FDA Adverse Events Reports (FAERS) Summary for ALEVE

These tables and charts are based on 82,102 total reports for ALEVE (NAPROXEN SODIUM) received by the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) from 2004 through April 28, 2026.

This FAERS total includes 80,354 pharmaceutical company-submitted and non-U.S. FAERS reports and 1,748 U.S. consumer or healthcare provider-submitted MedWatch reports. For a separate summary of the 1,748 U.S. reports filed via the FDA MedWatch voluntary reporting system, view our FDA MedWatch ALEVE summary report. (See notes section below for explanation of FDA’s mandatory and voluntary reporting system.)

Top 20 Adverse Effects Associated with ALEVE (reported in FAERS Database)

 Side Effect# of FDA Reports
1DRUG INEFFECTIVE13500
2NO ADVERSE EVENT4799
3HEADACHE4170
4PRODUCT USE ISSUE4085
5PAIN3556
6NAUSEA3185
7FATIGUE2858
8DIZZINESS2628
9INCORRECT DRUG ADMINISTRATION DURATION2591
10JOINT PAIN2292
11ABDOMINAL PAIN UPPER2063
12DIARRHEA2033
13ITCHING1864
14SHORTNESS OF BREATH1840
15ABDOMINAL DISCOMFORT1770
16BACK PAIN1728
17VOMITING1719
18OFF LABEL USE1716
19DRUG EFFECT INCREASED1701
20INSOMNIA1671

Latest Known Outcomes for Reactions Reported for ALEVE

Latest Known Outcome for Reported ReactionsNumber of Cases
1Unknown Outcome29390
2Patient has not recovered/symtoms have not resolved10443
3Patient recovered9128
4Patient is recovering/symptoms resolving3039
5Patient died841
6Patient has recovered but has consequent health issues193
Search all MedWatch and FAERS by keyword:

ALEVE Total Reports

 Male    Female    Unknown    Total  
 20586    45291    16225    82,102  

Top Countries Reporting

 Country  Number of Reports
United States  52932
Canada  1057
France  89
Puerto Rico  30
United Kingdom  25
Netherlands  21
Spain  19
Poland  8
EU  7
10 Costa Rica  4

Outcomes for Reports

Serious: 21056
Not Serious: 61041
Note: A serious outcome means the adverse event resulted in death, a life threatening condition, hospitalization, disability, congenital anomaly, or other serious condition.

Top Indications      
Pain
Product used for unknown indication
Headache
Rheumatoid arthritis
Back pain

Top Companies Reporting

   BAYER
   BAYER HEALTHCARE LLC
   BAYER HEALTHCARE LLC

Safety-Related FDA Updates

FDA Approval Date: 1994-01-11

ALEVE (NAPROXEN SODIUM) Over-the-counter Drug:
FDA recommends avoiding use of NSAIDs in pregnancy at 20 weeks or later because they can result in low amniotic fluid; NSAIDs may cause rare kidney problems in unborn babies
FDA Safety Communication

ALEVE (NAPROXEN SODIUM) Over-the-counter Drug:
Safety-related Labeling Changes


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For serious adverse events, report them to the FDA by contacting the drug manufacturer or report directly through the MedWatch voluntary reporting form.

Notes

This report, created by AskaPatient.com, is derived from the cases for ALEVE reported to the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) FDA Safety Information and Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) and obtained from Open FDA. Data was last updated with reports received through April 28, 2026.

This summary includes ALL reports where the drug is a "primary OR secondary OR suspected interacting" drug. Typically, reports are filed for the most serious type or "event" and do not represent incidental or minor side effects. The majority of these reports are mandatory reports submitted by pharmaceutical companies, who receive complaints from consumers. The reactions, side effects, or "adverse events," represent up to the 20 most frequently occuring events in the database for a drug related to the event. This report also features counts of latest known outcomes associated with reported side effects, but does not provide the specific outcomes for specific adverse events.

Adverse Event Reports are submitted to the FAERS database by pharmaceutical companies (mandatory reporting is required by manufacturers, distributors, or importers). Health care providers such as doctors (voluntary reporting), and patients themselves (voluntary reporting) report to the FDA directly through the MedWatch program. Those MedWatch reports are coded and included in the FAERS database. This report mainly consists of the mandatory reports, because the MedWatch reports are a small percentage (3 - 5%) of total reports. Link to the MedWatch summary report at the top of the page for a summary of the directly reported (voluntary) adverse events for this drug.The number of reports included here might differ somewhat from the number of reports in the downloadable quarterly FAERS reports and in the online FAERS dashboard, due to lags in reporting, drug name differences, duplicates, and other factors. Open FDA states that it only includes the most recent version of a case report. It also adds the disclaimer: "Do not rely on openFDA to make decisions regarding medical care. While we make every effort to ensure that data is accurate, you should assume all results are unvalidated."

FDA uses the "MedDRA" classification system to describe reported adverse reactions. MedDRA is a standardized medical terminology that facilitates sharing of regulatory information internationally. In some cases, "patient friendly" terms for the layman designated by MedDRA have been substituted for medical jargon. Please contact us with questions or comments about this report.