On Thursday the FDA issued a warning that the popular Ortho Evra birth control patch puts women at higher risk of blood clots and other serious side effects. Though Ortho McNeil's patch and the Ortho-Cyclen pill have similar levels of estrogen, women absorb about 60 percent more hormone on the patch because it is delivered directly into the bloodstream, rather than being digested first. The FDA's warning is a result of an Associated Press report that found women on the patch were three times more likely to die and suffer blood clots than women taking an oral formulation of the contraceptive. The AP report also claimed that in 2004 about a dozen women died and many more suffered strokes after using the patch. Ortho McNeil is a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson.
- read this report [1] from the AP
Links:
[1] http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051111/ap_on_he_me/birth_control_patch_warnings