What is Singulair
Singulair (montelukast) is a leukotriene receptor antagonist used by people suffering from the symptoms of seasonal allergic rhinitis. It is also prescribed for the prevention of most common asthma symptoms, such as chest tightness, coughing, wheezing and difficulty breathing. Your health care provider may recommend taking this medication for a variety of other conditions.
How to use Medicine
his medicine comes as a tablet, a chewable tablet, and granules for oral administration. You are supposed to take this medicine once a day with some food or without. Everything depends on which condition you are taking it for. For example, to prevent breathing difficulties when you exercise, it should be taken 2 hours before the activity, etc. Singulair is a treatment, rather than a cure, and therefore you need to take it for as long as recommended by your doctor. Stopping the treatment may bring back the symptoms you were trying to treat all this time. If you think the dose you have been prescribed is inefficient, or you need it lowered – talk to your doctor first, but do not adjust the dose yourself, as otherwise some unpleasant side effects are possible. Make sue you observer the dose carefully even if you get some mild side effects, as they may merely indicate your body needs time to adjust to the dosage prescribed.
This drug is not known to cause birth defects, but all the risks and benefits should be compared before you start the treatment. If you are pregnant or breastfeeding you are not supposed to start the treatment before your health care provider tells you it's okay to make sure your baby is safe and there will be no health consequences. Your doctor will be able to recommend the right dosage, or if that's impossible because of the risk for your baby, he will offer another way of treating the symptoms you have.
Medications Singulair can interfere with
In case you are taking any nutritional supplements, herbal products or other medications, especially phenobarbital or rifampin, make sure your health care provider is aware of that fact, as it can affect your dosage and dosing schedule. There are some other medications that have been reported to interfere with Singulair, and they also need to be reported to make sure your health care provider is aware of the possibility of drug interference and can prevent it.
Is an overdose of Singulair possible?
Symptoms of overdose may include: stomach pain, sleepiness, thirst, headache, vomiting, restlessness, and agitation. An overdose is possible if you take too much of Singulair either intentionally or by accident. The symptoms of an overdose are serious enough to be reported to your local emergency center as soon as possible, so make sure you do that when you notice the very first signs and you know that you have taken too much of this medication. If you know someone else has taken too much of Singulair, and this person has any of the symptoms mentioned – seek medical help for this person as well to make sure they get necessary medical assistance.
In case of a missed dose you will need to make sure that you take the medicine anyway, as you still need to carry on with your treatment. Taking a missed dose is necessary for you to make sure the level of the medicine stays the same and you benefit from the treatment. However, there are two possible variants here – you take Singulair as soon as you remember, and you skip the dose missed. The first case is possible when you remember about the missed dose soon enough, and the second one – when you have to take the next dose pretty soon. To avoid taking too much of Singulair you must never take a double dose to make sure you will benefit from the treatment without suffering from any side effects. In general you need to try to avoid missing doses, as this can affect the quality of your treatment.
Side effects
Singulair is very well tolerated by most patients, but some people taking it may sometimes develop side effects (mainly mild side effects). The following ones are possible: headache, dizziness, heartburn, stomach pain, and tiredness. More serious side effects are unlikely but still possible. Make sure you report the following side effects to your health care provider as soon as you notice their appearance: difficulty breathing or swallowing, swelling of the face, hoarseness, itching, rash, hives, fever, and flu-like symptoms. Mild side effects do not need to be reported, as they are most likely to go away on their own without the need for you to interfere. If you develop any side effects not mentioned here – make sure you report them as well, especially if they seem serious enough for that. Serious side effects interfere with your everyday life and make it impossible for you to perform certain tasks that you could perform without any problems in the past.
Dosages
4, 5, 10 mg
Quantity
30, 60, 90 pills
Related Categories:
Anti-allergic/Asthma
Related Medications:
Ventolin
