HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE

(hye drox ee KLOR oh kwin) Brand: Plaquenil Sulfate

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

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

• Till using hydroxychloroquine, speak your doctor if you are allergic to any drugs, or if you have psoriasis, porphyria, liver malady, alcoholism, or glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G-6-PD) deficiency.

• 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 hydroxychloroquine can be fatal, especially in children.

• Take this medication for the full predesigned length of time for malaria. Your symptoms may improve till the infection is completely cleared.

• 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.

• When treating lupus or arthritis, speak your doctor if your symptoms do not improve after 6 months of treatment.

• While using hydroxychloroquine, you may need frequent blood trials at your doctor's office.

What is hydroxychloroquine?

• Hydroxychloroquine is used to treat or prevent malaria, a malady caused by parasites that enter the body through the bite of a mosquito. Malaria is general in areas such as Africa, South America, and Southern Asia.

• Hydroxychloroquine is also used to treat symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis and discoid or systemic lupus erythematosus.

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

What must I discuss with my health care provider till taking hydroxychloroquine?

• You must not use this medicine if you are allergic to hydroxychloroquine, or if you have a history of vision changes or hurt to your retina caused by an anti-malaria medication.

• Hydroxychloroquine must not be used for long-term treatment in children.

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

· psoriasis;

· porphyria;

· liver disease;

· alcoholism; or

· glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G-6-PD) deficiency.

• It is not known whether hydroxychloroquine 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 hydroxychloroquine passes into breast milk or if it could harm a nursing child. Do not use this medicine without telling your doctor if you are breast-feeding a baby.

How must I take hydroxychloroquine?

• 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.

• Take hydroxychloroquine with a meal or a glass of milk, unless your doctor tells you otherwise.

• Hydroxychloroquine 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.

• To treat malaria: Your doctor may recommend a single doze, or a tall starting doze followed by a less doze during the recent 2 days of treatment. Follow your doctor's instructions.

• Take this medication for the full predesigned length of time for malaria. Your symptoms may improve till the infection is completely cleared.

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

• 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.

• When treating lupus or arthritis, hydroxychloroquine is generally given daily for different weeks or months. For excellent results, hold using the medicine as directed. Conversation with your doctor if your symptoms do not improve after 6 months of treatment.

• While using hydroxychloroquine, you may need frequent blood trials at your doctor's office.

• No medicine is 100% effective in treating or preventing all types of malaria. For excellent results, hold using the medicine as directed. Conversation with your doctor if you have fever, vomiting, or diarrhea during your treatment.

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

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 hydroxychloroquine can be fatal, especially in children.

• Treatment of a hydroxychloroquine 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 a hydroxychloroquine overdose.

• Overdose symptoms may include headache, drowsiness, vision changes, slow heart course, chest pain or hard feeling, pain spreading to the hand or shoulder, nausea, sweating, seizure (convulsions), shallow breathing, or breathing that stops.

What must I avoid while taking hydroxychloroquine?

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

What are the possible side effects of hydroxychloroquine?

• 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 hydroxychloroquine 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.

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

• Call your doctor at once if you have a serious side effect such as:

· muscle weakness, twitching, or uncontrolled movement;

· loss of balance or coordination;

· blurred vision, easy sensitivity, seeing halos near lights;

· pale skin, light bruising or bleeding;

· confusion, unusual thoughts or behavior; or

· seizure (convulsions).

• Smaller serious side effects may include:

· headache, ringing in your ears, spinning sensation;

· nausea, vomiting, stomach pain;

· loss of appetite, weight loss;

· mood changes, feeling nervous or irritable;

· skin rash or itching; or

· hair loss.

• 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 hydroxychloroquine?

• Hydroxychloroquine can harm your liver. This effect is heighten when you also use another medicines deleterious to the liver. You may need doze adjustments or particular trials if you have recently used:

· acetaminophen (Tylenol);

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

· birth control pills or hormone replacement therapy;

· blood pressure medication;

· cancer medications;

· cholesterol-lowering medications such as Crestor, Lipitor, Pravachol, Simcor, Vytorin, Zocor;

· 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; or

· seizure medications.

• This list is not complete and another drugs may interact with hydroxychloroquine. 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 hydroxychloroquine.

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.