|Main use||Active ingredient||Manufacturer|
|Amoebic dysentry||Diloxanide furoate||Sovereign Medical|
How does it work?
Diloxanide furoate is a type of medicine known as an amoebicide. It is used to treat amoebic dysentry, which is a tropical disease caused by infection of the bowel with an amoeba called Entamoeba histolytica.
Amoeba belong to a group of microscopic parasitic organisms known as protozoa. Entamoeba histolytica enters the body if you eat food or drink water that is contaminated by faeces from an animal or person carrying the disease. The parasite lives in the gut, but can sometimes burrow through the wall of the gut to cause infection outside of the gut and in other organs of the body.
Diloxanide works by killing the amoeba that are living in the large bowel. It is not effective against Entamoeba histolytica found in other tissues or organs in the body.
Diloxanide is given on its own to treat chronic (long-term) infections. It is usually given after a course of metronidazole or tinidazole to treat acute amoebic infections.
What is it used for?
- Sudden severe diarrhoea caused by infection with the amoeba Entamoeba histolytica (acute amoebic dysentry or amoebiasis).
- Long-term gut infection with the amoeba Entamoeba histolytica (chronic amoebic dysentry).
How do I take it?
- The usual adult dose is one 500mg diloxanide tablet taken three times a day for ten days.
- If you are treating a child your doctor will calculate how much to give them based on their body weight. (The medicine is not licensed for children weighing less than 25kg, however doctors do use it to treat smaller children.) Follow the instructions given by your doctor.
- The tablets can be taken either with or without food.
- It is important to try and space your doses evenly over the day. If you forget to take a dose take it as soon as you remember, unless it is nearly time for your next dose. In this case leave out the missed dose and just the next dose as usual. Don't take a double dose to make up for a missed dose.
- Unless your doctor tells you otherwise, it is important that you finish the prescribed course of this medicine, even if you feel better or it seems the infection has cleared up.
Not to be used in
- People allergic to any ingredient.
This medicine should not be used if you are allergic to one or any of its ingredients. Please inform your doctor or pharmacist if you have previously experienced such an allergy. If you feel you have experienced an allergic reaction, stop using this medicine and inform your doctor or pharmacist immediately.
Pregnancy and breastfeeding
Certain medicines should not be used during pregnancy or breastfeeding. However, other medicines may be safely used in pregnancy or breastfeeding providing the benefits to the mother outweigh the risks to the unborn baby. Always inform your doctor if you are pregnant or planning a pregnancy, before using any medicine.
- The safety of this medicine for use during pregnancy has not been established. The manufacturer states it should be avoided in pregnant women.
- It is not known if this medicine passes into breast milk. The manufacturer states that it should be avoided in women who are breastfeeding. Seek medical advice from your doctor.
- Take at regular intervals. Complete the prescribed course unless otherwise directed.
Medicines and their possible side effects can affect individual people in different ways. The following are some of the side effects that are known to be associated with this medicine. Just because a side effect is stated here, it does not mean that all people using this medicine will experience that or any side effect.
- Itchy rash (urticaria).
- Itching (pruritus).
- Excess gas in the stomach and intestines (flatulence).
The side effects listed above may not include all of the side effects reported by the medicine's manufacturer.
For more information about any other possible risks associated with this medicine, please read the information provided with the medicine or consult your doctor or pharmacist.
How can this medicine affect other medicines?
This medicine is not known to significantly affect any other medicines.
Other medicines containing the same active ingredient
Diloxanide is only available without a brand name, ie as the generic medicine.