Allopurinol Information and Uses

Allopurinol

Allopurinol Overview

Allopurinol is a prescription medication used to treat gout, high levels of uric acid, and kidney stones. Allopurinol belongs to a group of drugs call xanthine oxidase inhibitors, which reduce formation of uric acid to prevent gout attacks or kidney stones.

This medication comes in tablet form and is taken once or twice daily, with food and water.

Common side effects of allopurinol include diarrhea, nausea, and rash. Allopurinol can cause drowsiness.

Uses of Allopurinol

Allopurinol is a prescription medication used to prevent gout, not to treat gout attacks once they occur. It is also used to prevent kidney stones and high levels of uric acid in the body due to cancer treatment.

This medication may be prescribed for other uses. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.

Side Effects of Allopurinol

Allopurinol may cause side effects. Tell your doctor if any of these symptoms are severe or do not go away:

diarrhea
nausea (upset stomach)
gout attacks

Some side effects can be serious. The following side effects occur less frequently, but if you experience any of them, call your doctor immediately:

rash
painful urination
blood in the urine
irritation of the eyes
swelling of the lips or mouth
fever, sore throat, chills, and other signs of infection
loss of appetite
unexpected weight loss
itching

This is not a complete list of allopurinol drug interactions. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.

Allopurinol Interactions

Tell your doctor about all the medicines you take including prescription and non-prescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. Especially tell your doctor if you take:

an ACE inhibitor
cyclophosphamide (Cytoxan)
mercaptopurine (Purinethol)
azathioprine (Imuran)
blood thinners such as warfarin (Coumadin, Jantoven)
chlorpropamide (Diabinese)
probenecid (Benemid)
cyclosporine (Neoral, Sandimmune)
didanosine (Videx, Videx EC)
sulfinpyrazone (Anturane)
a diuretic (thiazides)
ampicillin (Omnipen, Principen, Polycillin)
amoxicillin (Amoxil, Trimox)

This is not a complete list of allopurinol drug interactions. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.

Allopurinol Precautions

Serious allergic reactions including death have occurred with allopurinol. Stop taking this medication and talk to your doctor if you develop a skin rash.

Allopurinol, while it is used to prevent gout attacks, can temporarily cause flare-ups of gouty arthritis at the start of therapy. Your doctor may recommend another medication, such as colchicine, be taken along with allopurinol at first, to prevent these flare-ups.

Drink plenty of water or other fluids each day while taking allopurinol to prevent kidney stone formation.

Allopurinol can cause drowsiness. Do not drive a car or operate heavy machinery until you know how allopurinol affects you.

Serious liver problems have occurred with allopurinol use. While these events are rare, tell your doctor if you experience weight loss, lack of appetite, and itching. Your doctor will likely run tests to check your liver function.

Kidney failure has occurred in some people who took allopurinol.

Allopurinol Food Interactions

Medicines can interact with certain foods. In some cases, this may be harmful and your doctor may advise you to avoid certain foods. In the case of allopurinol there are no specific foods that you must exclude from your diet when receiving allopurinol.

Inform MD

Before receiving allopurinol, tell your doctor about all of your medical conditions including if you:

have liver or kidney disease
are pregnant or breastfeeding
are allergic to any medications, foods, dyes or preservatives

Tell your doctor about all the medicines you take including prescription and non-prescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements.

Allopurinol and Pregnancy

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

Allopurinol and Lactation

Tell your doctor if you are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed. Allopurinol is excreted in breastmilk. The effects on the nursing baby are unknown.

Allopurinol Usage

Allopurinol is a tablet to be taken by mouth, usually once or twice a day. To avoid upset stomach, take allopurinol after a meal. Drink plenty of water or other fluids each day, unless directed to do otherwise by your doctor.

If you miss a dose of allopurinol, take it as soon as you remember. If it is almost time for your next dose, skip the missed dose. Do not take two doses at once.

Allopurinol Dosage

Take allopurinol exactly as prescribed. Follow the directions on your prescription label carefully. Your doctor will determine the best dose for you based on, the medical condition being treated, the severity of your condition, other medications you're taking, other conditions you have, and how your body responds to allopurinol.

The adult dosage range is 100 mg to 800 mg. Your doctor will likely start you on a low dose and gradually increase the dose to avoid a flare-up of gout attacks which may occur when starting allopurinol. The recommended starting dose is 100 mg daily. The allopurinol dose is then increased by 100 mg each week until a blood uric acid level of 6 mg/dL or less is reached. The maximum recommended dose is 800 mg. Doses higher than 300 mg should be divided into two or three smaller doses per day.

The adult dose for patients with cancer is allopurinol 600 mg or 800 mg daily (divided into two or three smaller doses per day) for two or three days, together with a high intake of fluids.

To prevent calcium oxalate kidney stones in adults is 200 mg or 300 mg per day, taken as a single dose or as a few (two or three) smaller doses throughout the day.

For children with cancer, ages 6 to 10, the recommended daily dose is 300 mg. Children under 6 years of age are usually given 150 mg allopurinol daily.