Rifinah (Rifampicin, Isoniazid)

Rifinah 150/100mg Tablets. Rifampicin, Isoniazid

What Rifinah Tablets Are and What They Are Used for

Rifinah 150/100 mg tablets contain two medicines: rifampicin and isoniazid. They both belong to a group of medicines called anti-tuberculous drugs. They work by killing the bacteria that cause tuberculosis. Rifinah 150/100 mg tablets treat tuberculosis (TB).

Ingredients

What Rifinah 150/100 mg tablets contain:

• Each tablet contains 150mg of rifampicin and 100mg of isoniazid. These are the active ingredients.
• The other ingredients are sodium lauryl sulfate, calcium stearate, sodium carboxymethyl cellulose, magnesium stearate, microcrystalline cellulose, acacia, gelatine, kaolin, magnesium carbonate light, talc, titanium dioxide (E171), colloidal silicon dioxide, polyvinylpyrrolidone K30, sucrose, carnauba wax, colophony, white beeswax, hard paraffin, Erythrosine (E127).

The tablets are cyclamen, smooth, shiny, round, curved, and sugar-coated. Each pack contains 84 tablets.

Before You Take Rifinah 150/100 mg Tablets

Do Not Take Rifinah 150/100 mg Tablets if:

You are allergic (hypersensitive) to the following ingredients:

– rifampicin;

– isoniazid;

– any of the other ingredients of the Rifinah 150/100 mg tablets

Signs of an allergic reaction include a rash, swallowing or breathing problems, swelling of your lips, face, throat, or tongue, and yellowing of the skin and eyes (jaundice).

Don’t take the medicine if you take saquinavir or ritonavirforan for an HIV infection.

Do not take the medicine if any of the above apply to you. If unsure, talk to your doctor or pharmacist before taking Rifinah 150/100mg tablets.

Take Special Care With Rifinah 150/100 mg Tablets

Check with your doctor or pharmacist before taking this medicine if:

• you have liver problems;
• you have any kidney problems, and if you are having more than 600mg rifampicin per day;
• you have diabetes, your diabetes may become more difficult to control while taking this medicine;
• you have epilepsy;
• you have or have ever had mental health problems (such as depression or schizophrenia);
• you feel numb or weak in your arms and legs (peripheral neuropathy);
• you have an HIV infection;
• you are underweight or malnourished;
• you drink alcohol every day, or you are an alcoholic;
• you inject yourself with drugs;
• you are an Afro-American or Hispanic woman;
• you have a rare blood problem called ‘porphyria’;
• your doctor has told you that your body takes a long time to get rid of some drugs (you have a slow acetylator status);
• you wear contact lenses, taking Rifinah 150/100 mg tablets may permanently stain soft contact lenses
• The person taking this medicine is a child
• You are aged 65 years or older

If you are unsure if any of the above apply to you, talk to your doctor or pharmacist before taking Rifinah 150/100 mg tablets.

Blood Tests

Your doctor will need to check your blood before you take this medicine. This will help your doctor know if any changes happen to your blood after taking this medicine. If you are 35 or older, you must also have monthly blood tests to check your liver.

Driving and Using Machinery

You may feel dizzy or faint, have problems with vision, or have other side effects that could affect your ability to drive while taking this medicine. If this happens, do not drive or use any tools or machines.

Important information about some of the ingredients of Rifinah 150/100mg tablets contain:

• Sucrose: If your doctor has told you that you cannot tolerate some sugars, talk to your doctor before taking Rifinah 150/100 mg tablets.
• Sodium: These tablets contain less than 1 mmol sodium (23 mg) per daily dose and are ‘sodium-free.’

Interactions

Please tell your doctor or pharmacist if you are taking or have recently taken any other medicines. This includes medicines you buy without a prescription, including herbal medicines. This is because Rifinah 150/100 mg tablets can affect the way some other medicines work. Also, some medicines can affect the way Rifinah 150/100 mg tablets work.

In particular, do not take this medicine, and tell your doctor if you take saquinavir or ritonavir used for HIV infection.

The following medicines can make Rifinah 150/100 mg tablets work worse:

• Antacids used for indigestion. Take Rifinah 150/100 mg tablets at least 1 hour before taking antacids.
• Other medicines used for TB such as P-aminosalicyclic acid (PAS) and cycloserine. PAS and Rifinah 150/100 mg tablets should be taken at least 8 hours apart.

Tell your doctor if you are taking any of the following medicines.

Heart and Blood Medicines

• Medicines for high blood pressure.
• Medicines for heart problems or to control your heartbeat.
• Medicines used to thin the blood, such as warfarin.
• Medicines used to lower cholesterol.
• Water tablets (diuretics) such as eplerenone.

Mental Health, Epilepsy, and Motor Neurons Medicines

• Medicines for mental disorders known as ‘antipsychotics’ such as haloperidol.
• Medicines to calm or reduce anxiety (hypnotics, anxiolytics).
• Medicines to help you sleep (barbiturates).
• Medicines used for epilepsy such as phenytoin and carbamazepine.
• Some medicines used for depression, such as amitriptyline and nortriptyline.
• Riluzole used for motor neuron disease.

Medicines for Infections and the Immune System

• Some medicines used for an HIV infection such as stavudine and zalcitabine.
• Some medicines used for viral infections such as indinavir, efavirenz, amprenavir, nelfinavir, atazanavir, lopinavir and neviparine.
• Medicines used for fungal infections.
• Medicines used for bacterial infections (antibiotics).
• Medicines used for lowering your immune system, such as ciclosporin, sirolimus, and tacrolimus.
• Praziquantel used for tapeworm infections.
• Atovaquone used for pneumonia.

Hormone and Cancer Medicines

• Some hormone medicines (estrogen, systemic hormones, progestogens) used for contraception or some types of cancer, such as ethinyloestradiol, levonorgestrel, or dydrogesterone.
• Some hormone medicines (anti-estrogens) used for breast cancer or endometriosis, such as tamoxifen, toremifene, and gestrinone.
• Some medicines used for cancer (cytotoxics), such as imatinib.
• Levothyroxine (thyroid hormone) used for thyroid problems.
• Irinotecan used for cancer.

Pain and Inflammation Medicines

• Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as etoricoxib, aspirin, and indomethacin.
• Medicines used for pain, such as codeine, morphine, fentanyl, or pethidine.
• Corticosteroids used for inflammation, such as hydrocortisone, betamethasone, and prednisolone.
• Methadone used for heroin withdrawal.

Other Medicines

• Medicines used for diabetes.
• Medicines used to relax muscles before surgery (anesthetics), such as halothane.
• Some medicines used for feeling sick or being sick, such as ondansetron and aprepitant.
• Quinine used for malaria.
• Theophylline – used for wheezing or difficulty in breathing.

While Taking Rifinah 150/100 mg Tablets Do Not Have:

• cheese;
• skipjack tuna or other tropical fish;
• red wine.

Tests

Taking Rifinah 150/100 mg tablets may affect the results of some blood tests. In particular, tests for folate, vitamin B12, and liver function. If you are going to have a blood test, it is important to tell your doctor that you are taking Rifinah 150/100 mg tablets.

Pregnancy and Breastfeeding

Talk to your doctor before taking this medicine if you are pregnant, plan to get pregnant, or think you are pregnant.

Rifinah 150/100 mg tablets may make the contraceptive “pill” work worse. This means you should change to a different type of contraception. Instead, you must use a reliable barrier method of contraception such as condoms or an intrauterine device while taking Rifinah 150/100 mg tablets. If you have any questions, talk to your doctor or pharmacist.

You should not breastfeed if you are taking Rifinah 150/100 mg tablets.

This is because small amounts may pass into the mother’s milk. If you are breastfeeding or planning to breastfeed, talk to your doctor or pharmacist before taking any medicine.

How to Take Rifinah 150/100 mg Tablets

Always take Rifinah 150/100 mg tablets exactly as your doctor has told you. You should check with your doctor or pharmacist if you need more information.

You must take the tablets daily for the whole period the doctor has told you to take them.

Do not stop and then start taking the tablets. This may increase the risk of side effects, and your TB will not be appropriately treated.

Administration

1. Take this medicine orally.
2. Swallow the tablets whole with a drink of water.
3. Take at least 30 minutes before or 2 hours after a meal. They are best taken at least 30 minutes before breakfast.
4. Take all your tablets together each day as a single dose.
5. Do not give this medicine to children.
6. If you feel the effect of your medicine is too weak or too strong, do not change the dose yourself, but ask your doctor.

Your doctor may ask you to take Vitamin B6 during treatment with Rifinah 150/100 mg tablets, especially if you are malnourished, elderly, or diabetic.

Dosage

Adults and the elderly weighing less than 50kg

• 3 tablets each day;
• if you are elderly, your doctor may monitor your treatment more closely.

Adults and the Elderly Weighing More than 50kg

• Rifinah 300/150mg Tablets are usually prescribed.

Children

• This medicine is not recommended for use in children.

Taking Rifinah 150/100 mg Tablets with Food and Drink

If Rifinah 150/100 mg tablets are taken with food and drink listed below, you may experience headache, sweating, flushing, fast, uneven, or forceful heartbeat (palpitations), dizziness, and feel lightheaded or faint (due to low blood pressure).

If You Take More Rifinah 150/100 mg Tablets Than You Should

If you take more Rifinah 150/100 mg tablets than you should, tell a doctor or contact a hospital casualty department immediately. Take the medicine pack with you. 

You may feel sick (nausea), be sick (vomiting), or have stomach pain, itching, or a headache. You may also feel tired, sleepy, dizzy, lightheaded, have blurred or strange visions (hallucinations), and faint. Other signs of overdose include swelling of the face, eyes, or eyelids, slurring of speech, difficulty breathing, fast heartbeat, uneven heartbeats, fits, and heart attack.

If You Forget to Take Rifinah 150/100 mg Tablets

If you forget a dose, take it as soon as you remember. However, skip the missed dose if it is nearly time for the next dose. Do not take a double dose to make up for the forgotten tablets.

Possible Side Effects

Rifinah, 150/100 mg tablets, can cause side effects like all medicines, although not everybody gets them.

Stop taking it and go to a hospital straight away if you notice any of the following serious side effects:

• You have an allergic reaction. The signs may include a rash, swallowing or breathing problems, wheezing, and swelling of your lips, face, throat, or tongue.
• You have a fever and yellowing of the skin or whites of the eyes, feel tired, weak, or generally unwell, loss of appetite (anorexia), feeling sick (nausea), being sick (vomiting). These may be early signs of liver problems.
• You get blistering, peeling, bleeding, scaling, or fluid-filled patches on any part of your skin. This includes your lips, eyes, mouth, nose, genitals, hands or feet. You may have a severe skin problem.
• You bruise more quickly than usual. Or you may have a painful rash of dark red spots under the skin that do not go away when you press them (purpura). This could be because of a severe blood problem.
• You have chills, tiredness, unusually pale skin, shortness of breath, a fast heartbeat, or dark-colored urine. These could be signs of a severe type of anemia.
• You have blood in your urine or an increase or decrease in the amount of urine you produce. You may also get swelling, especially of the legs, ankles, or feet. This may be caused by severe kidney problems.
• You have a sudden severe headache. This could be a sign of bleeding in the brain.
• Shortness of breath and wheezing.
• You get confused, sleepy, cold, clammy skin, shallow or difficulty breathing, racing heartbeat, or paler skin than usual. These could be signs of shock.
• You get more infections more quickly than usual. Signs include fever, sore throat, or mouth ulcers. This could be because you have a low number of white blood cells.
• You have bleeding from your nose, ear, gums, throat, skin, or stomach. Signs may include a feeling of tenderness and swelling in your stomach, purple spots on your skin, and black or tarry stools.

Talk to your doctor straight away if you notice any of the following serious side effects:

• Mental problems with unusual thoughts and strange visions (hallucinations)
• Severe watery diarrhea that will not stop, and you are feeling weak and have a fever. This may be something called ‘Pseudomembranous colitis.‘
• Severe stomach pain which may reach through to your back. This could be a sign of pancreatitis.
• Your fits get worse, or you start to have fits.
• Flu-like symptoms include chills, fever, headache, dizziness, and bone pains.

Tell your doctor as soon as possible if you have any of the following side effects:

• water retention (edema), which may cause a swollen face, stomach, arms, or legs;
• muscle weakness or pain or loss of muscle reflexes;
• dizziness, feeling lightheaded and faint, especially when you stand or sit up quickly (due to low blood pressure);
• swollen fingers, toes, or ankles;
• hair loss;
• balance problems with dizziness (vertigo);
• being unable to concentrate, feeling nervous, irritable, or depressed;
• feeling very tired and weak or difficulty sleeping (insomnia);
• unusual skin sensations such as feeling numb, tingling, pricking, burning, or creeping on the skin (paraesthesia);
• short-term memory loss, anxiety, being less alert or responsive;
• blurred or distorted eyesight;
• wasting of muscles or other body tissues;
• weight loss, night sweats, and fever. These could be signs of a blood condition called eosinophilia;
• feeling sick or being sick.

Tell your doctor or pharmacist if any of the following side effects get severe or last longer than a few days:

• skin flushing or itching;
• irregular periods;
• constipation, diarrhea, stomach discomfort, or dry mouth;
• headache;
• loss of appetite (anorexia);
• breast enlargement in men;
• increased thirst, going to the toilet more often, and feeling tired. Your blood sugar may be high;
• acne.

Discuss with your doctor if you notice an orange or reddish color in your urine, sweat, phlegm (sputum), saliva, or tears. This is quite common, and you need not worry. However, the red color may permanently stain soft contact lenses. The red color in tears may last for some time after you have stopped having Rifinah 150/100 mg tablets.

How to Store Rifinah 150/100 mg Tablets

Keep this medicine in a safe place where children cannot see or reach it.

Do not use Rifinah 150/100 mg tablets after the expiry date, which is stated on the carton and blister packs. The expiry date refers to the last day of that month.

Store below 25°C

Medicines should not be disposed of via water waste or household waste. Ask your pharmacist how to dispose of medicines that are no longer required. These measures will help to protect the environment.