Coartem (Artemether/Lumefantrine) and/or alternatives

General Information on Coartem

Coartem is a prescription medication used for the treatment of non-severe malaria. Its generic name is Artemether and Lumefantrine, and it belongs to the therapeutic class of antimalarial drugs. Coartem is available in the form of oral tablets. It acts by inhibiting the growth of parasites in the red blood cells. The drug is used only to treat malaria, and it cannot prevent the disease. Along with Coartem, your doctor will also advise you to use mosquito nets, insect repellents, and protective clothes to avoid any more mosquito bites.

Side Effects for Coartem

When you start taking Coartem, you may experience weakness, nausea, loss of appetite, mild headache, cough, muscle or joint pain, and sleep problems. Most of these are short-lived and getter better on their own as your body adjusts to the drug. However, some of the serious side effects of the drug may include fainting, severe dizziness, uncontrolled diarrhea or vomiting, dark urine, jaundice, or clay colored stools. If you experience any of these side effects, you should immediately stop taking Coartem and seek medical help. You should also contact your doctor if you suffer from chills, fever, body ache, or severe headache after taking Coartem.

You should also stop taking Coartem if you develop an allergic reaction to the medicine. Symptoms of an allergic reaction include hives, rashes, severe dizziness, trouble breathing, or swelling of the face, tongue, lips, or throat.

Precautions

Your doctor will not advise you to buy Coartem if you are suffering from kidney or liver disease or if you have a personal or family history of heart disease or Long QT syndrome. Therefore, it would be wise to inform your doctor if you have any of these prevalent conditions. You should also tell him/her if there is a low level of magnesium or potassium in your blood. In such a situation, your doctor will need to conduct some special tests to ensure that Coartem is the right drug for you.

Coartem Dosage

If you are an adult and weigh more than 35 kgs, you will be given 6 doses of the medicine for 3 days consecutively. On the first day, you will be given 4 tablets at a time, and 4 tablets after 8 hours. On the second and third day, you will be asked to take 4 tablets two times a day, which amounts to a 24 tablet course. Coartem has to be taken with milk, broth, oatmeal, or food, and can be crushed for easy swallowing. If you vomit within one hour of taking the drug, your doctor will advise you to repeat the dose.

Interactions

You should not buy Coartem if you are already taking antibiotics such as erythromycin, clarithromycin, moxifloxacin, or pentamidine, antidepressants such as clomipramine or amitriptylline, heart rhythm medicines such as flecainide, amiodarone, or propafenonem, or HIV or AIDS medicines such as ritonavir or delavirdine. You should also inform your doctor if you are taking drugs for treating psychiatric disorders, migraine headache medicines, narcotic medicines, or medicines for preventing vomiting and nausea. Other drugs that may interact with Coartem include ketoconazole and medicines for treating cold or allergies.

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