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Chlorhexidine Gluconate Rinse side effects: what 84 FDA adverse event reports show

Chlorhexidine Gluconate Oral Rinse · 21 reaction terms · 439 drug–reaction co-reports · data 2026-09-14
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Drug class

Not stated in label

Label matched

Chlorhexidine Gluconate Oral Rinse (Chlorhexidine Gluconate Oral Rinse)

closest FDA label found for this product string; brand list suppressed because the label is a related product, not an exact match

Who reports

84 reports · 96% serious · 3 with death outcome · 95% female

openFDA FAERS counts, all years, deduplication not applied

Used for

Chlorhexidine gluconate oral rinse is indicated for use between dental visits as part of a professional program for the treatment of gingivitis as characterized by redness and swelling of the gingivae, including gingival bleeding upon probing. Chlorhexidine gluconate oral rinse has not been tested among patients with acute necrotizing ulcerative gingivitis (ANUG).

FDA label, Indications and Usage

What it is

DESCRIPTION 0.12% chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) is an oral rinse containing (1, 1'-hexamethylene bis [5-(p-chlorophenyl) biguanide] di-D-gluconate) in a base containing water, 11.6% alcohol, glycerin, PEG-40 sorbitan diisostearate, flavor, sodium saccharin, and FD&C Blue No. 1.

FDA label, Description section

Boxed warning

None in the current label

How to read this page. FAERS is a spontaneous-reporting system: counts are not incidence rates and a signal is not proof of causation. Each reaction below is run through an automated screen — is the term in the FDA label (known), in the indications (the disease being treated), an administrative/coding term, or none of these (unlabeled)? That screen is mechanical text matching, not a causality assessment. The 30 hand-written Bradford Hill assessments are on the causality assessment page. Not medical advice.

Causality screen of the 16 strongest signals

Likely indication confounding 1Reporting / coding artifact 3Lab value / disease marker 1Not in label — unassessed 11
What the badges mean

Strongest disproportionality signals

Flagged terms (PRR ≥ 2, χ² ≥ 4, n ≥ 10), ranked by PRR; infinite PRRs (no comparator reports) excluded. The EBGM column is a second, shrinkage-based estimate (MGPS) with its 5th percentile EB05 and the BCPNN IC025; a pair flagged by PRR alone is marked PRR-only and should be read as fragile. The strata column recomputes the PRR on serious reports only and flags pairs whose reports are unusually skewed by sex or come mostly from consumers rather than clinicians. 5 further terms are in the interactive explorer. Reaction links open the term's cross-drug page.

Show:
ReactionReportsPRR 95% CI · ROR · χ²/pEBGM EB05 · IC025Label screenSerious-only & strataTrial cross-check
Folliculitis28678.4
501.1–918.6ROR 1,017.1 · χ² 18,227 / p <1e-300
462.0 EB05 335.5 · IC025 +5.1
3/3 methods agree
Not in label — unassessedserious PRR 474.8no trial data cached
Muscle spasticity21423.4
292.2–613.4ROR 564.2 · χ² 8,422 / p <1e-300
305.1 EB05 210.6 · IC025 +4.6
3/3 methods agree
Not in label — unassessedserious PRR 360.9no trial data cached
Irritable bowel syndrome28327.5
242.0–443.3ROR 490.8 · χ² 8,789 / p <1e-300
267.4 EB05 194.2 · IC025 +5.0
3/3 methods agree
Not in label — unassessedserious PRR 248.0no trial data cached
Ear pain21269.9
186.3–391.0ROR 359.5 · χ² 5,359 / p <1e-300
216.6 EB05 149.5 · IC025 +4.5
3/3 methods agree
Not in label — unassessedserious PRR 259.7no trial data cached
Body temperature increased22268.5
187.5–384.6ROR 363.5 · χ² 5,599 / p <1e-300
217.7 EB05 151.5 · IC025 +4.6
3/3 methods agree
Lab value / disease markerserious PRR 188.6no trial data cached
Lower respiratory tract infection46253.6
208.8–308.1ROR 559.5 · χ² 11,337 / p <1e-300
229.3 EB05 178.9 · IC025 +5.6
3/3 methods agree
Not in label — unassessedserious PRR 160.1no trial data cached
Contraindicated product administered27223.6
163.9–305.2ROR 329.1 · χ² 5,767 / p <1e-300
193.1 EB05 139.4 · IC025 +4.8
3/3 methods agree
Reporting / coding artifactserious PRR 166.2no trial data cached
Impaired healing27205.4
150.5–280.3ROR 302.2 · χ² 5,294 / p <1e-300
179.4 EB05 129.5 · IC025 +4.8
3/3 methods agree
Reporting / coding artifactserious PRR 148.2no trial data cached
Respiratory disorder21174.9
120.7–253.3ROR 232.8 · χ² 3,461 / p <1e-300
151.0 EB05 104.2 · IC025 +4.4
3/3 methods agree
Not in label — unassessedserious PRR 129.2no trial data cached
Night sweats21162.9
112.5–236.0ROR 216.9 · χ² 3,222 / p <1e-300
142.0 EB05 98.0 · IC025 +4.4
3/3 methods agree
Not in label — unassessedserious PRR 166.9no trial data cached
Therapeutic product effect decreased28157.6
116.4–213.3ROR 235.9 · χ² 4,208 / p <1e-300
142.4 EB05 103.4 · IC025 +4.8
3/3 methods agree
Reporting / coding artifactserious PRR 185.6no trial data cached
Premature delivery10156.1
87.2–279.4ROR 177.1 · χ² 1,390 / p <1e-300
120.7 EB05 70.1 · IC025 +3.1
3/3 methods agree
Not in label — unassessedserious PRR 95.4no trial data cached
Blister28124.8
92.2–168.9ROR 186.7 · χ² 3,323 / p <1e-300
115.1 EB05 83.6 · IC025 +4.7
3/3 methods agree
Not in label — unassessedserious PRR 123.3no trial data cached
Ill-defined disorder29119.1
88.7–159.9ROR 181.4 · χ² 3,288 / p <1e-300
110.6 EB05 80.8 · IC025 +4.7
3/3 methods agree
Not in label — unassessedserious PRR 107.2no trial data cached
Joint swelling4899.5
82.7–119.8ROR 230.8 · χ² 4,607 / p <1e-300
95.8 EB05 75.1 · IC025 +5.1
3/3 methods agree
Likely indication confounding
shares a disease stem with the indications wording
serious PRR 102.4no trial data cached
Premature baby1082.7
46.2–148.0ROR 93.7 · χ² 728 / p 1e-160
71.8 EB05 41.7 · IC025 +3.0
3/3 methods agree
Not in label — unassessedserious PRR 50.2no trial data cached

Trial evidence (ClinicalTrials.gov)

Trial cross-check not yet run for this drug (ClinicalTrials.gov pull covers the 800 most-reported drugs first).

Most frequently reported reactions

By raw co-report count, regardless of disproportionality. Common terms here are often the illness itself or generic outcomes.

ReactionReportsPRR 95% CI · ROR · χ²/pEBGM EB05 · IC025Label screenSerious-only & strataTrial cross-check
Joint swelling4899.5
82.7–119.8ROR 230.8 · χ² 4,607 / p <1e-300
95.8 EB05 75.1 · IC025 +5.1
3/3 methods agree
Likely indication confounding
shares a disease stem with the indications wording
serious PRR 102.4no trial data cached
Lower respiratory tract infection46253.6
208.8–308.1ROR 559.5 · χ² 11,337 / p <1e-300
229.3 EB05 178.9 · IC025 +5.6
3/3 methods agree
Not in label — unassessedserious PRR 160.1no trial data cached
Ill-defined disorder29119.1
88.7–159.9ROR 181.4 · χ² 3,288 / p <1e-300
110.6 EB05 80.8 · IC025 +4.7
3/3 methods agree
Not in label — unassessedserious PRR 107.2no trial data cached
Blister28124.8
92.2–168.9ROR 186.7 · χ² 3,323 / p <1e-300
115.1 EB05 83.6 · IC025 +4.7
3/3 methods agree
Not in label — unassessedserious PRR 123.3no trial data cached
Therapeutic product effect decreased28157.6
116.4–213.3ROR 235.9 · χ² 4,208 / p <1e-300
142.4 EB05 103.4 · IC025 +4.8
3/3 methods agree
Reporting / coding artifactserious PRR 185.6no trial data cached
Irritable bowel syndrome28327.5
242.0–443.3ROR 490.8 · χ² 8,789 / p <1e-300
267.4 EB05 194.2 · IC025 +5.0
3/3 methods agree
Not in label — unassessedserious PRR 248.0no trial data cached
Folliculitis28678.4
501.1–918.6ROR 1,017.1 · χ² 18,227 / p <1e-300
462.0 EB05 335.5 · IC025 +5.1
3/3 methods agree
Not in label — unassessedserious PRR 474.8no trial data cached
Impaired healing27205.4
150.5–280.3ROR 302.2 · χ² 5,294 / p <1e-300
179.4 EB05 129.5 · IC025 +4.8
3/3 methods agree
Reporting / coding artifactserious PRR 148.2no trial data cached
Contraindicated product administered27223.6
163.9–305.2ROR 329.1 · χ² 5,767 / p <1e-300
193.1 EB05 139.4 · IC025 +4.8
3/3 methods agree
Reporting / coding artifactserious PRR 166.2no trial data cached
Body temperature increased22268.5
187.5–384.6ROR 363.5 · χ² 5,599 / p <1e-300
217.7 EB05 151.5 · IC025 +4.6
3/3 methods agree
Lab value / disease markerserious PRR 188.6no trial data cached
Night sweats21162.9
112.5–236.0ROR 216.9 · χ² 3,222 / p <1e-300
142.0 EB05 98.0 · IC025 +4.4
3/3 methods agree
Not in label — unassessedserious PRR 166.9no trial data cached
Respiratory disorder21174.9
120.7–253.3ROR 232.8 · χ² 3,461 / p <1e-300
151.0 EB05 104.2 · IC025 +4.4
3/3 methods agree
Not in label — unassessedserious PRR 129.2no trial data cached
Ear pain21269.9
186.3–391.0ROR 359.5 · χ² 5,359 / p <1e-300
216.6 EB05 149.5 · IC025 +4.5
3/3 methods agree
Not in label — unassessedserious PRR 259.7no trial data cached
Muscle spasticity21423.4
292.2–613.4ROR 564.2 · χ² 8,422 / p <1e-300
305.1 EB05 210.6 · IC025 +4.6
3/3 methods agree
Not in label — unassessedserious PRR 360.9no trial data cached
Premature baby1082.7
46.2–148.0ROR 93.7 · χ² 728 / p 1e-160
71.8 EB05 41.7 · IC025 +3.0
3/3 methods agree
Not in label — unassessedserious PRR 50.2no trial data cached

Unlabeled candidate signals

These flagged terms were not found in the FDA label text and do not match an artifact pattern. They are the pairs that would merit a structured assessment (temporality, dose-response, biological plausibility, consistency across databases, trial or cohort evidence). The screen has not done that; string-matching misses label wording, and a strong PRR can still be stimulated reporting, co-medication, or the disease itself.

✓ A hand-written Bradford Hill causality assessment exists for this drug: Minoxidil (oral) ↔ Pericardial effusion.

Want to assess one of these properly? The runbook describes the Bradford Hill / trial-evidence workflow used on the assessment page, and handoff_top1000_signals.csv lists the strongest unassessed pairs across all drugs.

Common questions

What are the most reported side effects of Chlorhexidine Gluconate Rinse?

In FDA FAERS, the most frequently co-reported reaction terms for Chlorhexidine Gluconate Rinse are joint swelling, lower respiratory tract infection, ill-defined disorder, blister, irritable bowel syndrome, folliculitis. These are report counts, not rates: FAERS has no denominator, reporting is voluntary and uneven, and a term can be reported because of the illness being treated rather than the drug.

Does Chlorhexidine Gluconate Rinse have an FDA boxed warning?

No. The FDA label retrieved for Chlorhexidine Gluconate Rinse has no boxed warning; see the label's Warnings and Precautions for the recognised risks.

Do FAERS signals prove that Chlorhexidine Gluconate Rinse causes these side effects?

No. A disproportionality signal (PRR, ROR) means a reaction is reported more often with this drug than with others in the database. That can reflect a real effect, but also the disease being treated, stimulated reporting after news or litigation, co-medications, or how reports are coded. Causality needs temporality, dose-response, biological plausibility, consistency across data sources and, ideally, trial or cohort evidence. This page screens each term against the FDA label and ClinicalTrials.gov results; it does not establish causation.

Sources & methods

Page generated 2026-10-08. Label and PubChem text are retrieved automatically and may lag the current label; always check the current prescribing information. OpenPV is a beta research tool of the Open Source Medicine Foundation.