CHLOROQUINE

(KLOR oh kwin) Brand: Aralen Phosphate

What is the most significant information I must know about chloroquine?

• You must not use this medicine if you are allergic to chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil), or if you have a history of vision changes or hurt to your retina caused by chloroquine or similar anti-malaria medications.

• Till you take chloroquine, speak your doctor if you have psoriasis, porphyria, liver malady, alcoholism, G6PD deficiency, or a history of problems with your vision or hearing.

• Take chloroquine for the entire length of time predesigned by your doctor. If you are taking this medication to treat malaria, your symptoms may get better till the infection is completely treated.

• Some people taking this medicine over long periods of time or at tall doses have developed irreversible hurt to the retina of the eye. Stop taking chloroquine and call your doctor at once if you have trouble focusing, if you see easy streaks or flashes in your vision, or if you announcement any swelling or color changes in your eyes.

• This medicine may reason blurred vision and may impair your thinking or reactions. Be careful if you drive or do anything that requires you to be alert and able to see clearly.

• Call a poison control center at once and then search abnormal medical attention if you think you have used too many of this medication. An overdose of chloroquine can be fatal, especially in children.

What is chloroquine?

• Chloroquine is a medicine to treat or prevent malaria, a malady caused by parasites. This medication works by interfering with the growth of parasites in the red blood cells of the human body.

• Parasites that reason malaria typically enter the body through the bite of a mosquito. Malaria is general in areas such as Africa, South America, and Southern Asia.

• Chloroquine is used to treat and to prevent malaria. Chloroquine is also used to treat infections caused by amoebae.

• Chloroquine may also be used for purposes not listed in this medicine guide.

What must I discuss with my healthcare provider till taking chloroquine?

• To create certain chloroquine is safety for you, speak your doctor about your another medical conditions, especially:

· psoriasis;

· porphyria;

· liver disease;

· alcoholism;

· epilepsy or another seizure disorder;

· glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency; or

· a history of problems with your vision or hearing.

• It is not known whether chloroquine will harm an unborn child. Speak your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant while using this medication.

• Malaria is more likely to reason death in a pregnant woman. If you are pregnant, conversation with your doctor about the risks of traveling to areas where malaria is common.

• It is not known whether chloroquine passes into breast milk or if it could harm a nursing child. You must not breast-feed while you are using chloroquine.

How must I take chloroquine?

• Take exactly as predesigned by your doctor. Do not take in larger or less amounts or for longer than recommended. Follow the directions on your prescription label.

• Chloroquine is sometimes given only once for week. Choose the same day every week to take this medicine if you are on a weekly dosing schedule.

• To prevent malaria: Start taking the medication 2 weeks till entering an area where malaria is general. Continue taking the medication regularly during your remain and for at least 8 weeks after you leave the area.

• Use chloroquine regularly to excellent prevent malaria. If you stop using the medicine early for any reason, conversation to your doctor about another forms of malaria prevention.

• In addition to taking chloroquine, use protective clothing, insect repellents, and mosquito netting near your bed to further prevent mosquito bites that could reason malaria.

• If you use this medicine long-term, your blood will need to be tested often. You may also need eye exams, and your doctor may need to check your knee and ankle reflexes. Visit your doctor regularly.

• No medicine is 100% effective in treating or preventing malaria. For excellent results, hold using the medicine as directed.

• Contact your doctor as soon as possible if you have been exposed to malaria, or if you have fever or another symptoms of diseases during or after a remain in an area where malaria is common.

• Store at room temperature away from moisture and heat.

What happens if I miss a dose?

• Take the missed doze as soon as you remember. Skip the missed doze if it is nearly time for your following scheduled doze. Do not take extra medication to create up the missed dose.

What happens if I overdose?

• Search abnormal medical attention or call the Poison Help line at 1-800-222-1222. An overdose of chloroquine can be fatal, especially in children.

• Treatment of a chloroquine overdose should be started quickly. You may be told to induce vomiting right away (at house, till transport to an abnormal room). Ask the poison control center how to induce vomiting in the case of an overdose.

• Overdose symptoms may include headache, drowsiness, nausea, vomiting, vision changes, seizure (convulsions), slow heart course, weak pulse, fainting, slow breathing (breathing may stop).

What must I avoid while taking chloroquine?

• Avoid taking an antacid or Kaopectate (kaolin-pectin) within 4 hours till or after you take chloroquine. Some antacids can create it harder for your body to absorb chloroquine.

• If you also take an antibiotic called ampicillin (Principen, Unasyn), avoid taking it within 2 hours till or after you take chloroquine. Chloroquine can create ampicillin many smaller effective when taken at the same time.

• This medicine may reason blurred vision and may impair your thinking or reactions. Be careful if you drive or do anything that requires you to be alert and able to see clearly.

What are the possible side effects of chloroquine?

• Get abnormal medical help if you have any of these signs of an allergic reaction: hives; difficult breathing; swelling of your person, lips, tongue, or throat.

• Stop using chloroquine and call your doctor at once if you have a serious side effect such as:

· vision problems, trouble reading or seeing objects, hazy vision;

· hearing loss or ringing in the ears;

· seizure (convulsions);

· severe muscle weakness, loss of coordination, underactive reflexes;

· nausea, upper stomach pain, itching, loss of appetite, dark urine, clay-colored stools, jaundice (yellowing of the skin or eyes); or

· severe skin reaction -- fever, sore throat, swelling in your person or tongue, burning in your eyes, skin pain, followed by a red or purple skin rash that spreads (especially in the person or upper body) and causes blistering and peeling.

• Another, smaller serious side effects may be more likely to occur. Continue to take chloroquine and conversation to your doctor if you experience

· diarrhea, vomiting, stomach cramps;

· temporary hair loss, changes in hair color; or

· mild muscle weakness.

• This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may message side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.

What another drugs will affect chloroquine?

• Speak your doctor about all another medicines you use, especially:

· cimetidine (Tagamet);

· cyclosporine (Gengraf, Neoral, Sandimmune);

· mefloquine (Lariam);

· an antibiotic, antifungal medication, sulfa drug, or tuberculosis medicine;

· birth control pills or hormone replacement therapy;

· blood pressure medication;

· cancer medication;

· cholesterol-lowering medications such as Lipitor, Niaspan, Zocor, Vytorin, and others;

· gout or arthritis medications (including gold injections);

· HIV/AIDS medications;

· medicines to treat psychiatric disorders;

· an NSAID such as Advil, Aleve, Arthrotec, Cataflam, Celebrex, Indocin, Motrin, Naprosyn, Treximet, Voltaren, and others; or

· seizure medications.

• This list is not complete and another drugs may interact with chloroquine. Speak your doctor about all medications you use. This includes prescription, over-the-counter, vitamin, and herbal commodity. Do not start a new medicine without telling your doctor.

Where can I get more information?

• Your pharmacist can provide more information about chloroquine.

Remember, hold this and all another medicines out of the reach of children, never share your medicines with others, and use this medicine only for the indication prescribed.

Disclaim: Each effort has been made to ensure that the information provided by Cerner Multum, Inc. ('Multum') is accurate, up-to-date, and complete, but no guarantee is made to that effect. Drug information contained herein may be time sensitive. Multum information has been compiled for use by healthcare practitioners and consumers in the United States and therefore Multum does not warrant that uses external of the United States are appropriate, unless specifically indicated otherwise. Multum's drug information does not endorse drugs, diagnose patients or recommend therapy. Multum's drug information is an informational resource designed to assist licensed healthcare practitioners in caring for their patients and/or to serve consumers viewing this service as a supplement to, and not a substitute for, the expertise, skill, knowledge and judgment of healthcare practitioners. The absence of a warning for a given drug or drug combination in no way must be construed to indicate that the drug or drug combination is safety, effective or appropriate for any given patient. Multum does not assume any responsibility for any aspect of healthcare administered with the help of information Multum provides. The information contained herein is not intended to cover all possible uses, directions, precautions, warnings, drug interactions, allergic reactions, or adverse effects. If you have questions about the drugs you are taking, check with your doctor, nurse or pharmacist.

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