Furazolidone (Oral)

Brand Names : Furoxone, Furoxone Liquid

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 furazolidone, the following should be considered:

Allergies - Tell your doctor if you have ever had any unusual or allergic reaction to furazolidone or to any related medicines such as nitrofurantoin (e.g., Furadantin) or nitrofurazone (e.g., Furacin). Also tell your health care professional if you are allergic to any other substances, such as foods, preservatives, or dyes.

Pregnancy - Studies have not been done in humans. However, furazolidone has not been shown to cause birth defects or other problems in humans or in animals given high doses for a long time.

Breast-feeding - It is not known whether furazolidone passes into breast milk. However, breast-feeding is not recommended for nursing babies up to 1 month of age because furazolidone may cause anemia.

Children - Because furazolidone may cause anemia, use in infants up to 1 month of age is not recommended.

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

• Amphetamines or
• Appetite suppressants (diet pills) or
• Ephedrine (e.g., Primatene) or
• Isocarboxazid (e.g., Marplan) or
• Phenelzine (e.g., Nardil) or
• Phenylephrine (e.g., Neo-Synephrine) or
• Phenylpropanolamine (e.g., Dexatrim) or
• Procarbazine (e.g., Matulane) or
• Pseudoephedrine (e.g., Sudafed) or
• Selegiline (e.g., Eldepryl) or
• Tranylcypromine (e.g., Parnate) or
• Tricyclic antidepressants (amitriptyline [e.g., Elavil], amoxapine [e.g., Asendin], clomipramine [e.g., Anafranil], desipramine [e.g., Pertofrane], doxepin [e.g., Sinequan], imipramine [e.g., Tofranil], nortriptyline [e.g., Aventyl], protriptyline [e.g., Vivactil], trimipramine [e.g., Surmontil]) - The use of furazolidone with any of these medicines may result in a severe increase in blood pressure

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

• Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency (lack of G6PD enzyme) - Patients with G6PD-deficiency may develop mild anemia while taking furazolidone