Betamethasone: uses, dosing, side effects & brands
Betamethasone is a corticosteroid sold in the U.S. under 13 brand and generic names, for atopic dermatitis, facial dermatoses and foot dermatoses. Below: what the FDA label says, every product that contains it, what the pills look like, and its recall record.
Key facts
- Drug class
- Corticosteroid
- Treats (across its forms)
- Atopic Dermatitis, Facial Dermatoses and Foot Dermatoses
- Available as
- Topical · Augmented · Spray/Inhaler · Tablet · Syrup · Injectable · Disc
- Sold as
- 13 products — Diprolene, Diprolene Af and Sernivo, and others
- Prescription?
- Prescription only
- Generic available?
- Yes
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How Diprolene is dosed
From the FDA label for Diprolene (application NDA018741). Other betamethasone products — different forms, different strengths — are dosed differently. Follow the label for the one you were prescribed.
Apply a thin film of DIPROLENE Ointment to the affected skin areas once or twice daily. Therapy should be discontinued when control is achieved. If no improvement is seen within 2 weeks, reassessment of diagnosis may be necessary. DIPROLENE Ointment is a super-high-potency topical corticosteroid. Treatment with DIPROLENE Ointment should not exceed 50 g per week because of the potential for the drug to suppress the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis [see Warnings and Precautions (5.1) ] . DIPROLENE Ointment should not be used with occlusive dressings unless directed by a physician. Avoid use on the face, groin, or axillae, or if skin atrophy is present at the treatment site. Avoid contact with eyes. Wash hands after each application. DIPROLENE Ointment is for topical use only. It is not for oral, ophthalmic, or intravaginal use. Apply a thin film to the affected skin areas once or twice daily. ( 2 ) Discontinue therapy when control is achieved. ( 2 ) Limit therapy to no more than 2 consecutive weeks. ( 2 ) Use no more than 50 g per week. ( 2 ) Do not use with occlusive dressings unless directed by a physician. ( 2 ) Avoid use on the face, groin, or axillae, or if skin atrophy is present at the treatment site. ( 2 ) Not for oral, ophthalmic, or intravaginal use. ( 2 )
Everything below is the FDA label for Diprolene (topical). Betamethasone is also sold as augmented, spray/inhaler, tablet, syrup, injectable and disc, and those are different medicines to take — follow the label for the one you were prescribed.
Diprolene side effects
Most common adverse reactions (<1%) are: erythema, folliculitis, pruritus, and vesiculation. ( 6.1 ) To report SUSPECTED ADVERSE REACTIONS, contact Organon LLC, a subsidiary of Organon & Co., at 1-844-674-3200 or FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088 or www.fda.gov/medwatch . 6.1 Clinical Trials Experience Because clinical trials are conducted under widely varying conditions, adverse reaction rates observed in the clinical trials of a drug cannot be directly compared to rates in the clinical trials of another drug and may not reflect the rates observed in clinical practice. In controlled clinical trials, adverse reactions associated with the use of DIPROLENE Ointment reported at a frequency of less than 1% included erythema, folliculitis, pruritus, and vesiculation. 6.2 Postmarketing Experience Because adverse reactions are reported voluntarily from a population of uncertain size, it is not always possible to reliably estimate their frequency or establish a causal relationship to drug exposure. Postmarketing reports for local adverse reactions to topical corticosteroids may also include: skin atrophy, telangiectasias, burning, irritation, dryness, acneiform eruptions, hypopigmentation, perioral dermatitis, allergic contact dermatitis, secondary infection, hypertrichosis, striae, and miliaria. Hypersensitivity reactions, consisting of predominantly skin signs and symptoms, e.g., contact…
Who shouldn’t take Diprolene
Ointment is contraindicated in patients who are hypersensitive to betamethasone dipropionate, to other corticosteroids, or to any ingredient in this preparation. Hypersensitivity to any component of this medicine. ( 4 )
Every betamethasone product we track (13)
Same active ingredient — different manufacturer, form, price and FDA recall record. That last one is what our independent score measures.
| # | Drug | Rating | Type | Form | Generic? | Pharmacy pays | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 72/100 | Prescription | Topical | No data | — | View → | |
| 2 | 72/100 | Prescription | Topical | No data | — | View → | |
| 3 | 72/100 | Prescription | Spray/Inhaler | No data | — | View → | |
| 4 | 70/100 | Prescription | Topical | No data | — | View → | |
| 5 | Not yet rated | Prescription | Topical | No data | — | View → | |
| 6 | Not yet rated | Prescription | Topical | No data | — | View → | |
| 7 | Not yet rated | Prescription | Topical | No data | — | View → | |
| 8 | Not yet rated | Prescription | Topical | No data | — | View → | |
| 9 | Not yet rated | Prescription | Topical | No data | — | View → | |
| 10 | Not yet rated | Prescription | Tablet | No data | — | View → |
Combination products containing betamethasone
A combination is a different drug — different dosing, different warnings. It is listed here so you can find it, not so you can substitute it.
How long betamethasone keeps
No betamethasone label we read sets a separate limit for after opening, but they do specify how it must be stored — and the stability behind any date assumes those conditions.
Betamethasone and breastfeeding
From LactMed, the US National Library of Medicine’s Drugs and Lactation Database — quoted, not rewritten.
Full LactMed record for betamethasone: levels in milk, effects in breastfed infants, and the drugs it would consider insteadBetamethasone has not been well studied during breastfeeding. Systemic betamethasone is best avoided in favor of one of the shorter-acting and better studied alternatives because of its potency and low protein binding, which favors its passage into milk. Use of betamethasone 3 to 9 days prior to delivery of a preterm infant might decrease postpartum milk production in some women. Local injections, such as for tendinitis, would not be expected to cause any adverse effects in breastfed infants, but might occasionally cause temporary loss of milk supply. See also Betamethasone, Topical.
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, record revised April 15, 2025. LactMed states its information is not a substitute for professional judgement.
What people report to the FDA about betamethasone
The FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) collects reports from patients and clinicians. It holds 34,040 reports naming betamethasone, and the FDA flagged 78% of those reports as serious. The effects reported most often — leaving out reports about overdose, misuse or the condition being treated, which dominate the raw list for common medicines:
- psoriasis2,210 reports
- nausea2,197 reports
- rash1,927 reports
- pruritus1,920 reports
- dyspnoea1,794 reports
- fatigue1,789 reports
- diarrhoea1,686 reports
- maternal exposure during pregnancy1,673 reports
Read these as a signal, not a rate. A report does not mean betamethasone caused the effect — anyone can file one, and many describe people taking several medicines for several conditions. Crucially there is no denominator: FAERS does not record how many people took the drug, so these counts cannot be turned into “X% of patients” — a bigger number often just means a more widely used or more talked-about drug. Duplicates exist, and publicity drives reporting. For what is actually established, read the FDA label.
Source: openFDA drug/event (FAERS), retrieved September 25, 2026.
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Frequently asked questions
What is Diprolene?
Diprolene (Betamethasone Dipropionate) is a corticosteroid used to treat Atopic Dermatitis, Facial Dermatoses, Foot Dermatoses, Hand Dermatoses.
What kind of drug is betamethasone?
The FDA classifies betamethasone as a corticosteroid. Corticosteroids mimic the body's natural stress hormone cortisol: they enter cells and bind a glucocorticoid receptor that switches off genes for inflammatory chemicals, calming swelling, redness, and an overactive immune response. If you are checking whether it is safe to combine with something else, the class is what matters — two drugs from the same class usually should not be stacked.
Can you take betamethasone with other medicines?
It depends on the medicine. We check it against the FDA labels rather than guessing: our interaction checker searches each drug's own label for the other and quotes what it says, naming the section it came from. Run betamethasone against whatever else you take — and remember that a label not naming a drug is not the same as that combination being safe.
What brand names is betamethasone sold under?
We track 13 betamethasone-containing products in the U.S.: Diprolene, Diprolene Af, Sernivo, Beta-Val, Alphatrex, Betaderm, Betamethasone Dipropionate and Betamethasone Valerate, and 5 more. They are the same active ingredient; they differ in form, manufacturer, price and FDA recall record.
What forms does betamethasone come in?
Across the brands we track, betamethasone is currently marketed as topical, augmented, spray/inhaler, tablet, syrup, injectable and disc, per the FDA's National Drug Code Directory. Each form is dosed differently — follow the label for the exact product you were prescribed.
Is there a generic betamethasone?
Yes. Our catalog lists 2 generic betamethasone products alongside the brand versions. A generic has the same active ingredient and must meet the FDA's bioequivalence standard; it usually costs less. Ask your pharmacist which one your plan covers.
Cite this page
- APA
- pharmaranks. (2026, July 24). Betamethasone: uses, dosing, side effects & brands. https://pharmaranks.com/drugs/betamethasone
- MLA
- “Betamethasone: uses, dosing, side effects & brands.” pharmaranks, 24 July 2026, https://pharmaranks.com/drugs/betamethasone.
We summarise public FDA and NIH sources — for a clinical claim, cite the primary source we link to as well.
Sources: FDA openFDA drug label, National Drug Code Directory, and Enforcement (recall) database. This page reproduces public FDA data and is not medical advice. Dosing is set by your prescriber.
Read the full FDA label for betamethasone on DailyMed (NIH) ↗.