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drug- medicine: accolate

 

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Medicine: accolate

ACCOLATEŽ

zafirlukast

 

What you should know about Accolate

The information in this leaflet applies only to your medicine, Accolate. Please read it carefully. It gives you important information but it cannot tell you everything. If you have any questions, or are not sure about anything, ask your doctor or pharmacist.

 

What is your medicine?

Accolate comes as tablets. Each tablet contains 20 mg of zafirlukast.

Each tablet also contains a number of inactive ingredients which are needed to make Accolate into tablet form. These are croscarmellose sodium, hypromellose, lactose, magnesium stearate, microcrystalline cellulose, povidone, titanium dioxide.

Accolate comes in containers of 56 and 100 tablets.

Accolate is a medicine which helps to prevent your asthma occurring. It belongs to a group of medicines called leukotriene antagonists.

 

What is your medicine for?

Accolate is used to prevent your asthma from getting worse as well as controlling the symptoms of your asthma. However, Accolate should not be used to treat sudden attacks of asthma; your doctor should provide you with another medication for this purpose.

Accolate should be taken every day as prescribed by your doctor. You should continue to take Accolate even when your asthma is causing you no problems. If your asthma does get worse, then you should follow the advice that you were given for treating sudden attacks and see your doctor as soon as possible.

When should Accolate not be used?

  • Before taking your medicine, tell your doctor if:
    • you have ever had an allergic reaction to Accolate or zafirlukast
    • you have had liver problems as a result of taking Accolate, or if you have ever been told that you have problems with your liver.
  • Accolate should not be used in children under the age of 12 years.
  • The tablets are only for you and must never be given to anyone else.

What precautions should be taken with Accolate?

  • Before taking your tablets, tell your doctor if:
    • you are pregnant, are trying to become pregnant or are breast-feeding
    • you are taking any other medicines including theophylline (another treatment for asthma), erythromycin (an antibiotic), terfenadine (a hayfever treatment), warfarin (to thin the blood) and any medication that you have bought, including frequent use of aspirin as a painkiller
    • you are a smoker (this could affect the dosage you need)
    • you have been told that you have kidney disease.
  • Your tablets are unlikely to adversely affect your ability to drive a car or to operate machinery.
  • If you go into hospital let the medical staff know that you are taking Accolate.
  • Rare conditions known as Churg-Strauss syndrome and eosinophilic pneumonia have been diagnosed in a very small number of patients given Accolate for their asthma treatment. This disorder usually involves a combination of some of the following persistent or worsening symptoms: severe sinusitis, a flu-like illness, increasing breathlessness, abdominal pain, skin rash, pins and needles or numbness of arms or legs. Although Accolate has not been shown to cause this disorder, you must tell your doctor immediately if you experience a combination of these symptoms.
 

How should I take my Accolate?

  • Follow your doctor's instructions about when and how to take your tablets. Please read the label on the container. Ask your doctor or pharmacist if you are not sure.
  • The dose of Accolate is 20 mg twice a day. You must not take more than this.
  • You should take the tablets twice each day, usually at the start of each morning and last thing at night.
  • Swallow each tablet whole with a drink of water.
  • You should not take your tablets with a meal.
  • Try to take your medicine at the same times each day. If you forget to take a dose, take it as soon as possible. If it is nearly time for your next dose, take it as usual, missing out the one you forgot. Do not take two doses at the same time.
  • If you take more than your normal dose contact your doctor for advice.
  • Do not stop taking your tablets when you are feeling well, unless your doctor tells you.
  • If you have been taking other medicines for asthma, you should not stop taking them unless your doctor tells you that you can.

 

 

 

 

What undesirable events may be experienced with Accolate?

As with all medicines, undesirable events are sometimes experienced. With Accolate these may include:

Common side effects

  • feeling of discomfort
  • gastrointestinal disturbances (feeling, or being sick, diarrhoea or stomach pain), usually mild
  • headache, usually mild
  • chest infections
  • sleeplessness.

Uncommon

  • allergic reactions including skin rashes and itching
  • oedema (swelling caused by build up of fluid).

Rare

  • bruising
  • blood disorders
  • liver changes
  • pain in the joints or muscles.

If you develop oedema (swelling or water retention) or an allergic rash, stop taking your Accolate and contact your doctor immediately.

Tell your doctor immediately if you start to bruise easily, have any unusual bleeding including heavy menstrual periods, or experience persistent fever or frequent sore throat.

In a small number of people Accolate may affect the liver, and cause some of the following symptoms. If you experience any of the following please tell your doctor immediately:

  • you notice a yellow colouring of your skin and eyes (jaundice)
  • you have pain on the right side of your stomach just below your ribs.

Or if you persistently experience some of the following please tell your doctor or pharmacist:

  • lose your appetite
  • feel itchy
  • feel tired or have no energy
  • feel like you have flu
  • feel as though you are going to be sick or are actually sick.

Also tell your doctor or pharmacist if you think you have any other problems whilst taking your tablets.

How should I store Accolate?

  • You should keep your tablets below 30°C.
  • Keep your tablets in the container they came in.
  • If your doctor decides to stop your treatment, return any left-over tablets to your pharmacist.
  • Do not take your tablets after the expiry date on the container, return any out of date tablets to your pharmacist.
  • As with all medicines, keep your tablets in a safe place where children cannot see or reach them.

 

Medicamentweb.com, the website for Patient Information Leaflets, is dedicated to share information about pharmaceutical products with the general public, and is particularly interested in making PILs available online. Of course, this information cannot replace the advice of your GP, doctor or pharmacist. If you should be worried in any way about your health, we urge you to see a doctor.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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