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Hydroquinone
What Is Hydroquinone?
Hydroquinone is a topical (applied to the skin) cream to treat freckles or other darkened areas of the skin. It essentially is a bleaching cream. Hydroquinone works by decreasing the amount of the skin’s melanin, a pigment that gives skin its brown color. When you get suntanned, for example, exposure to the sun increases melanin in the skin.
It is available in 2 percent strength over the counter and in 4 percent strength by prescription.
The chemical name for hydroquinone is benzene-1, 4-diol or quinol. Hydroquinone is formed from benzene, a known carcinogen (cancer-producing agent).
Research has shown that prolonged exposure to benzene metabolites such as hydroquinone causes cancer in laboratory rats and can lead to acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) in humans by causing chromosomal changes in cells in the bone marrow.
Hydroquinone Cream Uses
The medicated cream is used to treat darkened areas of the skin including:
- Freckles
- Age spots
- Chloasma (splotchy, darkened areas of facial skin in women during pregnancy or when using oral contraceptives; associated with hormone production; worsens when exposed to sunlight)
- Melasma (synonym for Chloasma)
- Senile lentigines (synonym for age spots)
Hydroquinone can make skin more sensitive to sunlight, so persons using it should avoid exposure to direct sunlight, use a sunscreen, and wear protective clothing.
Side Effects of Hydroquinone
If you have liver disease or kidney disease, you should tell your doctor before hydroquinone is prescribed because the dosage may need to be adjusted. It is possible the cream can harm an unborn baby, and it is not known if the medication passes into breast milk. A woman should tell her doctor if she is breast-feeding if she is going to be using hydroquinone.
Some of the side effects of hydroquinone, in addition to predisposing a person to AML, include:
- Making you more susceptible to sunburn
- Sensitivity to more extreme weather conditions such as cold and wind
- Skin irritation if used with harsh soaps, shampoos, skin cleansers, hair coloring or permanent chemicals, hair removers or waxes, skin products with alcohol, spices, astringents or lime
- Temporary staining of the skin when used with peroxide products such as benzoyl peroxide or hydrogen peroxide
- Mild burning, stinging, itching, redness or irritation of treated areas of skin
If you have severe skin irritation including severe stinging, itching, redness or burning, you should call your doctor.
Contact a Hydroquinone Injury Lawyer
If you have developed AML while using hydroquinone, contact a hydroquinone injury lawyer for information about your legal rights. You might qualify for compensation for your injury.