Buy FACTIVE (prior prescription necessary)
(Also Known As: GEMIFLOXACIN)
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Additional Information
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Why is this medication prescribed
Gemifloxacin is used to treat infections such as pneumonia (lung infections) or bronchitis (infection of the tubes moving air in and out of the lungs) caused by certain bacteria. Gemifloxacin is in a class of antibiotics called fluoroquinolones. It works by eliminating bacteria that cause infections. Antibiotics do not work for colds, flu, or other viral infections
Proper Use of This Medicine
Gemifloxacin may be taken with or without food. Tablet must be swallowed whole. Do not chew the tablet.
Drink plenty of fluids while you are being treated with this medicine. Drinking extra water will help to prevent some unwanted effects of gemifloxacin.
This medicine works best when there is a constant amount in the blood or urine. To help keep the amount constant, do not miss any doses. Also, it is best to take the doses at evenly spaced times, day and night. For example, if you are to take one dose a day, try to take it at the same time each day.
It is important that you take this medicine exactly as prescribed by your doctor. It is important for you to take this medicine for as long as the doctor tells you to, even if you begin to feel better after a few days.
Dosing
The dose of gemifloxacin will be different for different patients. Follow your doctor's orders or the directions on the label and do not take more medicine than prescribed by your doctor.. The following information includes only the average doses of gemifloxacin. If your dose is different, do not change it unless your doctor tells you to do so.
- For oral dosage form (tablets):
- For treatment of infection
- Adults 320 milligrams (mg) once a day for five to seven days
- Children Use and dose must be determined by your doctor.
Missed dose
If you miss a dose of this medicine, take it as soon as possible. However, if it is almost time for your next dose, skip the missed dose and go back to your regular dosing schedule. It is very important that you do not double doses and that you do not take more than one dose per day.
Storage
To store this medicine:
- Keep out of the reach of children.
- 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.
- Keep the medicine from freezing. Do not refrigerate.
- Do not keep outdated medicine or medicine no longer needed. Ask your health care professional how you should dispose of any medicine you do not use. Be sure that any discarded medicine is out of the reach of children.
Other uses for this medicine
This medication may be prescribed for other uses; ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.
What other information should I know
Keep all appointments with your doctor and the laboratory. Your doctor may order certain lab tests to check your body's response to gemifloxacin.
Do not let anyone else take your medication. Your prescription is probably not refillable. If you still have symptoms of infection after you finish the gemifloxacin, call your doctor.
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 gemifloxacin, the following should be considered:
Allergies Tell your doctor if you have ever had any unusual or allergic reaction to gemifloxacin or to other fluoroquinolones (type of antibiotics). Also tell your health care professional if you are allergic to any other substances, such as foods, preservatives, or dyes.
Pregnancy Gemifloxacin has not been studied in pregnant women. However, this medicine has been shown to cause growth and development problems in young animals. Discuss with your doctor whether or not this medicine should be taken during pregnancy.
Breast-feeding It is not known whether gemifloxacin passes into human breast milk. Discuss with your doctor whether to breast-feed during treatment with this medicine.
Children Studies on this medicine have only been done in adult patients and there is no specific information comparing the use of gemifloxacin in children with use in other age groups. It is not recommended to use gemifloxacin in children up to 18 years of age because this medicine has been shown to cause bone development problems in young animals.
Older adults There is no specific information comparing use of gemifloxacin in the elderly with use in other age groups. However, it has been used in older people and has not been found to cause different side effects or other problems than it does in younger adults.
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. Tell your health care professional if you are taking any other prescription or nonprescription (over-the-counter [OTC]) medicines. When you are taking gemifloxacin, it is especially important that your doctor and pharmacist know if you are taking any of the following:
- Antiarrhythmic agents (medicine for abnormal heart rhythm)
- Anti-psychotics (medicine for mental illness) or
- Erythromycin (e.g., Ery-Tab) or
- Tricyclic antidepressants (medicine for depression) Gemifloxacin may cause changes in heart rhythm when taken with these drugs
- Antacids, aluminum- or magnesium-containing or
- Didanosine (e.g., Videx) or
- Iron supplements or
- Multivitamins with zinc or other metals These medicines may reduce the effectiveness of gemifloxacin; they should not be taken at least 3 hours before or 2 hours after you take your gemifloxacin.
- Sucralfate (e.g., Carafate) This medicines may reduce the effectiveness of gemifloxacin; gemifloxacin should be taken at least 2 hours before you take sucralfate.
Other medical problems The presence of other medical problems may affect the use of gemifloxacin. Make sure you tell your doctor if you have any other medical problems, especially:
- Brain or spinal cord disease, epilepsy or other seizures Gemifloxacin may increase the chance of making these problems worse.
- Heart rhythm problems Gemifloxacin should be used with caution in patients with these conditions.
- Hypokalemia (not enough potassium in your blood) or
- Hypomagnesemia (not enough magnesium in your blood) These conditions can increase your risk of having a fast, slow or irregular heartbeat when you are taking gemifloxacin.
- QTc prolongation (rare heart rhythm problem) Gemifloxacin may cause this condition to become worse, especially with higher doses of gemifloxacin.
In case of emergency overdose
In case of overdose, call your local poison control center at 1-800-222-1222. If the victim has collapsed or is not breathing, call local emergency services at 911.
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