What is Plaquenil?

Plaquenil (hydroxychloroquine) is an antimalarial medication used to treat or prevent malaria, a disease caused by parasites, which enter the body through the bite of a mosquito. Plaquenil is also used to treat symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis and discoid or systemic lupus erythematosus. Plaquenil is available in generic form. What are the possible side effects of hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil, Plaquenil Sulfate, Quineprox)?

Side Effects

Get emergency medical help if you have signs of an allergic reaction: hives; difficulty breathing; swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat.

Call your doctor at once if you have:

• blistering or peeling skin, red skin lesions, severe acne or skin rash, hair loss, mouth sores, altered taste in your mouth
• bruising, severe tingling, numbness, pain, muscle weakness
• high blood sugar--increased thirst, increased urination, hunger, dry mouth, fruity breath odor, drowsiness, dry skin, blurred vision, weight loss
• low blood cell counts--fever, chills, night sweats, mouth sores, pale skin, unusual weakness
• signs of liver problems--loss of appetite, upper stomach pain (that may spread to your back), nausea or vomiting, dark urine, jaundice (yellowing of the skin or eyes)
• signs of retinal damage--sudden vision changes, vision loss

Common side effects may include:

• headache, dizziness, ringing in your ears;
• nausea, vomiting, stomach pain;
• loss of appetite, weight loss;
• mood changes, feeling nervous or irritable;
• skin rash or itching;
• thin, brittle hair;
• changes in color of your fingernails or toenails;
• uneven heart rate; or
• muscle pain, bone pain.

Dosage

An adult dose of Plaquenil to suppress malaria is 400 mg on the same day each week. The pediatric weekly suppressive dosage is 5 mg/kg of body weight. The adult dose of Plaquenil to treat an acute attack of malaria is an initial dose of 800 mg followed by 400 mg 6-8 hours later and 400 mg at 24 hours and 48 hours. The dose for malaria prevention is 400 mg every week starting 1 or 2 weeks before exposure and for 4 weeks after leaving the high risk area.

Interactions

Taking Plaquenil with other drugs that make you sleepy can worsen this effect. Ask your doctor before taking hydroxychloroquine with a sleeping pill, narcotic pain medicine, muscle relaxer, or medicine for anxiety, depression, or seizures.

To make sure hydroxychloroquine is safe for you, tell your doctor if you have ever had:

• eye problems or surgery;
• an allergy to quinine;
• diabetes;
• a bleeding or blood clotting disorder;
• drink more than 2 alcoholic beverages daily;
• a certain muscle disease (myasthenia gravis);
• porphyria (a genetic enzyme disorder that causes symptoms affecting the skin or nervous system);
• malaria;
• metabolic disorder (G6PD deficiency); or
• if you have ever had a heart attack.

It is not known whether this medicine will harm an unborn baby. Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant.

Hydroxychloroquine can pass into breast milk and may cause side effects in the nursing baby. You should not breast-feed while using this medicine.

Do not give this medication to anyone under 18 years old without the advice of a doctor.

Warnings

You should not use Plaquenil if you are allergic to hydroxychloroquine. Plaquenil should not be used for long-term treatment in children. To make sure Plaquenil is safe for you, tell your doctor if you have:

• psoriasis;
• porphyria;
• lupus;
• alcoholism;
• glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency; or
• a history of vision changes or damage to your retina caused by an anti-malaria medication.

Using Plaquenil during pregnancy could harm the unborn baby. Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. Hydroxychloroquine can pass into breast milk and may harm a nursing baby. You should not breast-feed while using this medicine.

Plaquenil is not approved for use by anyone younger than 18 years old.

Overview

Plaquenil (hydroxychloroquine) is an antimalarial medication used to treat or prevent malaria, a disease caused by parasites, which enter the body through the bite of a mosquito. Plaquenil is also used to treat symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis and discoid or systemic lupus erythematosus. Plaquenil is available in generic form. What are the possible side effects of hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil, Plaquenil Sulfate, Quineprox)?

Side Effects

Get emergency medical help if you have signs of an allergic reaction: hives; difficult breathing; swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat. Call your doctor at once if you have: blistering or peeling skin, red skin