Product Details

Product Information of Allopurinol

What you need to know before you take Allopurinol Tablets

Do not take Allopurinol Tablets: • if you are allergic (hypersensitive) to Allopurinol or any of the other ingredients of Allopurinol Tablets (see section 6) Do not take Allopurinol tablets if the above applies to you. If you are not sure, talk to your doctor or pharmacist before taking Allopurinol tablets. Warnings and precautions: Talk to your doctor or pharmacist before taking your medicine if: • you are of Han Chinese, African or Indian origin 2 • you have problems with your kidneys or liver. Your doctor may give you a lower dose or ask you to take it less often than each day. They will monitor you more closely. • you suffer from high blood pressure or have heart problems and you take diuretics and/or a medicine called ACE-inhibitors. • you are currently having an attack of gout • you have thyroid problems • you suffer from rare inherited forms of galactose intolerance, the Lapp lactase deficiency or glucose-galactose malabsorption. Allopurinol tablets contain a small amount of lactose. If you have been told by your doctor that you have an intolerance to some sugars, contact your doctor before taking this medicinal product. Take special care with Allopurinol tablets: • Serious skin rashes (Hypersensitivity syndrome, Stevens- Johnson syndrome, toxic epidermal necrolysis) have been reported with the use of allopurinol. Frequently, the rash can involve ulcers of the mouth, throat, nose, genitals and conjunctivitis (red and swollen eyes). These serious skin rashes are often preceded by influenza-like symptoms fever, headache, body ache (flu-like symptoms). The rash may progress to widespread blistering and peeling of the skin. If you develop a rash or these skin symptoms, stop taking allopurinol and contact your doctor immediately. • These serious skin reactions can be more common in people of Han Chinese, Thai or Korean origin. Chronic kidney disease may increase the risk in these patients additionally. • If you have cancer or Lesch-Nyhan syndrome the amount of uric acid may increase in your urine. To prevent this, you need to assure to drink sufficiently to dilute your urine. • In case you have kidney stones, the kidney stones will become smaller and may enter your urinary tract. Children Use in children is rarely indicated, except in some types of cancer (especially leukaemia) and certain enzyme disorders such as Lesch-Nyhan syndrome. Other medicines and Allopurinol tablets Please tell your doctor or pharmacist if you are taking or have recently taken any other medicines. This includes medicines obtained without a prescription, including herbal medicines. This is because Allopurinol tablets can affect the way some medicines work. Also, some other medicines can affect the way Allopurinol tablets works. Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you are taking any of the following: • Aspirin • medicines used to treat high blood pressure (ACE inhibitors e.g. captopril). • medicines used to treat bacterial infections (antibiotics e.g. ampicillin and amoxicillin). • medicines used to thin the blood (anticoagulants e.g. dicoumarol, phenprocoumon, warfarin). • medicines used to treat diabetes (e.g. chlorpropamide and tolbutamide). • medicines used to treat epilepsy (e.g. phenytoin, carbamazepine). • medicines used for chemotherapy (e.g. azathioprine, mercaptopurine, cyclophosphamide). • ciclosporin – a medicine used to suppress the immune system following organ transplant and in immune related disorders. • theophylline – a medicine used in asthma and breathing disorders. • thiazide diuretics – medicines used to get rid of excess fluid from the body and in high blood pressure such as ACE inhibitors or water tablets (diuretics). 3 • uricosurics – medicines that are used to reduce uric acid levels (e.g. probenecid, salicylate). • vidarabine (adenine arabinoside) is an anti-viral drug which is used to treat herpes simplex or chicken pox. • any other medicine to treat gout. • didanosine used to treat HIV infection. • If aluminium hydroxide is taken concomitantly, allopurinol may have an attenuated effect. There should be an interval of at least 3 hours between taking both medicines. • With administration of allopurinol and cytostatics (e.g. cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, bleomycin, procarbazine, alkyl halogenides), blood dyscrasias occur more frequently than when these active substances are administered alone. • Blood count monitoring should therefore be performed at regular intervals. Taking Allopurinol Tablets with food and drink Allopurinol Tablets should be taken with food and water. Pregnancy and breast-feeding If you are pregnant or breast-feeding, think you may be pregnant or are planning to have a baby, ask your doctor or pharmacist for advice before taking this medicine. Allopurinol is excreted in the human breast milk. Allopurinol during breastfeeding is not recommended. Driving and using machines Allopurinol Tablets may make some people feel drowsy, giddy or have problems with co-ordination. Do not drive or operate dangerous machinery if you are affected. Allopurinol tablets contains lactose: Allopurinol Tablets contains lactose monohydrate. If you have been told by your doctor that you have an intolerance to some sugars, contact your doctor before taking this medicine