Side Effects’ Frequency Assessment of Low Dose Oral Minoxidil in Male Androgenetic Alopecia Patients

Abstract

Introduction: Hair loss is a very common complaint in dermatologists’ offices, requiring the use of proven safe and effective therapies to improve the condition without jeopardizing patients’ health and well-being. Methods: We selected 100 male patients with androgenetic alopecia beginning treatment with low dose oral minoxidil to observe incidence and frequency of side effects. Results: The side-effects/symptoms observed in the assessed patients included body and facial hypertrichosis (most incidents), lower legs edema, periorbital edema, fatigue, tachycardia, and insomnia. Dizziness, hypotension, respiratory changes, and diarrhea were expected although not found in the assessed participants. No life-threatening adverse effects were observed. Conclusion: The doses administered in current research of oral minoxidil presented good safety profile as hair loss treatment, with the most incident side-effect being related to hypertrichosis. Systemic side-effects were infrequent.