I used it when I was a teenager. It's a topical antibiotic. It came in something like a liquid roll-on. I used a hydrogen peroxide wash and then applied the cleocin. Didn't suffer any adverse effects. Then my dermatologist switched me to retin-a ointment, which did make my skin red to start with.

Cleocin and Retin A are both available only by prescription. So most likely a dermatologist is prescribing them and if there are side effects will deal with them. Retin A initially caused some irritation in my skin around my mouth, where my skin was drier. The doctor then told me to apply lubriderm lotion to the area that was irritated and not to put retin-a on that area.