MEFLOQUINE

(MEF loe kwin) Brand: Lariam

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

• Do not use this medicine if you are allergic to mefloquine or similar medications such as quinine (Qualaquin) or quinidine (Quinaglute, Quinidex, Quin-Release).

• You must not use this medicine to prevent malaria if you have a last history of seizures, depression, anxiety, or a psychiatric diseases such as schizophrenia. However, your doctor may prescribe mefloquine to treat malaria even if you do have any of these conditions.

• Till using this medicine, speak your doctor if you have liver or kidney malady, severe complications from infection with malaria, or uncontrolled vomiting or diarrhea.

• If you vomit within 1 hour after taking this medicine, take other doze. If your vomiting continues, call your doctor.

• If you are taking this medication to prevent malaria, start taking it 1 week till entering an area where malaria is general. Take the medicine once for week during your remain and for at least 4 weeks after you leave. If you stop taking the medication early for any cause, contact a healthcare professional about other form of malaria prevention.

• If you are taking this medication to treat malaria, the normal doze is 5 tablets at one time as a single dose.

• Take this medicine for the entire length of time predesigned by your doctor. Your symptoms may get better till the infection is completely treated.

• In addition to taking mefloquine, 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 a fever or another symptoms of diseases during or after a remain in an area where malaria is common.

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

What is mefloquine?

• Mefloquine is a medicine to treat 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.

• Mefloquine is used to treat or prevent malaria.

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

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

• Do not use this medicine if you are allergic to mefloquine or similar medications such as quinine (Qualaquin) or quinidine (Quinaglute, Quinidex, Quin-Release).

• You also must not use mefloquine to prevent malaria if you have a last history of:

· seizures;

· depression;

· anxiety; or

· schizophrenia or another psychiatric illness.

• However, your doctor may prescribe mefloquine to treat malaria even if you do have any of the conditions listed above.

• If you have any of these another conditions, you may need a doze adjustment or particular trials to safely use this medication:

· liver disease;

· a history of depression;

· epilepsy or another seizure disorder;

· kidney disease;

· severe complications from malaria; or

· uncontrolled vomiting or diarrhea.

• FDA pregnancy category C. It is not known whether mefloquine is deleterious to an unborn child. Speak your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant during treatment.

• 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.

• Mefloquine can pass into breast milk and may harm a nursing child. Do not use this medicine without telling your doctor if you are breast-feeding a baby.

• Mefloquine must not be used to treat malaria in a baby younger than 6 months old or who weighs smaller than 11 pounds. Mefloquine must not be used to prevent malaria in a baby who weighs smaller than 99 pounds.

How must I take mefloquine?

• Take this medicine exactly as it was predesigned for you. Do not take the medicine in larger amounts, or take it for longer than recommended by your doctor. Follow the directions on your prescription label.

• It is significant to use this medicine 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.

• If you have trouble swallowing the mefloquine tablet, you may crush the tablet and mix it into a little glass of milk, water, or another beverage to create swallowing easier.

• If you vomit within 1 hour after taking this medicine, take other half doze. If your vomiting continues, call your doctor.

• If you are taking this medication to prevent malaria:

· Start taking the medication 1 week till entering an area where malaria is general. Continue taking the medication once weekly during your remain and for at least 4 weeks after you leave the area.

· Take your weekly doze on the same day every week.

· If you stop taking the medication early for any cause, contact a healthcare professional about other form of malaria prevention.

• If you are taking mefloquine to treat malaria:

· Take five (5) tablets at one time, unless your doctor tells you otherwise.

· Do not take mefloquine on an empty stomach.

· Take the medication with a full glass (8 ounces) of water.

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

• To be certain this medicine is not causing deleterious effects, your liver function may need to be tested with blood trials on a regular basis. You may also need regular eye exams. Do not miss any visits to your doctor.

• 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 mefloquine at room temperature away from moisture and heat.

What happens if I miss a dose?

• Take the missed doze as soon as you remember. If it is nearly time for your following doze, wait before then to take the medication and skip the missed doze. Do not take extra medication to create up the missed dose.

What happens if I overdose?

• Search abnormal medical attention if you think you have used too many of this medicine.

• Overdose symptoms may include stomach discomfort, vomiting, mouth sores, hair loss, light bruising or bleeding, and peeling of the skin on your hands or feet.

What must I avoid while taking mefloquine?

• Do not take halofantrine (Halfan) while you are taking mefloquine or just after you stop taking it. Serious, life-threatening side effects on your heart can occur if you take halofantrine till the mefloquine has cleared from your body.

• Avoid taking chloroquine (Aralen Phosphate), quinine (Qualaquin) or quinidine (Quinaglute, Quinidex, Quin-Release) while you are taking mefloquine.

• Mefloquine can reason side effects that may impair your thinking or reactions. Be careful if you drive, operate machinery, pilot an airplane, SCUBA dive, or do anything that requires you to be awake and alert.

What are the possible side effects of mefloquine?

• 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.

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

· depressed mood, feeling restless or anxious;

· confusion, extreme fear, hallucinations, unusual thoughts or behavior;

· severe or uncontrolled vomiting or diarrhea;

· fever;

· cough, wheezing, feeling short of breath;

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

· mouth sores;

· unusual aches and pains, weary feeling, weight loss;

· severe skin rash; or

· light bruising or bleeding.

• Smaller serious side effects may include:

· cough;

· headache;

· weakness;

· dizziness; or

· itching.

• 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 mefloquine?

• The next drugs can interact with mefloquine. Speak your doctor if you are using any of these:

· a blood thinner such as warfarin (Coumadin);

· ketoconazole (Nizoral);

· rifabutin (Mycobutin);

· rifampin (Rifadin, Rifater, Rifamate, Rimactane);

· tetracycline (Brodspec, Panmycin, Sumycin, Tetracap); or

· metoclopramide (Reglan).

• This list is not complete and there may be another drugs that can interact with mefloquine. Speak your doctor about all your prescription and over-the-counter medications, vitamins, minerals, herbal commodity, and drugs predesigned by another doctors. Do not start a new medicine without telling your doctor.

Where can I get more information?

• Your pharmacist can provide more information about mefloquine.

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.

(20)