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More Ortho Evra® News
Ortho Evra® side effect dangers prompted University Health Services (UHS) to inform students through information sessions about the serious risks involved in using the Ortho Evra® birth control patch. UHS is holding these sessions to protect the Penn State student body as many women in college use the Ortho Evra® patch.
Shelley Haffner, an UHS nurse said "we wanted to give students all of the information, risk factors, and side effects."
The sessions include detailed information about the November Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warning on the patch about higher exposure to estrogen for women using the Ortho Evra® patch compared to a birth control pill. The FDA stated that "a woman on Ortho Evra® may be exposed to approximately 60% more estrogen than if she were taking a typical 35 microgram estrogen birth control pill." These higher levels of estrogen may put some women at an increased risk for blood clots, heart attack, and stroke.
Ortho Evra® is the only approved skin patch for birth control that is applied to the skin once a week. The patch is used for birth control, lowering painful periods, and helping to correct irregular menstrual cycles.
Sharon Mell, a pharmacist in Pittsburg, said there are both pros and cons to the Ortho Evra® patch. "With the patch, you don't have to take a pill daily," she said. "The patch isn't something you forget about...it is stuck to you." Mell stated women are also having allergic reaction to the birth control patch. "People sometimes have an allergy to the adhesive tape," she said.
While the FDA has not taken Ortho Evra® off the market, it does recommend that women receive a lower does of estrogen. UHS is recommending that women understand the risks and strongly consider another birth control alternative with a lower dose of estrogen.
"UHS isn't going to stop prescribing the patch, but we don't recommend it," Haffner said. "We won't prescribe the patch if a patient has risk factors such as migraines, is a smoker, etc." Ultimately women must weigh the pros and cons of their current birth control method, at least until the FDA can get this settled.
Reference:
"UHS details risks of patch use," The Collegian, Megan Miller, January 2006.
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