Additional Information
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Proper Use of This Medicine
Take this medicine with meals or milk to lessen stomach upset, unless otherwise directed by your doctor.
Keep this medicine out of the reach of children. Children are especially sensitive to the effects of chloroquine and overdose is especially dangerous in children. Taking as little as 1 tablet (300-mg strength) has resulted in the death of a small child.
It is very important that you take this medicine only as directed. Do not take more of it, do not take it more often, and do not take it for a longer time than your doctor ordered. To do so may increase the chance of serious side effects.
If you are taking this medicine to help keep you from getting malaria, keep taking it for the full time of treatment. If you already have malaria, you should still keep taking this medicine for the full time of treatment even if you begin to feel better after a few days. This will help to clear up your infection completely. If you stop taking this medicine too soon, your symptoms may return.
Chloroquine works best when you take it on a regular schedule. For example, if you are to take it once a week to prevent malaria, it is best to take it on the same day each week. Or if you are to take two doses a day, one dose may be taken with breakfast and the other with the evening meal. Make sure that you do not miss any doses. If you have any questions about this, check with your health care professional.
For patients taking chloroquine to prevent malaria :
- Your doctor may want you to start taking this medicine 1 to 2 weeks before you travel to an area where there is a chance of getting malaria. This will help you to see how you react to the medicine. Also, it will allow time for your doctor to change to another medicine if you have a reaction to this medicine.
- Also, you should keep taking this medicine while you are in the area and for 4 weeks after you leave the area. No medicine will protect you completely from malaria. However, to protect you as completely as possible, it is important to keep taking this medicine for the full time your doctor ordered. Also, if fever develops during your travels or within 2 months after you leave the area, check with your doctor immediately .
Dosing
The dose of chloroquine will be different for different patients. Follow your doctor's orders or the directions on the label. The following information includes only the average doses of chloroquine. If your dose is different, do not change it unless your doctor tells you to do so.
The number of tablets that you take depends on the strength of the medicine. Also, the number of doses you take each day, the time allowed between doses, and the length of time you take the medicine depend on the medical problem for which you are taking chloroquine.
- For oral dosage form (tablets):
- For prevention of malaria:
- Adults 500 milligrams (mg) once every seven days.
- Children Dose is based on body weight and must be determined by your doctor. The usual dose is 8.3 mg per kilogram (kg) (3.7 mg per pound) of body weight once every seven days.
- For treatment of malaria:
- Adults Start with 1 gram. Then, 500 mg six to eight hours after the first dose, and 500 mg once a day on the second and third days of treatment.
- Children Dose is based on body weight and must be determined by your doctor. The usual dose is 41.7 mg per kg (18.9 mg per pound) of body weight divided up over three days. This dose is given as follows: Start with 16.7 mg per kg (7.5 mg per pound) of body weight, then 8.3 mg per kg (3.7 mg per pound) of body weight six hours, twenty-four hours, and forty-eight hours after the first dose.
- For treatment of liver disease caused by protozoa:
- Adults At first, start with 250 mg four times a day for two days. Then 250 mg two times a day for at least two to three weeks.
- Children Dose is based on body weight and must be determined by your doctor. The usual dose is 10 mg per kg (4.5 mg per pound) of body weight a day for three weeks.
- For injection dosage form:
- For treatment of malaria:
- Adults 200 to 250 mg injected into a muscle. This dose may be repeated in six hours if needed.
- Children Dose is based on body weight and must be determined by your doctor. The usual dose is 4.4 mg per kg (2 mg per pound) of body weight injected into a muscle or under the skin. This dose may be repeated in six hours if needed. Chloroquine may also be injected slowly into a vein. If the medicine is given in this way, the dose must be determined by your doctor.
- For treatment of liver disease caused by protozoa:
- Adults 200 to 250 mg a day injected into a muscle for ten to twelve days.
- Children Dose is based on body weight and must be determined by your doctor. The usual dose is 7.5 mg per kg (3.4 mg per pound) of body weight a day for ten to twelve days.
Missed dose
If you miss a dose of this medicine and your dosing schedule is:
- One dose every seven days Take the missed dose as soon as possible. Then go back to your regular dosing schedule.
- One dose a day Take the missed dose as soon as possible. But if you do not remember until the next day, skip the missed dose and go back to your regular dosing schedule. Do not double doses.
- More than one dose a day Take it right away if you remember within an hour or so of the missed dose. But if you do not remember until later, skip the missed dose and go back to your regular dosing schedule. Do not double doses.
If you have any questions about this, check with your doctor.
Storage
To store this medicine:
- Keep out of the reach of children. Overdose of chloroquine is very dangerous in children.
- Store away from heat and direct light.
- Do not store in the bathroom, near the kitchen sink, or in other damp places. Heat or moisture may cause the medicine to break down.
- Do not keep outdated medicine or medicine no longer needed. Be sure that any discarded medicine is out of the reach of children.
Before Using This Medicine
In deciding to use a medicine, the risks of taking the medicine must be weighed against the good it will do. This is a decision you and your doctor will make. For chloroquine, the following should be considered:
Allergies Tell your doctor if you have ever had any unusual or allergic reaction to chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine. Also tell your health care professional if you are allergic to any other substances, such as foods, preservatives, or dyes.
Pregnancy Unless you are taking chloroquine to treat malaria or liver disease caused by protozoa, use of this medicine is not recommended during pregnancy. In animal studies, chloroquine has been shown to cause damage to the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) of the fetus, including damage to hearing, sense of balance, bleeding inside the eyes, and other eye problems. However, when given in low doses (once a week) to prevent malaria, this medicine has not been shown to cause birth defects or other problems in humans.
Breast-feeding Chloroquine passes into breast milk. Chloroquine has not been reported to cause problems in nursing babies. However, babies and children are especially sensitive to the effects of chloroquine. The amount in breast milk is not enough to prevent the infant from getting malaria.
Children Children are especially sensitive to the effects of chloroquine. This may increase the chance of side effects during treatment. Overdose is especially dangerous in children. Taking as little as 1 tablet (300-mg strength) has resulted in the death of a small child. Children should avoid traveling to areas where there is a chance of getting malaria, unless they can take antimalarial medicines that are more effective than chloroquine.
Older adults Many medicines have not been studied specifically in older people. Therefore, it may not be known whether they work exactly the same way they do in younger adults or if they cause different side effects or problems in older people. There is no specific information comparing use of chloroquine in the elderly with use in other age groups.
Other medicines Although certain medicines should not be used together at all, in other cases two different medicines may be used together even if an interaction might occur. In these cases, your doctor may want to change the dose, or other precautions may be necessary. When you are taking chloroquine, it is especially important that your health care professional know if you are taking the following:
- Mefloquine (e.g., Lariam) Use of chloroquine with mefloquine may increase the chance of convulsions (seizures)
Other medical problems The presence of other medical problems may affect the use of chloroquine. Make sure you tell your doctor if you have any other medical problems, especially:
- Blood disease (severe) Chloroquine may cause blood disorders
- Eye or vision problems Chloroquine, especially in high doses, may cause serious side effects affecting the eyes
- Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency Chloroquine may cause serious side effects affecting the blood in patients with this deficiency
- Liver disease May decrease the removal of chloroquine from the blood, increasing the chance of side effects
- Nerve or brain disease (severe), including convulsions (seizures) Chloroquine may cause muscle weakness and, at high doses, seizures
- Porphyria Chloroquine may cause episodes of porphyria to occur more frequently
- Psoriasis Chloroquine may bring on severe attacks of psoriasis
- Stomach or intestinal disease (severe) Chloroquine may cause stomach or intestinal irritation
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