Singulair

Drug name

Singulair (Montelukast)

Drug Uses

Singulair is intended to treat asthma and seasonal allergic rhinitis. The effect of the treatment shows only after 3 to 14 days of taking the medicine. The medicine should not be taken to treat an acute asthmatic attack.

How Taken

The common dosage of the medicine is 4, 5, or 10 mg each day. The 4 and 5 mg tablets are prescribed for treating children. Take the medicine in the evening either while meal or before or after it.

Missed Dose

In case you have missed to take the medicine do it at the moment you have remembered but skip it in case it is the time of your next dosage and follow your usual schedule. You shouldn’t use double dose simultaneously.

Storage

Keep the medicine at the room temperature between 15-30 degrees C (59-86 degrees F).

Warnings Precautions

Avoid anything that can cause an asthma attack. Phenobarbital and rifampin can increase the concentration of the montelukast in the blood by about 40%. That is why the Singulair dosage may be lowered when taking along with these drugs. Montelukast can reach the fetus of the animals and excrete into the breast milk of the animals. Your doctor may prescribe you zafirlucast however its impact onto human fetus Is not studied yet. It is also not studied whether the medicine can appear in the human breast milk.

Possible Side Effects

Taking the medicine can lead to such side effects as headache, dizziness, abdominal pain, sore throat, and rhinitis (inflammation of the inner lining of the nose). These side effects may appear in 1 in 50 to 1 in 7 patients taking the medicine.

More Information

Contact your doctor at once and do not take the medicine in case you have:

o an allergic reaction (difficulty breathing; closing of the throat; swelling of the lips, tongue, or face; or hives);
o numbness, tingling, or pain;
o a rash or unexplained open sores or bruising;
o a flu-like illness;
o severe inflammation (pain and swelling) of the sinuses; or
o worsening respiratory symptoms.

Do not stop taking the medicine but contact you doctor in case you have:

o upset stomach, stomach pain, or heartburn;
o dizziness or headache;
o tiredness;
o sore throat or cough, or
o nasal irritation.

Contact your doctor in case you have any other side effect not mentioned here that bothers you.