Duac Once Daily Gel

Clindamycin is an antibiotic which stops the bacteria involved in acne from reproducing and benzoyl peroxide breaks down blackheads and whiteheads, killing the bacteria involved in acne. Together they fight bacteria that can cause acne, treat existing blackheads, whiteheads and spots and lowers the number of red, inflamed acne spots.

It may take up to eight weeks before you see improvements in your acne, our doctors will tell you how long your treatment will last.

Use Duac Once Daily for as long as our doctor recommends. Don’t stop unless we advise you to if you stop too soon your acne may return. You should get advice from our doctors before using Duac Once Daily for longer than 12 weeks at one time.

Always use this medicine exactly as our doctor has told you.
Apply Duac Once Daily once a day in the evening. It may take up to eight weeks before you see improvements in your acne, our doctors will tell you how long your treatment will last.

1. If appropriate completely remove any make-up.
2. Wash the affected area of skin well. Then rinse with warm water and gently pat dry.
3. Put a thin film of gel on the entire area of affected skin, using clean fingertips.
4. Apply to all areas of your skin which have acne, not just to the individual spots. If the gel does not rub into your skin easily, you are using too much
   • For your face only, use an amount of gel from the tube which reaches from the tip of your finger to the first joint (the first crease on your finger). This is a ‘fingertip’.
   • For your face and back, use two and a half ‘fingertips’ in total.
5. If you get a lot of dryness or skin peeling, you can use an oil-free, fragrance free, hypoallergenic moisturiser. Our doctors may tell you to use Duac Once Daily gel less frequently or stop treatment for a short period, to allow your skin to adjust to the treatment. This medicine may not work properly if it is not applied every day.
6. Wash your hands after using the gel.
7. After it has dried, you can use a non-greasy make-up if you choose to.
8. Always use this medicine exactly as described in the patient information leaflet or as we have told you.

Check with us if you are not sure.

Applying too much gel or applying it more frequently will not help your spots clear up more quickly and may cause skin irritation. If this does happen, use the gel less often, or stop using it for a few days and then start again. You may find an oil-free, fragrance-free, hypoallergenic moisturiser provides some relief.

If you forget to use Duac Once Daily, don’t apply a double dose to make up for it, just apply the next dose at the usual time.

While many online retailers claim to supply genuine medicines, they may be unregulated, provided without a genuine doctor consultation and potentially very dangerous.

You can rest assured, PrivateDoc is a fully registered digital health service. We have UK registered doctors that review and assess every consultation. All the medicines we supply are 100% genuine and fully regulated by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

If you accidentally swallow the gel, seek immediate medical advice. You may get symptoms similar to taking antibiotics by mouth such as an upset stomach.

Duac Once Daily should not be used:

• if you are under 12 years old
• if you are allergic to clindamycin, lincomycin, benzoyl peroxide or any of the other ingredients
• on irritated skin, cuts, grazes, sunburn or broken skin.

Skin reactions

• Keep Duac Once Daily away from your eyes, lips, mouth or inside your nose, but if you should get gel into these areas, wash with plenty of water
• Do not to use too much Duac Once Daily on sensitive areas of skin
• Most patients will experience some skin redness and peeling during the first few weeks of treatment. If your skin becomes irritated, you may need to use an oil-free moisturiser, use Duac Once Daily less often, or stop using it for a short period to allow your skin to recover and then re-start treatment
• Stop treatment and see your GP if skin irritation is severe (severe redness, dryness, itching, stinging, or burning) or does not improve
• Duac Once Daily can cause bleaching to hair and coloured fabrics, including clothing, towels, bed linen, furniture or carpeting
• Duac Once Daily can make your skin more sensitive to the harmful effects of the sun. Avoid sunbeds and lamps, wear a sunscreen. Minimise the time you spend in the sun and wear protective clothing.

Stomach reactions

• Check with our doctors before using Duac Once Daily if you have ever had regional enteritis, ulcerative colitis, or antibiotic-associated colitis
• If you develop stomach cramps or diarrhoea that does not improve or is severe. You must stop using Duac Once Daily and contact your GP immediately. Although unlikely with antibiotics applied to the skin, they may cause a reaction that results in severe diarrhoea and stomach cramps.

Other medicines and treatments

• If you have recently used other clindamycin or erythromycin-containing medicines, there is an increased chance that Duac Once Daily will not work as well as it should. Tell our doctors if you have used any other clindamycin or erythromycin-containing medicines recently
• Take care when using other treatments, such as medicated or abrasive soaps, drying cosmetics or astringent cleansers, with alcohol in them alongside Duac Once Daily, over time they may irritate your skin
• Do not use other acne treatments including antibiotics on your skin without first checking with our doctors. Some acne medicines that are applied to the skin which contain tretinoin, isotretinoin or tazarotene can be less effective when used with Duac Once Daily. Our doctors may recommend that you use certain treatments at different times of day or may recommend that you only use one as using two may cause more skin irritation
• Duac Once Daily should not be used at the same time as erythromycin-containing medicines
• Applying Duac Once Daily at the same time as medicines such as dapsone and sulfacetamide can cause a temporary colour-change of skin or facial hair (yellow/orange colour). This will not be permanent
• It is important that you tell our doctors if you are going to have surgery as one of the medicines in DUAC ONCE DAILY GEL can affect how certain general anaesthesia medicines work

Pregnancy, breastfeeding and fertility

• There is only limited information about the safety of Duac Once Daily in pregnant and breastfeeding women. If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, think you may be pregnant or are planning to have a baby, ask our doctors for advice before using this medicine
• If you are breastfeeding, you must check with our doctors before you use
• Do not use Duac Once Daily on your breast if you are breastfeeding

Like all medicines, this medicine can cause side effects, although not everybody gets them.

Stop using Duac Once Daily and see your GP straight away if you notice any of the following serious side effects – you may need urgent medical treatment:

• Signs of an allergic reaction (such as swelling of your face, eyes, lips or tongue, nettle rash or difficulty breathing, collapse)
• Severe or prolonged diarrhoea, or abdominal cramps
• Severe burning, peeling or itching

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Other side effects include:

Very common (affects more than 1 in 10 people)

• Redness, peeling and dryness at the site of application – generally mild

Common (may affect up to 1 in 10 people)

• Headache
• Burning, pain, sensitivity to sunlight at site of application

Uncommon (may affect up to 1 in 100 people)

• Tingling
• Worsening acne
• Red, itchy skin
• Rash (dermatitis, erythematous rash)

Other side effects with frequencies that cannot be estimated from the available data include:

• Allergic reactions
• Inflammation of the intestine, diarrhoea, including bloody diarrhoea, stomach pain

At the site of application:

• Skin reactions, discolouration of the skin
• Raised itchy rash (hives)

For complete details about all side effects always read the Patient Information Leaflet