Acyclovir and hydrocortisone

FDA label, Bausch Health US LLC, topical, effective 2020-08-03. Full label on DailyMed

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Quoted from the FDA label. Product labels differ by manufacturer and change over time; confirm against the label for the product you are using.

Corticosteroid, Herpes Simplex Virus Nucleoside Analog DNA Polymerase Inhibitor, Herpes Zoster Virus Nucleoside Analog DNA Polymerase Inhibitor, Herpesvirus Nucleoside Analog DNA Polymerase Inhibitor

Dosing in kidney impairment

This label has no separate kidney-impairment dosing section. Check warnings and clinical pharmacology in the full label.

Drug interactions

Check acyclovir and hydrocortisone against a medication list
Label text (1 paragraph)

No drug interaction studies have been performed with XERESE. No drug interaction studies have been performed with XERESE. (7)

Supplement interactions

Dietary supplement interactions

1 noted
  • Vitamin DSteroids
    Corticosteroid medications, such as prednisone (Deltasone, Rayos, and Sterapred), are often prescribed to reduce inflammation. These medications can reduce calcium absorption and impair vitamin D metabolism.
    Fact sheet, updated Jun 27, 2025

Contraindications

None. None. (4)

Safety data

Reported adverse events (FAERS)

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Source: FDA Adverse Event Reporting System via openFDA

Liver injury (LiverTox)

LiverTox has no chapter for acyclovir and hydrocortisone. Check the label's hepatic warnings.

Pregnancy and lactation

Pregnancy

8.1 Pregnancy Risk Summary There are no available data on XERESE use in pregnant women. However, published observational studies over decades of use of topical acyclovir and low and medium potency topical corticosteroids during pregnancy have not established any association between use of these products and major birth defects, miscarriage, or adverse maternal or fetal outcomes (see Data). Animal reproduction studies have not been conducted with XERESE. Systemic exposure of acyclovir and hydrocortisone following topical administration of XERESE is expected to be minimal. Animal reproduction studies with systemic exposure of acyclovir and hydrocortisone have been conducted.

Refer to acyclovir and hydrocortisone prescribing information for additional details. The estimated background risk of major birth defects and miscarriage for the indicated population is unknown. All pregnancies have a background risk of birth defect, loss, or other adverse outcomes. In the U.S. general population, the estimated background risk of major birth defects and miscarriage in clinically recognized pregnancies is 2% to 4% and 15% to 20%, respectively.

Data Human Data While available studies cannot definitively establish the absence of risk, published data from multiple large observational studies have not established an association with the use of topical acyclovir or low and medium potency topical corticosteroids (including hydrocortisone) during pregnancy and major birth defects, miscarriage, or adverse maternal or fetal outcomes. Available studies have methodological limitations including whether women who filled a prescription actually took the medication, non-randomized design, retrospective data collection, and the inability to control for confounders such as underlying maternal disease and use of concomitant medications.

For breastfeeding, also see LactMed (National Library of Medicine), which summarizes milk levels and infant effects.

Supply and cost

Drug shortage status

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Recalls (last 24 months)

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Therapeutic equivalence (Orange Book)

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Price ladder

Not the price at the counter
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These are not what a patient pays at the pharmacy counter. They are what pharmacies, health plans, and government buyers pay, before manufacturer rebates. A patient's cost depends on their insurance (copay, coinsurance, or deductible) or the pharmacy's cash price.

Products and NDCs

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Recruiting clinical trials

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