTS BUT YOU MAY EX | F | 21 | 6 months | 7/5/2009 | 5 | Plantar warts | No side effects at all. | I had plantar warts forming a mosaic on one of my toes for 5 years. Nothing would work until my doctor prescribed me Aldara. I've been using it for 5 months and now I can say my warts have disappeared. I didn't notice anything during the first 3 months. Actually some new small warts kept growing during treatment. It was not until the 4th month that I noticed some changes. My treatment consisted on applying Aldara each night (I didn't wash it off as indicated). I also had each day one pill of Vitamin A (10.000 u) on the 2nd and 4th month. It had an incredible effect on my skin! Everyday, I also scraped off all dead skin on my warts with sandpaper to let Aldara reach my inner skin. Now my warts are almost gone!! Hope this helps someone! | M | 33 | 5 months | 8/31/2005 | 3 | HPV | Taking nearly ever day for 4 boxes now (yea i reuse the same packets for about 3 applications/days even though it says not to). Once it started getting red about halfway into the first box, but I stopped for 3 days to let it heal, and resumed. After that... no side effects. | Very little change in warts. =\. When I'm using aldara a lot, they seem to look shrunken like they are dieing...but they never actually go away. I've had them frozen dozens of times and they come back within a week usually. the area is scarred and i havent gotten lucky since my ex who gave it to me over 2 years ago. | M | 24 | 5 months | 1/5/2007 | 5 | for bcc on face | extreme tiredness nausea and flu like symptoms but it has been so worthit it is now feb 2012 and the cancer has completely gone. I don't feel so self conscious any more...... | Aldara was really a miracle cure for me.I dont know, but I suspect that very many of the posts who experienced extreme side effects simply used far far too much at a time.Use only a pinprick at at time, once a day,rub it well in and don't be tempted to use more just cause it | F | 64 | 4 months 30 1X day | 2/24/2012 | 5 | Flat Warts | No side effects. | I had a cluster of flat warts on my thigh, around my knee, on my thumb, and behind the back of knees. It looked terrible and I would have done anything to make them go away. I even tried the duck tape technique. I went to my dermatologist and he prescribed Aldara. I used it for a few months and my flat warts disappeared. I followed the directions and had no side effects. Worked wonders for me. | F | 21 | 4 months 3X W | 3/26/2010 | 5 | vin 3 | Extreme fatigue ,burning itching and some swelling | Had a choice of either useing cream or having surgery so opted to try the cream ,yes it was uncomfortable but the vin is now gone hopefully for good but if it does come back I would use the cream again . | F | 59 | 4 months 3t weekly | 5/30/2015 | 4 | Genital Warts | intense itching, redness, open sores, mild nausea and diarrhea | Used properly (really rub it in people, don't just glop it on) it does clear up the warts. I noticed it cleared up the soft warts near my vagina within a few applications, and the harder warts in the general groin region took a few weeks. I continued applying it after they disappeared because I did not want them to come back, and ended up with several extremely painful open sores. I also have had constant mild nausea and periodic diarreah, but nothing really intolerable. I am about to take a break and see if the warts come back. | F | 23 | 4 months | 8/29/2009 | 3 | GW | Burning, itching, stabbing pains, aching. pain when urinating | I feel everyone's pain! It seriously hurts. One thing I haven't noticed mentioned to help alleviate the burning and itching is ice packs- sounds mad I know but when it gets bad I wrap and ice pack in some cloth and hold it between my legs. It numbs the pain and the itching, aqueous emulsifying ointment bp is also soothing- have a cold shower and apply to affected area then gently rinse but don't rinse it off completely and the cold and the moisturising helps dull the itch and burn! Hope that helps | F | 23 | 4 months | 9/1/2008 |
ALDARA (IMIQUIMOD): This medication is used to treat certain types of growths on the skin. These are precancerous growths (actinic keratoses), a certain type of skin cancer (superficial basal cell carcinoma), and warts on the outside of the genitals/anus. Treating these conditions can decrease complications from them. Imiquimod belongs to a group of drugs called immune response modifiers. It is believed to work by helping to activate your immune system to fight these abnormal skin growths. This product is not recommended for use on children under 12 years of age unless specifically directed by your doctor. FDA Approval Date: 1997-02-27 (Sources: U.S. Centers for Medicare Services, FDA)