Skip to content
Start consultationStart
Hair growth · Limerick

Dutasteride 0.5mg in Limerick, online

An EU-licensed doctor reviews your case and, if eligible, issues an electronic prescription you can collect at a pharmacy in Limerick.

From€15/ month

Consultation price. The medicine is paid at your pharmacy.

  • Prescription only, if a doctor approves
  • Doctor-reviewed renewals
  • Full refund if not approved
Start consultation
Dutasteride 0.5mg

Licensed EU doctors

Every case read by a registered doctor.

Reply in under 2 hours

On average, in writing, no video call.

Pay only if approved

Not approved? Refunded in full, automatically.

Rated excellent on Trustpilot

4.8 from 540+ independent reviews.

Valid across the EU

E-prescription accepted at EU pharmacies.

Local facts

Dutasteride 0.5mg consultations in Limerick

Available toResidents of Ireland
LanguagesSpanish and English
Doctor replyUnder 2 hours on average
Collected atPharmacies in Ireland · e-prescription (PDF)
About the medicine

What it is and how it works

Dutasteride inhibits both isoforms of 5-alpha-reductase (I and II), while finasteride only acts on type II. The DHT blockade is more complete, which can translate into a better response in some patients.

It's typically considered when finasteride hasn't given a sufficient response after 6–12 months, or when the pattern of loss is particularly aggressive. It's off-label for alopecia in some countries, so the doctor weighs it case by case.

Who it is for

  • Authorised in the EU for an enlarged prostate; hair-loss use is off-label.
  • One 0.5 mg capsule swallowed whole once a day, with or without food.

Safety summary

Sexual side effects are common and may continue after you stop the capsules.

Read the safety summary
Pricing

One consultation, one clear price

You pay for the doctor's consultation. If a prescription is issued, the medicine is paid at your own pharmacy.

  • Consultation reviewed by an EU-licensed doctor
  • Private follow-up in the in-app chat
  • Full refund if the doctor does not approve
Plan or one-off

Hair growth

Monthly planBilled €45 / 90 days€15/ monthOne-off30-day treatment€35once
  • First consultation included
  • Renewals reviewed by your doctor
  • Ongoing care in your private chat
  • Cancel anytime
Start consultation

Full refund if a review is not approved

FAQs

Your questions answered

Dutasteride 0.5mg16 questions
How is dutasteride different from finasteride?
Dutasteride inhibits both 5-alpha-reductase isoforms (I and II), while finasteride only acts on II. DHT blockade is more complete, which can translate into better response in some patients.
It is typically considered when finasteride has not given a sufficient response after 6–12 months, or when the pattern of loss is particularly aggressive. It is off-label for alopecia in some countries, so the doctor weighs it case-by-case.
More questions
Similar to finasteride, with a slightly higher incidence of reduced libido or reduced ejaculatory volume in some studies. The doctor reviews benefits and risks with you before prescribing.
Yes, under medical supervision. The switch is weighed after reviewing prior response, tolerance and your goals. It is paired with a quarterly follow-up plan.
In one 917-man, 24-week trial, dutasteride 0.5 mg increased crown hair count by 89.6 hairs, against 56.5 hairs on finasteride 1 mg and a loss of 4.9 hairs on placebo, a difference the authors reported as statistically significant. That is a single six-month trial measuring one part of the scalp, and it does not make dutasteride the right choice for any particular person. Dutasteride is also off-label for hair loss across the EU, while finasteride 1 mg is authorised for it. Your prescriber weighs both.
Longer than most medicines. At the usual 0.5 mg daily dose the half-life is about three to five weeks, and the FDA label puts the terminal half-life at roughly five weeks at steady state. Serum concentrations can still be detected for four to six months after the last dose. That is why the label says not to donate blood until at least six months have passed since your last capsule, so that dutasteride cannot reach a pregnant woman through a transfusion.
Yes, but only off-label, and only if the prescriber judges it appropriate for you. Across the EU, dutasteride 0.5 mg is authorised for benign prostatic hyperplasia, meaning an enlarged prostate. It is separately approved for androgenetic alopecia in men in South Korea, since 2009, and in Japan, where the regulator approved it in 2015 at a starting dose of 0.1 mg daily. A European doctor prescribing it for hair loss is working outside the licensed indication and should tell you so.
Write to your doctor in the private chat in your account: describe what you notice and when it started. The doctor can adjust the plan, pause it or suggest another option. If you have severe symptoms such as difficulty breathing, swelling of the face or chest pain, call 112 or go to an emergency department straight away.
It depends on what you take. List every medicine, supplement and herbal product in the questionnaire, including ones you use only occasionally. The doctor checks for interactions before prescribing, and your pharmacist checks again when you collect Dutasteride 0.5mg.
The doctor can consider another hair-loss treatment, a different form (tablet or solution) or a combination, depending on your pattern of loss and history. Some cases, such as sudden or patchy hair loss, need an in-person dermatologist, and the doctor tells you so.
You can message your doctor in the private chat at any time. Hair treatments take months to show an effect, so the doctor reviews progress and tolerance at each renewal, often with new scalp photos, and adjusts the plan if needed.
Yes. Hi-Doctor runs 100 % online across the EU, so if you live in Limerick you can fill in the questionnaire and receive the medical review without travelling. The electronic prescription issued by the licensed doctor is valid in any EU pharmacy under Directive 2011/24/EU; outside Spain, the pharmacist dispenses the locally marketed equivalent of the same active ingredient.
Through the pattern of loss, how long it has been progressing, family history and current medication. In some cases we ask for scalp photos. The doctor proposes a tailored treatment plan and adjusts it to your tolerance.
The private electronic prescription (Receta Médica Privada Electrónica) is issued by a licensed doctor in Spain. It is a PDF carrying every field required by EU Directive 2011/24/EU (patient, prescriber with country of registration, active ingredient, dose), which makes it legally recognised across all 27 EU member states. In Spanish pharmacies it is dispensed from the QR; outside Spain, the pharmacist dispenses the locally marketed equivalent of the same active ingredient.
1) Fill in an online medical questionnaire in about 4 minutes. 2) The plan is €25/month for weight loss or €15/month (billed €45 every 90 days) for hair growth; sexual health is €35 per consultation and a skin consultation is €40. 3) An EU-licensed doctor reviews your case and, if appropriate, issues an electronic prescription. 4) Collect it at any EU pharmacy. If the review is not approved, the applicable fee is refunded in full.
The plan is €25/month for weight loss or €15/month (billed €45 every 90 days) for hair growth; a one-off sexual-health consultation is €35 and a skin consultation covering acne, rosacea, melasma and ageing skin is €40. Each includes a licensed doctor's review and an electronic prescription if approved. If the review is not approved, the applicable fee is refunded in full. Medication is paid for separately at the pharmacy at the price it sets.
Behind the scenes

How your doctor decides

Your answers

A licensed doctor reads your full questionnaire.

Medical judgement

The decision is clinical, never an algorithm.

Clear outcome

Approved with an e-prescription, or refunded in full.

Also for Hair growth

Related medicines

Medicine information and safety

How does Dutasteride 0.5mg work?

DHT shrinks scalp hair follicles. Testosterone is turned into a stronger hormone, dihydrotestosterone or DHT, by an enzyme called 5-alpha-reductase. In men with male pattern hair loss, the balding scalp carries miniaturised follicles and higher amounts of DHT, so each follicle grows a thinner, shorter hair.

Dutasteride blocks both enzyme types. Dutasteride inhibits both the type 1 and the type 2 forms of 5-alpha-reductase. Finasteride inhibits only the type 2 form. Blocking both routes means less testosterone is converted overall, which is why blood DHT falls further on dutasteride than on a type 2 blocker alone.

Less DHT reaches the follicle. With less DHT circulating, the shrinking process slows and some follicles can go back to producing thicker hair. In men treated for an enlarged prostate, which is the EU-authorised use, median blood DHT fell by 94 percent at one year. Any scalp effect builds over months.

How to use Dutasteride 0.5mg

Get a prescriber's decision first. Dutasteride is prescription-only everywhere in the EU. Because using it for hair loss is off-label here, a doctor has to weigh the benefits and risks with you, and can decide it is not appropriate.

Swallow one capsule whole daily. The dose is one 0.5 mg soft capsule by mouth once a day. Swallow it whole. Do not chew it or open it, because contact with the contents can irritate the mouth and throat.

Take it with or without food. Food does not change how much dutasteride your body absorbs, so choose a time you will remember and keep to it. Blood levels reach about 90 percent of steady state after three months.

Keep capsules away from others. Dutasteride passes through skin. Women who are or could become pregnant, children and adolescents must not handle leaking capsules. If contact happens, wash the area straight away with soap and water.

Use a condom if needed. Small amounts of dutasteride reach semen. If your partner is pregnant or might become pregnant, the label advises using a condom, because the medicine can affect how a male foetus develops.

Do not donate blood. Do not give blood until at least six months have passed since your last dose. The wait exists so that dutasteride in donated blood cannot reach a pregnant woman receiving a transfusion.

Flag it before a PSA test. Dutasteride roughly halves the PSA blood test used to look for prostate cancer, within three to six months. Tell any doctor who orders a PSA that you take it, so the result is read correctly.

Give it several months. For the licensed prostate use the label says a response can take up to six months. In the hair-loss trial the main result was measured at week 24, so judge it slowly and with your prescriber.

Common side effects

Stop and get urgent medical help if (seek medical help immediately): Swelling of the face, lips, tongue or throat, or difficulty breathing, Sudden widespread rash, hives or intense itching after a dose, A new breast lump, breast pain, or discharge from a nipple, Breathlessness, unusual tiredness, or swelling of the ankles and legs, Thoughts of harming yourself, or a low mood that will not lift, Pain and swelling in a testicle that does not settle

Most people who get side effects get these (common (≥1/100 to <1/10)): Trouble getting or keeping an erection, reported by 6.0 percent in year one, Lower sex drive, reported by 3.7 percent in year one, Difficulty ejaculating, including less semen, reported by 1.8 percent in year one, Breast enlargement or tenderness, reported by 1.3 percent in both years, Sexual side effects that may continue after you stop the medicine, Dizziness, mainly when dutasteride is taken together with tamsulosin

Less common, or frequency not known (uncommon (≥1/1,000 to <1/100)): Loss of body hair, or unwanted extra hair growth elsewhere, Heart failure, reported mainly when dutasteride is combined with tamsulosin, Depression and low mood, reported after marketing, frequency not known, Pain and swelling in the testicles, frequency not known, Allergic reactions with rash, itching, hives or swelling, frequency not known, Reduced sperm count, semen volume and sperm motility in healthy men, Male breast cancer, reported rarely in trials and after marketing

Do not use Dutasteride 0.5mg if

  • You are a woman, a child or an adolescent
  • You are pregnant, could become pregnant, or are breastfeeding
  • You have ever reacted badly to dutasteride or another 5-alpha-reductase inhibitor such as finasteride
  • You are allergic to soya or peanut, because the capsule contains lecithin that may contain soya oil
  • You have severe liver impairment
  • You plan to donate blood within the next six months
  • You and your partner are trying to conceive, since dutasteride can reduce sperm count and motility
  • You have not had the prostate examination and PSA test the label requires before starting
  • You cannot swallow a capsule whole, because it must never be chewed or opened

Medicines and substances that interact

  • Strong CYP3A4 blockers (ritonavir, indinavir, nefazodone, itraconazole, oral ketoconazole): Can raise dutasteride blood levels, and the already long half-life may be prolonged further. Prescriber may reduce how often you take dutasteride if side effects appear.
  • Verapamil or diltiazem (heart and blood-pressure medicines): Dutasteride levels averaged 1.6 to 1.8 times higher in patients also taking these. Prescriber notes the higher exposure and reviews you if side effects appear.
  • Alpha-blockers such as tamsulosin: The combination raised ejaculation problems and dizziness, and cardiac failure was marginally higher. Prescriber combines them only after a careful benefit and risk assessment.
  • PSA blood test for prostate cancer: Dutasteride lowers mean PSA by about 50 percent, so older results no longer compare. Prescriber sets a new PSA baseline at six months and tracks changes from it.
  • Warfarin and digoxin: Dutasteride had no effect on how the body handles either medicine in studies. No dose change needed, though the prescriber still reviews your full medicine list.
  • Colestyramine (cholesterol-lowering powder): 12 g taken one hour after a dutasteride dose did not change its levels. No change to dose or timing is needed on the basis of this study.

References

  1. Avodart 0.5 mg soft capsules (dutasteride): Summary of Product Characteristics electronic medicines compendium (emc), GlaxoSmithKline UK, 2024
  2. Avodart 0.5 mg soft capsules: Package Leaflet, Information for the patient electronic medicines compendium (emc), GlaxoSmithKline UK, 2024
  3. Dutasteride capsules: full FDA prescribing information (blood donation, half-life, PSA) DailyMed, US National Library of Medicine, 2024
  4. NCT01231607: dutasteride versus placebo and finasteride in men with androgenetic alopecia, posted results ClinicalTrials.gov, US National Library of Medicine, 2014
  5. Gubelin Harcha W et al. A randomized, active- and placebo-controlled study of different doses of dutasteride versus placebo and finasteride in male androgenetic alopecia Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology (via PubMed), 2014
  6. Olsen EA et al. The importance of dual 5-alpha-reductase inhibition in the treatment of male pattern hair loss Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology (via PubMed), 2006
  7. Article 31 referral: finasteride and dutasteride containing medicinal products, measures to minimise the risk of suicidal thoughts European Medicines Agency, 2025
  8. List of nationally authorised medicinal products, active substances dutasteride and dutasteride/tamsulosin (PSUSA/00010506/201711) European Medicines Agency, 2018
  9. Report on the Deliberation Results, Zagallo Capsules 0.1 mg and 0.5 mg (dutasteride), indication androgenetic alopecia in men Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency, Japan (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare), 2015
  10. Long-term effectiveness and safety of dutasteride versus finasteride in male androgenetic alopecia in South Korea: a multicentre chart review Annals of Dermatology, 2023
  11. AEMPS CIMA: dutasterida 0,5 mg cápsulas blandas, authorised and marketed products, prescription status Agencia Española de Medicamentos y Productos Sanitarios (AEMPS), 2026
  12. Base de données publique des médicaments: dutasteride 0,5 mg capsule molle, reimbursement restricted to benign prostatic hyperplasia ANSM / Ministère de la Santé, France, 2026
  13. Dutasterid, human medicines with a currently valid German authorisation: 46 entries, Avodart 0,5 mg soft capsules and its generics, all prescription-only BfArM AMIce, public part, via PharmNet.Bund, Germany, 2026
  14. Propecia 1 mg film-coated tablets (finasteride): Summary of Product Characteristics electronic medicines compendium (emc), Organon, 2025
  15. Regaine for Men Extra Strength Scalp Solution 5% w/v (minoxidil): Summary of Product Characteristics electronic medicines compendium (emc), Johnson & Johnson, 2024

Also available in

Finasteride
Finasteride
Propecia
Propecia
Dutasteride 0.5mg
Dutasteride 0.5mg
Online doctor by city

Also available in

DublinCorkLimerickGalway

Keep the hair you've got

A doctor replies in under 2 hours on average.

Start consultationNo charge unless a doctor approves your treatment.
All content on this page has been medically reviewed by: Dr. Alejandro Infante, General medicine, on 27 July 2026. Registration: 080869277 View profile

Pay nothing if a doctor doesn't approve your treatment. Every consultation is fully refundable. How refunds work