Tranexamic acid is a medication used to treat or prevent excessive blood loss from major trauma, postpartum bleeding, surgery, tooth removal, nosebleeds, and heavy menstruation.

[9] Side effects are rare;[2] they include changes in color vision, seizures, blood clots, and allergic reactions.

[17] When taken by mouth it both safely and effectively treats regularly occurring heavy menstrual bleeding and improves quality of life.

[7] In the United States, tranexamic acid is FDA-approved for short-term use in people with severe bleeding disorders who are about to have dental surgery.

[36] Tranexamic acid is used in dentistry in the form of a 5% mouth rinse after extractions or surgery in patients with prolonged bleeding time; e.g., from acquired or inherited disorders.

[42] There is not enough evidence to support the routine use of tranexamic acid to prevent bleeding in people with blood cancers.

[49] Tranexamic acid can be used in skincare products as a cosmetic active to reduce the appearance of inflammation and hyperpigmentation.

[2] Reported adverse events include seizures, changes in color vision, blood clots, and allergic reactions such as anaphylaxis.

In the UK it is also marketed as Femstrual, in Asia as Transcam, in Bangladesh as Intrax & Tracid, in India as Pause, in Pakistan as Transamin, in Indonesia as Kalnex, in South America as Espercil, in Japan as Nicolda, in France, Poland, Belgium, and Romania as Exacyl and in Egypt as Kapron.

[citation needed] The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved tranexamic acid oral tablets (brand name Lysteda) for the treatment of heavy menstrual bleeding in November 2009.

[63] Tranexamic acid can be used in case of postpartum hemorrhage; it can decrease the risk of death due to bleeding by one third according to the WHO.

[68] In melasma: tranexamic acid is sometimes used in skin whitening as a topical agent, injected into a lesion, or taken by mouth, both alone and as an adjunct to laser therapy; as of 2017 its safety seemed reasonable but its efficacy for this purpose was uncertain because there had been no large scale randomized controlled studies nor long term follow-up studies.