Does Berocca reduce birth control efficacy and how long til steroid cream soaks in?
November 9, 2010 6:52 PM

2 questions for the price of one: (1) How long does steroid cream take to sink in? (2) Does Berocca really interfere with the contraceptive pill?

Regarding #1: My doctor gave me some 1% hydrocortisone cream for a patch near my mouth, and told me to dab off the superficial residual cream and put a barrier over the top (e.g. Norwegian hand cream, pawpaw ointment) -- but I forgot to ask how long I should let the steroid cream sink in before applying the other stuff. Any ideas?
It doesn't matter so much at home because I can just leave more steroid cream on underneath the barrier, but if I am going out I do have to dab off visible cream so I'd like to know how long I should wait before doing so.

Regarding #2: I have had 2 doctors in the past tell me to only take 1/2 a Berocca because it interferes with the efficacy of the contraceptive pill. Is this true? I can't find anything online.

PS I hope it's okay I asked 2 questions. I've got a zillion health problems this week!
posted by KLF to Health & Fitness (2 answers total)

This post was deleted for the following reason: no, it's not okay to ask two questions. If you can pick one and get back to me real quick maybe we can salvage one. -- jessamyn

Berocca contains vitamin C, and apparently there is some kind of interaction between vitamin C and female reproductive hormones. The websites I'm finding seem to be 50/50 split between "the pill causes vitamin C deficiency, you should take vitamin C with it" and "vitamin C will make the pill less effective, don't take it with the pill" (with none of them actually citing any sources). Such is the danger of web-based medicine!
posted by phoenixy at 7:22 PM on November 9, 2010


(PS, Given that vitamin C is available OTC and commonly taken for colds, I have to imagine that if it had a truly substantial negative impact on birth control effectiveness, that it would be the kind of thing people would know about by now. Of course, there may be some other ingredient in Berocca prompting your doctors' concern.)
posted by phoenixy at 7:30 PM on November 9, 2010


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