EMTRICITABINE

(em trye SYE ta been) Brand: Emtriva

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

• Emtricitabine must not be taken together with any HIV combination medication that contains emtricitabine or lamivudine. This includes: Atripla, Combivir, Complera, Epivir, Epzicom, Stribild, Trizivir, and Truvada.

• Emtricitabine may reason a serious condition called lactic acidosis. Get abnormal medical help if you have even mild symptoms such as: muscle pain or weakness, numb or cool feeling in your arms and legs, trouble breathing, stomach pain, nausea with vomiting, quick or uneven heart course, dizziness, or feeling very weak or weary.

• Emtricitabine may also reason severe liver hurt, which can be fatal. Call your doctor at once if you have any of these symptoms of liver problems: nausea, stomach pain, low fever, loss of appetite, dark urine, clay-colored stools, or jaundice (yellowing of the skin or eyes).

What is emtricitabine?

• Emtricitabine is an antiviral medicine that prevents human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) cells from multiplying in your body.

• Emtricitabine is for treating HIV, which causes the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Emtricitabine is not a cure for HIV or AIDS.

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

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

• You must not take emtricitabine if you are allergic to it.

• Emtricitabine must not be taken together with any HIV combination medication that contains emtricitabine or lamivudine. This includes:

· Atripla (efavirenz, emtricitabine, and tenofovir);

· Combivir (lamivudine and zidovudine);

· Complera (rilpivirine, emtricitabine, and tenofovir);

· Epivir (lamivudine);

· Epzicom (abacavir and lamivudine);

· Stribild (cobicistat, elvitegravir, emtricitabine, and tenofovir);

· Trizivir (abacavir, lamivudine, and zidovudine); and

· Truvada (emtricitabine and tenofovir).

• To create certain emtricitabine is safety for you, speak your doctor if you have any of these another conditions:

· liver malady (especially hepatitis B if you also have HIV);

· kidney malady; or

· if you have used a medication similar to emtricitabine in the past, such as abacavir (Ziagen), didanosine (Videx), lamivudine (Epivir, Combivir, Epzicom, Trizivir), stavudine (Zerit), tenofovir (Viread), zalcitabine (Hivid), zidovudine (Retrovir), or emtricitabine combinations (Atripla, Complera, Truvada).

• Some people develop a life-threatening condition called lactic acidosis while taking emtricitabine. You may be more likely to develop lactic acidosis if you are overweight or have liver malady, if you are a woman, or if you have taken HIV or AIDS medications for a long time. Conversation with your doctor about your individual risk.

• FDA pregnancy category B. Emtricitabine is not expected to harm an unborn child. However, HIV can be passed to your child if you are not properly treated during pregnancy. Take all of your HIV medicines as directed to control your infection.

• If you are pregnant, your name may be listed on a pregnancy registry. This is to track the outcome of the pregnancy and to estimate any effects of emtricitabine on the baby.

• Women with HIV or AIDS must not breast feed a child. Even if your child is born without HIV, the virus may be passed to the child in your breast milk.

How must I take emtricitabine?

• Follow all directions on your prescription label. Do not take this medication in larger or less amounts or for longer than recommended.

• Emtricitabine can be taken with or without food. Take the medication at the same time every day.

• Measure liquid medication with a particular dose-measuring spoon or medication cup. If you do not have a dose-measuring device, ask your pharmacist for one.

• If a baby is taking this medicine, speak your doctor if the baby has any changes in weight. Emtricitabine doses are based on weight in children.

• While using emtricitabine , you may need frequent blood trials. Your kidney and liver function may also need to be checked.

• Do not take emtricitabine as your only HIV medication. HIV/AIDS is generally treated with a combination of drugs. Use all medications as directed by your doctor. Read the medicine manual or patient instructions provided with every medicine. Do not change your doses or medicine schedule without your doctor's advice. Each face with HIV or AIDS must stay under the care of a doctor.

• If you have hepatitis B you may develop liver symptoms after you stop taking this medicine, even months after stopping. Your doctor may want to check your liver function for different months after you stop using emtricitabine.

• Get your prescription refilled till you run out of medication completely. Your malady may become resistant to emtricitabine if you stop taking the medicine even for a short time.

• Store emtricitabine capsules at room temperature away from moisture, heat, and direct light.

• Store emtricitabine liquid in the refrigerator. Do not freeze.

• You may store the liquid at room temperature, but you should use it within 3 months.

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.

What must I avoid while taking emtricitabine?

• Taking this medicine will not prevent you from passing HIV to another people. Do not have unprotected sex or share razors or toothbrushes. Conversation with your doctor about safety ways to prevent HIV transmission during sex. Sharing drug or medication needles is never safety, even for a healthy person.

What are the possible side effects of emtricitabine?

• 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.

• Early symptoms of lactic acidosis may get worse over time and this condition can be fatal. Get abnormal medical help if you have even mild symptoms: muscle pain or weakness, numb or cool feeling in your arms and legs, trouble breathing, stomach pain, nausea with vomiting, quick or uneven heart course, dizziness, or feeling very weak or weary.

• Call your doctor at once if you have nausea, upper stomach pain, itching, loss of appetite, dark urine, clay-colored stools, or jaundice (yellowing of the skin or eyes).

• Emtricitabine may magnify your risk of determined infections or autoimmune disorders by changing the way your immune system works. Symptoms may occur weeks or months after you start treatment with emtricitabine. Speak your doctor if you have:

· signs of a new infection--fever, night sweats, swollen glands, mouth sores, diarrhea, stomach pain, weight loss;

· chest pain (especially when you breathe), dry cough, wheezing, feeling short of breath;

· cool sores, sores on your genital or anal area;

· rapid heart course, feeling anxious or irritable, weakness or prickly feeling, problems with balance or eye movement;

· trouble speaking or swallowing, severe lower back pain, loss of bladder or bowel control; or

· swelling in your neck or throat (enlarged thyroid), menstrual changes, impotence, loss of interest in sex.

• General side effects may include:

· headache, mild dizziness, strange dreams;

· mild diarrhea, mild nausea, upset stomach;

· darkened patches of skin on your palms and/or soles;

· mild skin rash; or

· change in the shape or location of body thick (especially in the arms, legs, person, neck, breasts, and trunk).

• 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 emtricitabine?

• Another drugs may interact with emtricitabine, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal commodity. Speak every of your health care providers about all medicines you use now and any medication you start or stop using.

Where can I get more information?

• Your pharmacist can provide more information about emtricitabine.

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.