Hydroxychloroquine

Common use

Hydroxychloroquine is a quinoline medicine used to treat or prevent malaria, a disease caused by parasites that enter the body through the bite of a mosquito. Hydroxychloroquine is also used to treat symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis and discoid or systemic lupus erythematosus.

Dosage and direction

Take hydroxychloroquine exactly as prescribed by your doctor. Take hydroxychloroquine with a meal or a glass of milk unless your doctor tells you otherwise. Do not crush or break a hydroxychloroquine tablet. To treat lupus or arthritis, hydroxychloroquine is usually taken daily. To treat malaria: Hydroxychloroquine is usually given as one high dose followed by smaller doses during the next 2 days in a row.

Precautions

To make sure hydroxychloroquine is safe for you, tell your doctor if you have ever had: vision changes or damage to your retina caused by an anti-malaria medication; heart disease, heart rhythm disorder (such as long QT syndrome); diabetes; a stomach disorder; an allergy to quinine; liver or kidney disease; psoriasis; alcoholism; porphyria (a genetic enzyme disorder that causes symptoms affecting the skin or nervous system); or a genetic enzyme deficiency called glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency.
Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It may not be safe to breastfeed while using this medicine. Ask your doctor about any risk.

Contraindications

You should not use hydroxychloroquine if you are allergic to hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine.
Hydroxychloroquine can cause dangerous effects on your heart, especially if you also use certain other medicines including the antibiotic azithromycin (Z-Pak). Seek emergency medical attention if you have fast or pounding heartbeats and sudden dizziness (like you might pass out).
Taking hydroxychloroquine long-term or at high doses may cause irreversible damage to the retina of your eye that could progress to permanent vision problems.

Possible side effect

Common side effects of hydroxychloroquine may include: headache; dizziness; nausea or vomiting; stomach pain; loss of appetite; weight loss; feeling nervous or irritable; skin rash or itching; or hair loss.

Drug interaction

Tell your doctor about all your other medicines, especially: cimetidine; cyclosporine; methotrexate; rifampicin; praziquantel; ampicillin; digoxin; tamoxifen; or heart rhythm medicine.

Missed dose

Call your doctor for instructions if you miss a dose.

Overdose

Seek emergency medical attention. Overdose symptoms may include drowsiness, vision changes, seizure, slow heart rate, weak pulse, pounding heartbeats, sudden dizziness, fainting, shortness of breath, or slow breathing (breathing may stop).

Storage

Store at room temperature away from moisture, heat, and light. Keep hydroxychloroquine out of the reach of children. A hydroxychloroquine overdose can be fatal to a child who accidentally swallows this medicine.