Chloramphenicol (Otic)

Brand Names : Chloromycetin

Before Using This Medicine

In deciding to use a medicine, the risks of using the medicine must be weighed against the good it will do. This is a decision you and your doctor will make. For chloramphenicol otic, the following should be considered:

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

Pregnancy - Chloramphenicol otic solution has not been studied in pregnant women. However, using this medication during pregnancy or labor may increase health risks for the child (See Children ).

Breast-feeding - Chloramphenicol passes into breast milk. Mothers receiving chloramphenicol should not breast-feed their infants.

Children - Gray syndrome may be especially likely to occur in children, who are usually more sensitive than adults to the effects of chloramphenicol. Report any of these effects to your health care professional: blue tone to the skin, changes in blood pressure or heart rate, eating problems, irregular breathing, passage of loose green stools, or stomach bloating with or without vomiting. Your health care professional should monitor blood levels of chloramphenicol if possible.

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 this medicine 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. Tell your health care professional if you are using any other prescription or nonprescription (over-the-counter [OTC]) medicine. Chloramphenicol may increase the blood levels of these medications: alfentanil, chlorpropamide, phenobarbital, phenytoin, tolbutamide, and warfarin. Phenobarbital and rifampin may reduce the blood levels of chloramphenicol. Concurrent use of chloramphenicol with vitamin B ₁₂ , folic acid, iron preparations and myelosuppressive agents may inhibit the formation of bone marrow.

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

• Opening in your ear drum - This medicine may cause unwanted effects if it goes past the ear drum into the middle ear
• Sensitivity reaction to chloramphenicol