This medicine in tablets contains lactose. If your doctor has told you that you have an intolerance to some sugars, contact with him before taking this medication.

The suspension contains benzoic acid, which may be mildly irritating to skin and mucous membranes (mouth, eyes).

Do not use albendazole

If you are allergic (hypersensitive) to the active substance albendazole, to drugs of the same therapeutic class (benzodiazepines) or any of the other ingredients of the medicinal product prescribed to you. If you think you may be allergic, ask your doctor.

Allergy symptoms may include:

- Asthma attacks with shortness of breath, audible wheezing or rapid breathing.
- More or less sudden swelling of the face, lips, tongue or elsewhere in the body. It is especially critical if it affects the vocal cords.
- Hives, itching, rash
- Anaphylactic shock (loss of consciousness, paleness, sweating, etc.).

Also, you should not take this medicine:

- if you are pregnant or think you may be pregnant. It is advised that women of childbearing age take effective contraceptive precautions during treatment and for one month after completion of it.,

If this situation is applicable to you or you are not sure, talk to your doctor before taking this medicine.

Take special care with albendazole

This section refers especially to prolonged treatment.

During treatment can be observed transient elevations of liver enzymes, that are normalized when stopped. There have also been reports of hepatitis. It is recommended, therefore, tests of liver function before each treatment cycle and, at least, every two weeks during the year. If the enzymes significantly increased (more than 2 times the upper limit of normal) should be discontinued. When the analytical tests have been normalized, may be resumed again treatment, but patients should be monitored closely.

If previously is detected abnormal liver tests, controls should be maximized.

The patient may experience depression or even suppression of bone marrow function. By this reason, are required repeated checks of blood. Treatment should be discontinued if exists significant decrease in cell count.

In the case of an uncommon retinal neurocysticercosis, the ophthalmologist will assess the appropriateness of treatment by the risk of retinal damage caused by the destruction of cysticerci.In the case of cerebral cysticercosis, the release of parts of cysticerci produced by albendazole can cause seizures, so it is usually added other drugs to avoid fits (corticosteroids, antihistamines, etc.)

Renal or liver impairment:

Have not been studied the pharmacokinetics of albendazole in patients with renal or hepatic impairment. If you experience any of these problems or have questions about this, talk to your doctor before taking it.

Remember that your doctor has prescribed this medicine only for you. Never give it to someone else.

If in doubt, consult your doctor.

Taking other medicines

Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you are taking or have recently taken any other medicines, including herbal products or drugs obtained without a prescription. It is important, especially if you are taking:

Some medications increase the concentration of the active metabolites of albendazole in blood and perhaps may increase its side effects:

- Cimetidine, a drug to treat stomach ailments
- Praziquantel, a drug for treatment of intestinal parasites
- Dexamethasone, a steroidal anti-inflammatory< drug/span>
- Ritonavir, an antiretroviral drug

Albendazole may inhibit the clearance of theophylline, that can increase its blood concentration and side effects.

If any of these situations affects you or have doubts, consult your doctor before taking albendazole.

Use with food and beverages

Intestinal absorption of albendazole is modest (less than 5% of the administered dose) due to its low water solubility. The amount absorbed increases if administered together with a fatty food. By this reason, it is recommended to take the medication with food.

Consult your doctor or pharmacist before taking any medicine.

Remember your doctor has prescribed this medicine only for you. Never give it to someone else.

Special physiological situations

Pregnancy and breastfeeding:

Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before taking any medicine during pregnancy.

Pregnancy

Albendazole should not be used during pregnancy or in women who think they may be pregnant. It is advised that women of childbearing age take effective contraceptive precautions during treatment and for one month after completion of it.

It is convenient to rule out pregnancy in women of childbearing age before starting treatment, by using a pregnancy test. It is also advisable to start treatment during the first consecutive week at the start of menstruation.

This medicine may increase the risk of jaundice in newborn babies.

Albendazole is classified as category C by the FDA for risks of use in pregnancy.

Albendazole Tablet 300mg

Lactation:

It is unknown whether albendazole and/or its metabolites pass into breast milk, although it appears from animal experiments that probably is excreted in milk, so its use in nursing women is only justified if the potential benefits clearly outweigh the risks provided by its use.

Children

Albendazole should not be given to children less than 2 years old. In some countries, the drug is approved in children 12-24 months of age for brief treatment in intestinal parasitosis. In other countries, its use is not authorized in children under six.

Elderly

No problems were observed associated with the age of patients.

Driving and using machines

There are no data to suggest that albendazole may affect the ability to drive or operate machinery.

The effect of alcohol may potentiate sedation and this may affect the ability to drive or operate machinery.

Consult your doctor or pharmacist before taking any medicine.

Follow carefully the instructions of use of albendazole provided by your doctor. Consult your doctor or pharmacist when in doubt. Follow the instructions of the physician in preference to those given on this website, that may be different. Ask your doctor to explain any aspect that you do not understand, contained in the instruction leaflet that comes with the medicine.

Intestinal parasitosis:

Pinworm, ascariasis, hookworm and whipworm:

Children over 2 years and adults: a single dose of 400 mg (tablets or suspension).

Children up to 20 kilos: 100 mg single dose, which can be repeated after 7 days. Adults: 400 mg (2 tablets) or 10 ml of suspension. In one dose alone, you can repeat at 7 days.

Strongyloidiasis, hymenolepiasis and intestinal taeniasis:

Children over 2 years and adults: a daily dose of 400 mg (tablets or suspension) for 3 days. It is advisable to repeat the treatment after 15 or 20 days, given the life cycle of intestinal parasites.

Opisthorchiasis and Clonorchiasis:

Adults and children over 2 years of age, 400 mg (tablets or suspension) 2 times daily for 3 days. Like many infestations are mixed and often include Opisthorchis viverrini and Chlonorchis sinensis, this dose is considered sufficient.

Cutaneous larva migrans:

Children over 2 years and adults: a daily dose of 400 mg (tablets or suspension) for 1-3 days.

Giardiasis:

Children over 2 years and adults: a daily dose of 400 mg (tablets or suspension) for 5 days.

Gnathostomiasis:

Children over 2 years and adults: a daily dose of 400 mg (tablets or suspension) for 14 days.

In all the Infestations cited before, if does not occur healing after 20 days is indicated retreatment.

In diseases mentioned above, the doses in children between 12 and 24 months are a quarter or half the adult dose. Has not been adequately studied prolonged treatment in children under two years.

Cystic echinococcosis:

Patients over 60 kg weight:

Daily dose: 15 mg/kg, with a maximum of 800 mg/day, twice daily for 4 weeks.

This treatment cycle can be repeated after two weeks, to a maximum of 3 cycles.

Inoperable and multiple cysts:

It applies what has been stated above. When cysts settle in the brain or bone tissue may be necessary additional cycles, at the discretion of the attending physician.

In the preoperative treatment of cysts are administered at least 2 cycles of 28 days.

In the postoperative treatment, depending on the pretreatment and clinical status of the patient, can be needed up to two treatment cycles of 4 weeks each. This same pattern applies to drain cysts percutaneously.

Alveolar echinococcosis:

In addition to the same pattern and cycles that in the case of hydatid cyst, continuous treatments are also possible. In any case, the pattern to follow will be indicated by the attending physician.

For surgery adjuvant therapy, the optimum result is obtained after performing three cycles of therapy.

Neurocysticercosis:

The treatment is similar to hydatid cyst, but the duration can range from 1 to 4 weeks, depending on the case; should be respected rest periods of 14 days rest between each two cycles.

Use in the elderly and in renal or hepatic impairment:

Although it is not necessary to adjust the dose in the elderly, the doctor will proceed with caution if he suspects you may have a greater or lesser degree of functional liver or renal failure, by undertaking proper studies.

If there is an increase of transaminases more than twice the normal value or significantly reduces blood count, treatment should be discontinued.

If you think that the effect of the medicine is too strong or too weak, consult your doctor.

If you have any further questions on the use of this product, ask your doctor or pharmacist.

If you become pregnant, contact your doctor immediately.

If a doctor prescribes another medicine, tell you are taking alprazolam.

Check with your doctor regularly developments of disorder that motivates the use of albendazole. Maybe there is some reason that prevented you properly receive the indicated doses and induce your doctor to erroneous conclusions about treatment.

Do not restart treatment with alprazolam at your own risk without first talking to your doctor, nor encourage its use by another person, even if have the same symptoms you have. Nor is it advisable to interrupt or reduce the dose without considering the opinion of your doctor.

If you feel unwell during treatment with alprazolam, immediately consult your doctor.

If you use more medicine than you should

In the case of overdose or accidental ingestion, consult the Toxicology Information Service in your country, consult your doctor immediately or go to the nearest hospital. Take the medicine pack with you, even if it is empty.

In a case of overdose, symptomatic treatment should be administered (gastric lavage) and apply general supportive measures.

If you forget to take albendazole

You should never try to correct it by taking a double dose.

If you stop to take albendazole

It is possible that the disease not cures, so you should consult your doctor about if you need again be treated.

If you have any further questions on the use of this product, ask your doctor or pharmacist.

Like all medicines, albendazole can cause side effects, although not everybody gets them.

The frequency of side effects is classified into:

Very common: affect 1 out of 1-10 patients
Common: affect 1 out of 10-100 patients
Uncommon: affect 1 out of 100-1.000 patients
Rare: affect 1 out of 1.000-10.000 patients
Very Rare: affect less than 1 in 10,000 patients
Incidence not known: Can not be established the true incidence from the available data

Immune system disorders:

Rare. Include hypersensitivity reactions (rash, pruritus, urticaria, etc).

CNS disorders:

Rare: headaches and dizziness.

Gastrointestinal disorders:

Common: Include epigastric or abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, dry mouth, constipation, and diarrhea.

Hepatobiliary disorders:

Rare. Elevated liver enzymes. More rarely, toxic hepatitis due to albendazole.

Skin and subcutaneous tissue disorders:

Common: reversible alopecia with weak hair and moderate hair loss (prolonged treatments).

Very rare. Including erythema multiforme and Stevens-Johnson syndrome.

Haematological disorders:

Uncommon: leukopenia. Very rare: eosinophilia, pancytopenia, aplastic anemia, thrombocytopenia and agranulocytosis.

There have been reports of acute renal failure or fever attributable to albendazole.

During treatment of neurocysticercosis have been reported cases of elevated intracranial pressure and rare cases of retinal damage or vision loss when the cysticercus is located near the optic nerve.

If you notice any side effects not listed in this website or in the leaflet accompanying the container, ask your doctor or pharmacist.

If any of the side effects gets serious, tell your doctor or pharmacist.