Ortho Evra Patch

Ortho Evra Patch is an FDA approved new contraceptive that can be attached directly to your skin, and can be applied or removed on your own. ORTHO EVRA, the first and only once-a-week birth control patch, offers the same efficacy as the Pill and is more convenient to use. To prevent pregnancy, the Patch is worn on the skin for one week and replaced on the same day of the week for 3 consecutive weeks, with the fourth week "patch-free.

Ortho Evra Patch is a safe, highly effective, reliable and reversible way to prevent pregnancy. Indeed, the effectiveness comes to around 97 percent when used correctly.

Q. How and where is it used?
Ans.
Fresh Start: Apply your first patch during the first 24 hours of your menstrual period. No back-up method is needed. Then just change your patch once a week on the same day that you started, and at about the same time of day, for three consecutive weeks. You do not need to apply a patch during the fourth week.

Sunday Start: Wait until the first Sunday after your menstrual period begins. With this option, you must use back-up contraception such as condoms or spermicide for the first 7 days of the first cycle only. Then just change your patch once a week every Sunday, at about the same time of day you first applied the patch, for three consecutive weeks. You do not need to apply a patch during the fourth week.

You can wear Ortho Evra Patch on 1 of 4 areas of the body: upper outer arm, upper torso (front and back, excluding the breasts), abdomen, or buttock. The birth control patch should not be worn on any other areas of the body.

Q. How does Ortho Evra Patch work?
Ans. When you wear Ortho Evra, the patch technology delivers a steady flow of hormones through the skin and into your bloodstream over a period of 7 days. Ortho Evra contains the same hormones found in the Pill—progestin and estrogen. Like the birth control pill, it works in several ways to help prevent pregnancy.

Ortho Evra helps prevent ovulation, which means that an egg is not released by one of your ovaries for fertilization, as it thickens cervical mucus so that sperm are less likely to enter your uterus. It also causes changes in the endometrium to reduce the likelihood of implantation.

Q. Are there any possible side effects?
Ans. In clinical trials, the most frequent adverse events leading to discontinuation in 1.0% to 2.4% of women included nausea and/or vomiting, application site reaction, breast symptoms, headache, and emotional lability. Breast symptoms include pain, tenderness, and engorgement. Also increases in risk of Thrombophlebitis and venous thrombosis with or without embolism as well as Arterial thromboembolism have been noticed.

Q. Are about the interaction with the other drugs?
Ans. Ortho Evra's contraceptive effectiveness may be reduced if it is administered with certain antibiotics, antifungals, anticonvulsants, protease inhibitors, or other drugs that interrupt the enterohepatic recirculation or alter the metabolism, excretion, or binding of the contraceptive drug. Women should be instructed to use a backup method of contraception (e.g., condoms) when taking drugs that could decrease the efficacy of Ortho Evra Patch.

NOTE: The above information is intended to supplement, not substitute for, the expertise and judgment of your physician, pharmacist, or other healthcare professional. It should not be construed to indicate that the use of the product is safe, appropriate, or effective for you. Consult your healthcare professional before taking the product.