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- 1 is DMSO an effective pain relief for muscle pain
- 2 How high is DMSO absorption and what skin side effects are most likely?
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How high is DMSO absorption and what skin side effects are most likely?
The short version: DMSO soaks through skin well enough to be useful as a carrier, and the most likely skin problems are irritation and dry skin, worse at high strength and with repeated use.
How much gets absorbed depends heavily on the situation. In horses, rubbing 90% DMSO on the back produced only about 0.5% of the dose reaching the blood (topical bioavailability) versus about 47% by mouth [4]. So horse skin is a rough barrier even for a solvent, and absorption varied a lot between animals and sites [4]. For humans I don't have a clean percent from these records. The mechanism is proven though: DMSO opens the skin barrier enough that it drove a 4x increase in another drug's passage through pig skin [1], and a molecule's flux through human skin jumped about 60x when 95% DMSO replaced an ointment base [5].
The skin side effects are where the numbers are real. In pooled trials of a DMSO-containing gel, dry skin hit 33% on the product versus 5% on placebo [3]. In a large human review, gastrointestinal and skin reactions were the commonest problems, most brief and needing no treatment, and severity tracked dose [6]. One patient on 99% DMSO got burning, swelling, and redness [2].
| Finding | Number | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Dry skin, DMSO gel vs placebo | 33% vs 5% | [3] |
| Stopped treatment due to side effects | 12.7% vs 9.1% | [3] |
| Topical bioavailability, horse | ~0.48% of dose | [4] |
| Drug flux boost, 95% DMSO vs ointment | ~60x | [5] |
My call: expect irritation and dryness rather than systemic danger at topical doses, with the risk climbing with concentration and repeated application. Confidence: moderate for skin effects, low for a human absorption percentage.
Sources used 6
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Enhanced Skin Permeation of Estradiol by Dimethyl Sulfoxide Containing Transdermal Patches
DMSO-containing Duro-Tak drug-in-adhesive patches retained DMSO when dried at 35–40 °C, increased estradiol flux across porcine skin about 4-fold versus a DMSO-negative control, and inhibited estradiol recrystallization for six months.
DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics13030320 -
Untitled source
This case report discusses a 19-year-old patient with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia who experienced toxicity from topical dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) used as an antidote for suspected anthracycline extravasation, highlighting the potential adverse effects and the complexities of D…
DOI: 10.1023/a:1020528203296 -
Diclofenac Sodium Topical Solution 1.5% w/w with Dimethyl Sulfoxide Compared with Placebo for the Treatment of Osteoarthritis: Pooled Safety Results
This study presents pooled safety results from seven randomized controlled trials involving 1252 patients, demonstrating that diclofenac sodium topical solution 1.5% w/w with dimethyl sulfoxide is well tolerated and offers a safer alternative to oral NSAIDs for managing osteoart…
DOI: 10.3810/pgm.2011.11.2507 -
Pharmacokinetics, disposition, and plasma concentrations of dimethyl sulfoxide ( DMSO ) in the horse following topical, oral, and intravenous administration
This study characterized the pharmacokinetics, disposition, and plasma concentrations of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) in nine horses after intravenous, oral, and topical administration, revealing distinct two-compartment (IV) versus one-compartment (PO and TOP) kinetic profiles, wi…
DOI: 10.1111/jvp.12476 -
Failure of topical acyclovir in ointment to penetrate human skin
This study demonstrates that topical acyclovir in polyethylene glycol ointment penetrates human skin poorly, while reformulation in modified aqueous cream or dimethyl sulfoxide markedly enhances skin delivery of acyclovir (and idoxuridine), with implications for topical HSV ther…
DOI: 10.1128/AAC.29.5.730 -
Adverse reactions of dimethyl sulfoxide in humans: a systematic review
In a systematic review of 109 studies, DMSO was associated with mostly transient, mild adverse reactions, most commonly gastrointestinal and skin reactions, with reaction occurrence appearing dose-related.
DOI: 10.12688/f1000research.16642.2