Povidone Iodine Gargle 0.5% side effects: what 536 FDA adverse event reports show

Povidone Iodine Gargle 0.5% · Povidone Iodine · 16 reaction terms · 191 drug–reaction co-reports · data 2026-09-14

Drug class

Antiseptic

FDA label (Established Pharmacologic Class) · compare the class

Brand names

Povidone Iodine

openFDA label

Who reports

536 reports · 96% serious · 51 with death outcome · 59% female

openFDA FAERS counts, all years, deduplication not applied

Used for

For the temporary relief of occasional sore throat.

FDA label, Indications and Usage

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 9 strongest signals

Reporting / coding artifact 2Lab value / disease marker 1No label text to screen 6

What the badges mean

Reporting / coding artifact An administrative, monitoring or exposure term (product issue, off-label use, 'test normal', overdose...). Not a biological reaction; a high PRR here reflects how reports are coded.
Lab value / disease marker A laboratory result, investigation or disease-activity marker (antibody positive, CRP abnormal, swollen joint count) not described in the label. These usually mirror the monitored disease or testing protocol rather than a drug effect; not screened further.
Not in label — unassessed Not found in the label text, not an artifact pattern. This is a genuine candidate for a formal causality assessment (Bradford Hill / WHO-UMC); it has NOT had one here.
No label text to screen No validated FDA label was retrievable for this product, so the screen could not run. Disproportionality only.

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. 7 further terms are in the interactive explorer. Reaction links open the term's cross-drug page.

Show: hide coding/lab/outcome terms hide indication terms unlabeled only hide PRR-only

Reaction	Reports	PRR 95% CI · ROR · χ²/p	EBGM EB05 · IC025	Label screen	Serious-only & strata	Trial cross-check
Eye inflammation	18	74.8 47.5–117.8ROR 77.3 · χ² 1,236 / p 5e-271	69.4 EB05 46.4 · IC025 +3.8 3/3 methods agree	No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text	serious n=18	no trial data cached
Intraocular pressure increased (raised eye pressure)	21	64.1 42.1–97.5ROR 66.7 · χ² 1,240 / p 5e-272	60.6 EB05 41.8 · IC025 +4.0 3/3 methods agree	Lab value / disease marker	serious PRR 56.7	no trial data cached
Visual acuity reduced	51	59.7 45.9–77.5ROR 65.8 · χ² 2,883 / p <1e-300	58.3 EB05 46.1 · IC025 +4.8 3/3 methods agree	No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text	serious PRR 47.2	no trial data cached
Post procedural complication	25	50.9 34.7–74.6ROR 53.3 · χ² 1,173 / p 2e-257	49.0 EB05 34.9 · IC025 +4.0 3/3 methods agree	Reporting / coding artifact	serious PRR 33.2	no trial data cached
Eyelid oedema	10	33.5 18.1–61.8ROR 34.1 · χ² 283 / p 8e-64	31.6 EB05 18.2 · IC025 +2.6 3/3 methods agree	No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text	serious PRR 29.3	no trial data cached
Uveitis	8	23.2 11.7–46.1ROR 23.5 · χ² 148 / p 2e-34	21.4 EB05 10.6 · IC025 +2.1 3/3 methods agree	No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text	serious PRR 14.8	no trial data cached
Blindness unilateral	8	22.2 11.2–44.2ROR 22.6 · χ² 142 / p 6e-33	20.5 EB05 9.9 · IC025 +2.1 3/3 methods agree	No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text	serious PRR 13.7	no trial data cached
Blindness	18	17.3 11.0–27.3ROR 17.9 · χ² 261 / p 6e-59	16.8 EB05 10.9 · IC025 +2.8 3/3 methods agree	No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text	serious PRR 10.6	no trial data cached
Drug exposure during pregnancy	8	9.1 4.6–18.1ROR 9.2 · χ² 50 / p 9e-13	6.7 EB05 3.4 · IC025 +1.4 3/3 methods agree	Reporting / coding artifact	serious PRR 6.0	no 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.

Reaction	Reports	PRR 95% CI · ROR · χ²/p	EBGM EB05 · IC025	Label screen	Serious-only & strata	Trial cross-check
Visual acuity reduced	51	59.7 45.9–77.5ROR 65.8 · χ² 2,883 / p <1e-300	58.3 EB05 46.1 · IC025 +4.8 3/3 methods agree	No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text	serious PRR 47.2	no trial data cached
Post procedural complication	25	50.9 34.7–74.6ROR 53.3 · χ² 1,173 / p 2e-257	49.0 EB05 34.9 · IC025 +4.0 3/3 methods agree	Reporting / coding artifact	serious PRR 33.2	no trial data cached
Intraocular pressure increased (raised eye pressure)	21	64.1 42.1–97.5ROR 66.7 · χ² 1,240 / p 5e-272	60.6 EB05 41.8 · IC025 +4.0 3/3 methods agree	Lab value / disease marker	serious PRR 56.7	no trial data cached
Blindness	18	17.3 11.0–27.3ROR 17.9 · χ² 261 / p 6e-59	16.8 EB05 10.9 · IC025 +2.8 3/3 methods agree	No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text	serious PRR 10.6	no trial data cached
Eye inflammation	18	74.8 47.5–117.8ROR 77.3 · χ² 1,236 / p 5e-271	69.4 EB05 46.4 · IC025 +3.8 3/3 methods agree	No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text	serious n=18	no trial data cached
Eyelid oedema	10	33.5 18.1–61.8ROR 34.1 · χ² 283 / p 8e-64	31.6 EB05 18.2 · IC025 +2.6 3/3 methods agree	No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text	serious PRR 29.3	no trial data cached
Drug exposure during pregnancy	8	9.1 4.6–18.1ROR 9.2 · χ² 50 / p 9e-13	6.7 EB05 3.4 · IC025 +1.4 3/3 methods agree	Reporting / coding artifact	serious PRR 6.0	no trial data cached
Blindness unilateral	8	22.2 11.2–44.2ROR 22.6 · χ² 142 / p 6e-33	20.5 EB05 9.9 · IC025 +2.1 3/3 methods agree	No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text	serious PRR 13.7	no trial data cached
Uveitis	8	23.2 11.7–46.1ROR 23.5 · χ² 148 / p 2e-34	21.4 EB05 10.6 · IC025 +2.1 3/3 methods agree	No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text	serious PRR 14.8	no trial data cached
Pharmaceutical product complaint	4	5.9 2.2–15.8ROR 6.0 · χ² 12 / p 3e-4	3.9 EB05 1.7 · IC025 +0.2	No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text	serious PRR 4.3	no trial data cached
Anorexia	4	12.0 4.5–31.8ROR 12.1 · χ² 30 / p 2e-8	7.0 EB05 2.5 · IC025 +0.7 3/3 methods agree	No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text	serious PRR 9.4	no trial data cached
Retinal detachment	4	17.0 6.4–45.2ROR 17.1 · χ² 45 / p 8e-12	11.1 EB05 3.3 · IC025 +0.8 3/3 methods agree	No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text	serious PRR 10.3	no trial data cached
Application site erythema	3	4.5 1.4–13.8ROR 4.5 · χ² 5 / p 0.013	3.0 EB05 1.2 · IC025 -0.5 PRR-only: not supported by EBGM or IC	No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text	serious n=3	no trial data cached
Drug toxicity	3	8.5 2.7–26.3ROR 8.5 · χ² 13 / p 2e-4	4.5 EB05 1.6 · IC025 -0.0 PRR-only: not supported by EBGM or IC	No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text	serious PRR 5.3	no trial data cached
Fistula	3	10.4 3.4–32.2ROR 10.5 · χ² 17 / p 2e-5	5.3 EB05 1.8 · IC025 +0.1	No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text	serious PRR 6.6	no trial data cached

Unlabeled candidate signals

Every screened signal with n ≥ 20 was either labeled, an indication term, or an artifact pattern — no unlabeled candidate stood out in the top signals.

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 Povidone Iodine Gargle 0.5%?

In FDA FAERS, the most frequently co-reported reaction terms for Povidone Iodine Gargle 0.5% are visual acuity reduced, intraocular pressure increased, blindness, eye inflammation, eyelid oedema, blindness unilateral. 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 Povidone Iodine Gargle 0.5% have an FDA boxed warning?

No. The FDA label retrieved for Povidone Iodine Gargle 0.5% has no boxed warning; see the label's Warnings and Precautions for the recognised risks.

Do FAERS signals prove that Povidone Iodine Gargle 0.5% 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

FDA label via openFDA (set ID a7b9ad55-cfeb-6066-e053-2a95a90af975, effective 20231215; matched on openfda.generic_name.exact:"POVIDONE IODINE GARGLE 0.5%")
Bayesian shrinkage measures computed offline over all 1,317,300 cached pairs: BCPNN information component (IC, with Norén closed-form IC025) and MGPS empirical-Bayes geometric mean (EBGM, EB05) with a two-component gamma prior fitted by maximum marginal likelihood (α₁=0.57, β₁=0.02, α₂=1.42, β₂=0.70, w=0.17); unstratified
FAERS pair statistics from the OpenPV build of 2026-09-14 (openFDA count= aggregation, field patient.drug.openfda.generic_name.exact, 16 reaction terms, min 3 co-reports); PRR/ROR with 95% CI, chi-square with Yates correction
Serious-only and stratified counts (serious:1, patient.patientsex, primarysource.qualification) from openFDA count queries; serious-only PRR uses the drug serious report total and the term global serious total (N_serious=11,882,979); strata shown only when n ≥ 20
Seriousness and sex counts from openFDA count=serious, patient.patientsex, seriousnessdeath

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.