Diclofenac Side Effects — Compared Across 6 Medical Sources

This tool aggregates publicly available information for reference only. It is not medical advice. Always consult a healthcare professional before making decisions about medication.

114 side effects

Side effect	Frequency	MedlinePlus	Mayo Clinic	Drugs.com	WebMD	NHS	GoodRx
Nausea	common	nausea	nausea	nausea	Nausea	Feeling sick	Nausea
Vomiting	—	vomiting	nausea and vomiting	vomiting	Vomiting	vomiting	Vomiting
Heartburn	common	heartburn	heartburn	heartburn	Heartburn	heartburn	Heartburn
Headache	common	headache	headache	headache	Headache	Headaches	Headache
Stomach pain	—	stomach pain	stomach pain	stomach pain	Stomach pain	Stomach ache	Stomach pain or upset
Dizziness	—	dizziness	dizziness	dizziness	Dizziness	Dizziness	Dizziness
Itching	common	itching	itching skin or rash	itching	—	Itching	Itching
Rash	uncommon	rash	rash	rash	Allergic reactions	Mild rash	Rash
Bleeding	—	bleeding	bleeding	bleeding	Bleeding	—	Bleeding
Black stools	—	black and tarry stools	black, tarry stools	black, tarry stools	—	black poo	—
Blood in stool	—	blood in stool	blood in the urine or stools	blood in the urine or stools	—	—	—
Chest pain	uncommon	chest pain	chest pain	Chest pain	Chest pain	Chest pain	Chest pain
Shortness of breath	—	shortness of breath	trouble breathing	trouble breathing	—	breathlessness	—
Weakness	—	weakness	weakness	weakness	—	weakness	—
Slurred speech	—	slurred speech	—	—	—	—	—
Allergic reactions	—	allergic reactions	—	allergic reactions	Allergic reactions	—	Allergic reactions
Asthma	—	asthma	—	—	—	—	—
Heart failure	—	heart failure	—	—	Heart failure	heart failure	Worsening of heart failure
Liver disease	—	liver disease	—	liver damage	Liver damage	—	Liver damage
Kidney disease	—	kidney disease	—	kidney damage	Kidney damage	kidney failure	Kidney damage
Diarrhea	—	diarrhea	diarrhea	diarrhea	Diarrhea	Diarrhoea	Diarrhea
Constipation	—	constipation	constipation	constipation	Constipation	—	Constipation
Gas	—	gas or bloating	—	—	—	Wind	—
Bloating	—	gas or bloating	—	—	—	—	—
Unexplained weight gain	—	unexplained weight gain	—	weight gain	—	—	—
Swelling	common	swelling of the abdomen, feet, ankles, or lower legs	—	swelling of the face, fingers, or lower legs	—	swollen legs or ankles	Swelling
Excessive tiredness	—	excessive tiredness	unusual tiredness or weakness	unusual tiredness or weakness	—	tiredness	—
Lack of energy	—	lack of energy	—	—	—	—	—
Loss of appetite	—	loss of appetite	loss of appetite	loss of appetite	Loss of appetite	Loss of appetite	Loss of appetite
Yellowing of the skin or eyes	—	yellowing of the skin or eyes	yellow eyes and skin	yellow eyes or skin	—	yellow eyes or skin	—
Fever	common	fever	fever	fever	—	—	—
Blisters	—	blisters	—	blisters	—	—	—
Hives	—	hives	—	—	—	—	—
Hoarseness	—	hoarseness	—	—	—	—	—
Pale skin	—	pale skin	pale skin	—	—	pale skin	—
Fast heartbeat	—	fast heartbeat	—	irregular heartbeat	—	—	—
Cloudy urine	—	cloudy, discolored, or bloody urine	cloudy urine	—	—	—	—
Back pain	—	back pain	—	lower back or side pain	—	—	—
Difficult urination	—	difficult or painful urination	painful or difficult urination	painful or difficult urination	—	—	—
Painful urination	—	difficult or painful urination	painful or difficult urination	painful or difficult urination	—	—	—
Anemia	—	—	—	—	Anemia	—	Low red blood cell counts (anemia)
High blood pressure	—	—	—	increase in blood pressure	High blood pressure	—	High blood pressure
Fluid retention	—	—	—	—	Fluid retention	—	—
Severe skin reactions	—	—	—	severe skin reactions	Severe skin reactions	—	Severe skin rashes
Sunburn	—	—	—	—	sunburns	—	—
Stomach ulcers	—	ulcers	ulcers	—	stomach ulcers	stomach ulcers	stomach ulcers
Stevens-Johnson syndrome	—	—	—	Stevens-Johnson syndrome	—	—	—
Exfoliative dermatitis	—	—	—	Exfoliative dermatitis	—	—	—
Toxic epidermal necrolysis	—	—	—	Toxic epidermal necrolysis	—	—	—
DRESS	—	—	—	DRESS	—	—	—
Anaphylaxis	—	—	—	anaphylaxis	—	—	—
Tinnitus	common	ringing in the ears	—	—	—	—	Tinnitus
Hyperkalemia	—	—	—	hyperkalemia	—	—	Mildly elevated potassium levels
Confusion	—	confusion	confusion	confusion	—	confusion	—
Irregular heartbeat	—	—	—	irregular heartbeat	—	—	—
Numbness	—	—	—	numbness or tingling in the hands, feet, or lips	—	—	—
Tingling	—	—	—	numbness or tingling in the hands, feet, or lips	—	—	—
Blurred vision	—	blurred vision	blurred vision	blurred vision	—	blurred eyesight	Blurred vision
Difficulty breathing	—	shortness of breath or difficulty breathing	trouble breathing	difficulty breathing	—	breathlessness	—
Swollen glands	—	—	swollen glands	swollen glands	—	—	—
Sore throat	—	—	sore throat	sore throat	—	—	Sore throat
Ulcers in the mouth	—	—	sores, ulcers, or white spots on the lips or in the mouth	sores, ulcers, or white spots in the mouth or on the lips	—	—	—
Swollen lips	—	—	—	—	—	swollen lips	—
Swollen tongue	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Swollen throat	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Blue skin	—	—	—	—	—	blue, grey or pale skin	—
Grey skin	—	—	—	—	—	blue, grey or pale skin	—
Limpness	—	—	—	—	—	limpness	—
Fainting	—	—	—	—	—	fainting	—
Drowsiness	—	drowsiness	drowsiness	drowsiness	Drowsiness	drowsiness	Drowsiness
Anxiety	—	—	—	—	—	anxiety	—
Loss of balance	—	—	—	—	—	loss of balance	—
Trouble speaking	—	—	—	—	—	trouble speaking or thinking	—
Trouble thinking	—	—	—	—	—	trouble speaking or thinking	—
Weakness on one side of the body	—	—	—	—	—	weakness on one side of the body	—
Blood clots	—	—	—	—	—	—	Blood clots
Gastrointestinal bleeding	—	—	—	—	—	—	Gastrointestinal bleeding, ulcers, and tears
Rebound headache	—	—	—	—	—	—	rebound headache
Raised blood pressure	common	—	—	—	—	—	raised blood pressure
Ringing in the ears	common	ringing in the ears	—	—	—	—	ringing in the ear
Stiff neck	—	—	—	—	—	stiff neck or back	—
Stiff back	—	—	—	—	—	stiff neck or back	—
Change in vision	—	—	—	—	—	—	change in vision
Difficulty reading	—	—	—	—	—	—	difficulty in reading
Belching	—	—	belching	belching	—	—	—
Bleeding gums	—	—	bleeding gums	bleeding gums	—	—	—
Pinpoint red spots on the skin	—	—	pinpoint red spots on the skin	—	—	—	—
Sweating	—	—	—	—	Sweating	—	—
Unpleasant breath odor	—	—	unpleasant breath odor	—	—	—	—
Swollen hands	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Swollen face	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Swollen mouth	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Swollen legs	—	—	—	—	—	swollen legs or ankles	—
Swollen ankles	—	—	—	—	—	swollen legs or ankles	—
Swollen feet	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Red skin lesions	—	—	—	red skin lesions	—	—	—
Red irritated eyes	—	—	—	red irritated eyes	—	—	—
Joint pain	—	—	joint or muscle pain	joint or muscle pain	—	—	—
Muscle pain	—	—	joint or muscle pain	joint or muscle pain	—	—	—
Discouragement	—	—	discouragement	—	—	—	—
Irritability	—	—	irritability	—	—	—	—
Nervousness	—	—	nervousness	nervousness	—	—	—
Loss of interest	—	—	loss of interest or pleasure	—	—	—	—
Loss of pleasure	—	—	loss of interest or pleasure	—	—	—	—
Change in consciousness	—	—	change in consciousness	—	—	—	—
Loss of consciousness	—	—	loss of consciousness	—	—	—	—
Seizures	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Tremors	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Shakiness	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Restlessness	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Agitation	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Hallucinations	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Delirium	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Coma	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

3 additional sourcesdidn't return structured side-effect data: Medical News Today, Triallaw1.com, Healthline.

Demographic risk groups

Group	Risk	Sources
elderly	higher risk of NSAIDs side effects	MedlinePlus
people with poor health	higher risk of NSAIDs side effects	MedlinePlus
people who drink large amounts of alcohol	higher risk of NSAIDs side effects	MedlinePlus
people with heart disease	increased risk of heart attack or stroke	MedlinePlus, Drugs.com, WebMD
people with high cholesterol	higher risk of heart attack or stroke	MedlinePlus
people with high blood pressure	higher risk of heart attack or stroke	MedlinePlus
smokers	increased risk of stomach bleeding or stomach ulcers	MedlinePlus, Drugs.com, WebMD
pregnant women	harm to an unborn baby and complications during delivery	MedlinePlus, Drugs.com, WebMD, NHS
breast-feeding women	unknown	MedlinePlus
elderly (75 years of age or older)	increased risk of side effects	MedlinePlus
children	different signs of serious allergic reaction	MedlinePlus, NHS
people using this medicine for a long time	higher risk of heart attack or stroke	Drugs.com
people with a stomach ulcer in the past	higher risk of bleeding in stomach or intestines	Drugs.com
women planning to have children	delay in ovulation	Drugs.com
Older age	higher risk of stomach bleeding	WebMD
People with liver disease	higher risk of stomach bleeding	WebMD
People with bleeding disorders	increased risk of bleeding	WebMD
people 65 and older	greater risk for some side effects	WebMD
breastfeeding women	diclofenac passes into breast milk	WebMD
brown or black skin	less obvious signs of liver problems	NHS
black or brown skin	different signs of blue, grey or pale skin	NHS
older	higher risk of stomach ulcer	NHS
people who recently had a heart attack or heart bypass surgery	Higher risk of death	GoodRx
people with heart failure	worsening condition	GoodRx
people with kidney disease	worsening condition	GoodRx
People with hypertension	Higher risk of blood pressure increase	GoodRx
Older adults	Higher risk of bleeding or ulcers	GoodRx
People who have recently had a heart attack or heart bypass surgery	Higher risk of fatal heart complications	GoodRx