Esomeprazole

Esomeprazole is used to treat various conditions of the gastrointestinal (stomach and intestines) tract including:

• Gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (a condition where the acid from the stomach goes back up the food tube and throat, causing pain and a burning sensation known as heartburn)
• Ulcers of the gastrointestinal tract (treatment and prevention)

• Do not stop taking your medication without checking with your healthcare professional.
• Take this medication 60 minutes before a meal. Tablets should be swallowed whole with water and should not be chewed or crushed.
• If you have swallowing difficulties, put the tablet in water for about two minutes to dissolve the tablet and drink the suspension.
• If you are using a gastric tube,
• Put the tablet into an appropriate syringe with 25-50ml of water to prevent the pellets from clogging the tube and shake the syringe for about two minutes to dissolve the tablet.
• Hold the syringe with the tip up to check it has not been clogged then attach the syringe to the tube whilst maintaining the tip up and shake the syringe. Turn the syringe upside down and inject 5-10ml into the tube. Repeat this step until the syringe is empty.
• Refill the syringe with another 25ml of water and repeat the procedure to wash any leftover medication in the syringe.

If you forget to take a dose, take it as soon as you remember. Skip the dose if it is too near to your next dose. Then take your next dose at the usual time. Do not take two doses to make up for the missed dose.

Inform your healthcare professional if:

• You are allergic to this medication or any of the other ingredients of this medication
• You are pregnant, planning to become pregnant, or breastfeeding
• You are taking any other medications, including supplements, traditional medications and herbal remedies
• You experience weight loss for no reason or are vomiting food or blood as this medication may hide the symptoms of other diseases
• You have watery or bloody stools that do not stop after a few days as this medication may increase your risk of diarrhoea caused by a type of bacteria called Clostridium difficile.
• You have osteoporosis, a condition where your bones become weak or fragile, as his medication may increase your risk of bone fractures.
• You have a rare hereditary condition such as fructose intolerance, glucose-galactosemal absorption or sucrase-isomaltase insufficiency as some preparations containing esomeprazole contain sucrose and may not be suitable for you

Inform your healthcare professional if you are taking or intend to take any other medication, supplements, traditional medications or herbal remedies.

This includes certain medications such as:

• Medications used to treat human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection
• Blood thinners (e.g. warfarin, clopidogrel)
• Anti-fungal medications (e.g. ketoconazole)
• Drugs to treat mood (e.g. citalopram, imipramine and clomipramine)
• Seizures (e.g. phenytoin)
• Other medications such as digoxin, cyclosporin, methotrexate and iron salts

Common side effects include headache, stomach pain, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting or passing gas.

Consult your healthcare professional if the symptoms do not go away or when any unexplained or unusual symptoms occur.

Rare but serious side effects include:

• Blood in your stool (including blackened stool) or vomit
• Unusual symptoms such as muscle spasms (uncontrollable muscle movements), palpitations, dizziness and seizures may be a sign of low magnesium in the body.

The symptoms of a drug allergy include one or more of the following:

• Swollen face/eyes/lips/tongue
• Difficulty in breathing
• Itchy skin rashes over your whole body

If you experience any of these symptoms, you should stop your medication and see your healthcare professional immediately.

• Keep away from children
• Keep in a cool, dry place, away from direct sunlight

Pack this medication into a black trash bag and seal it tightly before throwing into the rubbish chute or bin.