Lincomycin (Systemic)

Brand Names : Lincocin, Lincorex

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 lincomycin, the following should be considered:

Allergies - Tell your doctor if you have ever had any unusual or allergic reaction to lincomycin, clindamycin, or doxorubicin. Also tell your health care professional if you are allergic to any other substances, such as foods, preservatives, or dyes.

Pregnancy - Lincomycin has not been reported to cause birth defects or other problems in humans.

Breast-feeding - Lincomycin passes into the breast milk. However, lincomycin has not been reported to cause problems in nursing babies.

Children - Lincomycin has been used in children 1 month of age or older and has not been reported to cause different side effects or problems than it does in adults.

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 lincomycin 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 lincomycin, it is especially important that your health care professional know if you are taking any of the following:

• Chloramphenicol (e.g., Chloromycetin) or
• Diarrhea medicine containing kaolin or attapulgite or
• Erythromycins (medicine for infection) - Taking these medicines along with lincomycin may decrease the effects of lincomycin

• Diarrhea medicine, such as loperamide (Imodium A-D) - Patients who take diarrhea medicine, such as loperamide (Imodium A-D) or diphenyoxylate and atropine (Lomotil), may worsen diarrhea that is a side effect of lincomycin

Other medical problems - The presence of other medical problems may affect the use of lincomycin. Make sure you tell your doctor if you have any other medical problems, especially:

• Kidney disease (severe) or
• Liver disease (severe) - Severe kidney or liver disease may increase blood levels of this medicine, increasing the chance of side effects

• Stomach or intestinal disease, history of (especially colitis, including colitis caused by antibiotics, or enteritis) - Patients with a history of stomach or intestinal disease may have an increased chance of side effects