Oxymetazoline: uses, dosing, side effects & brands
Oxymetazoline is a vasoconstrictor sold in the U.S. under 2 brand and generic names, for common cold, conjunctivitis and rhinitis. Below: what the FDA label says, every product that contains it, what the pills look like, and its recall record.
Key facts
- Drug class
- Vasoconstrictor
- Treats (across its forms)
- Common Cold, Conjunctivitis and Rhinitis
- Available as
- Topical · Drops
- Sold as
- 2 products — Rhofade and Upneeq
- Prescription?
- Prescription only
- Generic available?
- Not in our catalog
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How Rhofade is dosed
From the FDA label for Rhofade (application NDA208552). Other oxymetazoline products — different forms, different strengths — are dosed differently. Follow the label for the one you were prescribed.
For topical use only. Oxymetazoline Hydrochloride Cream is not for oral, ophthalmic, or intravaginal use. Apply a pea-sized amount of Oxymetazoline Hydrochloride Cream, once daily in a thin layer to cover the entire face (forehead, nose, each cheek, and chin) avoiding the eyes and lips. Wash hands immediately after applying Oxymetazoline Hydrochloride Cream. Not for oral, ophthalmic, or intravaginal use. ( 2 ) Prime pump bottle before initial use and discard product from first three pumps. ( 2 ) Apply a pea-sized amount once daily in a thin layer to cover the entire face (forehead, nose, each cheek, and chin) avoiding the eyes and lips. ( 2 ) Wash hands after application. ( 2 )
Everything below is the FDA label for Rhofade (topical). Oxymetazoline is also sold as drops, and those are different medicines to take — follow the label for the one you were prescribed.
Rhofade side effects
Most common adverse reactions (incidence ≥ 1%) are application site dermatitis, worsening inflammatory lesions of rosacea, application site pruritis, application site erythema, and application site pain. ( 6.1 ) To report SUSPECTED ADVERSE REACTIONS, contact Mayne Pharma at 1-844-825-8500 or FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088 or www.fda.gov/medwatch. 6.1 Clinical Studies Experience Because clinical trials are conducted under 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 practice. A total of 489 subjects with persistent facial erythema associated with rosacea were treated with Oxymetazoline Hydrochloride Cream once daily for 4 weeks in 3 controlled clinical trials. An additional 440 subjects with persistent facial erythema associated with rosacea were also treated with Oxymetazoline Hydrochloride Cream once daily for up to one year in a long-term (open- label) clinical trial. Adverse reactions that occurred in at least 1% of subjects treated with Oxymetazoline Hydrochloride Cream through 4 weeks of treatment are presented in Table 1 below. Table 1: Adverse Reactions Reported by ≥ 1% of Subjects through 4 Weeks of Treatment in Controlled Clinical Trials Adverse Reaction Pooled Controlled Clinical Trials Oxymetazoline HCl Cream (N = 489)…
Who shouldn’t take Rhofade
None. None. ( 4 )
Rhofade drug interactions
7.1 Anti-hypertensives/Cardiac Glycosides Alpha-adrenergic agonists, as a class, may impact blood pressure. Caution in using drugs such as beta-blockers, anti-hypertensives and/or cardiac glycosides is advised. Caution should also be exercised in patients receiving alpha 1 adrenergic receptor antagonists such as in the treatment of cardiovascular disease, benign prostatic hypertrophy, or Raynaud's disease. 7.2 Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors Caution is advised in patients taking MAO inhibitors which can affect the metabolism and uptake of circulating amines.
Every oxymetazoline product we track (2)
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 | 70/100 | Prescription | Topical | No data | — | View → | |
| 2 | Not yet rated | Prescription | Drops | No data | — | View → |
Combination products containing oxymetazoline
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.
Oxymetazoline recalls
From the FDA Enforcement database. A recall covers specific lots — not the drug as a whole.
How long oxymetazoline keeps
No oxymetazoline 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.
Does oxymetazoline expire? The in-use limits and storage rules from its labelsOxymetazoline and breastfeeding
From LactMed, the US National Library of Medicine’s Drugs and Lactation Database — quoted, not rewritten.
Full LactMed record for oxymetazoline: levels in milk, effects in breastfed infants, and the drugs it would consider insteadAlthough no information exists on the use of oxymetazoline specifically during breastfeeding, very little should reach the infant through breastmilk because of the local administration and limited absorption into the maternal bloodstream. It is recommended over oral systemic decongestants such as pseudoephedrine during breastfeeding. Topical use on the face is unlikely to present a risk to the nursing infant.
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, record revised February 15, 2025. LactMed states its information is not a substitute for professional judgement.
What people report to the FDA about oxymetazoline
The FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) collects reports from patients and clinicians. It holds 851 reports naming oxymetazoline, and the FDA flagged 61% 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:
- nausea75 reports
- anosmia69 reports
- fatigue66 reports
- diarrhoea55 reports
- dyspnoea49 reports
- headache46 reports
- ageusia42 reports
- cough38 reports
Read these as a signal, not a rate. A report does not mean oxymetazoline 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 section above.
Source: openFDA drug/event (FAERS), retrieved August 25, 2026.
Related calculators
Frequently asked questions
What is Rhofade?
Oxymetazoline Hydrochloride Cream, 1% contains oxymetazoline hydrochloride, an alpha 1A adrenoceptor agonist. Oxymetazoline Hydrochloride Cream is a white to off-white cream.
What kind of drug is oxymetazoline?
The FDA classifies oxymetazoline as a vasoconstrictor. 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 oxymetazoline 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 oxymetazoline 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 oxymetazoline sold under?
We track 2 oxymetazoline-containing products in the U.S.: Rhofade and Upneeq. They are the same active ingredient; they differ in form, manufacturer, price and FDA recall record.
What forms does oxymetazoline come in?
Across the brands we track, oxymetazoline is currently marketed as topical and drops, 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 oxymetazoline?
We do not currently list a generic-labelled oxymetazoline product. That does not always mean none exists — it means none appears under a generic name in the FDA data we track. Ask your pharmacist.
Has oxymetazoline been recalled?
The FDA's Enforcement database lists 1 recall record whose product description mentions oxymetazoline. The most recent: SinuFrin Decongestant (oxymetazoline HCl) Nasal Solution Nasal Decongestant (Jun 24, 2024). A recall applies to specific lots, not to the drug as a whole — check the record for the affected lot numbers.
Cite this page
- APA
- pharmaranks. (2026, July 24). Oxymetazoline: uses, dosing, side effects & brands. https://pharmaranks.com/drugs/oxymetazoline
- MLA
- “Oxymetazoline: uses, dosing, side effects & brands.” pharmaranks, 24 July 2026, https://pharmaranks.com/drugs/oxymetazoline.
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 oxymetazoline on DailyMed (NIH) ↗.