Aralen Phosphate

Aralen is a prescription medication used to prevent and treat malaria. It is also used to treat amebiasis (an infection caused by the parasite Entamoeba histolytica). This medication belongs to a group of drugs called antimalarials and amebicides. The exact way it works to kill parasites is unknown.

Aralen comes in tablet form. Take this medication with food to minimize stomach upset. Aralen is taken once or twice a day. If used for the prevention of malaria, it is taken once a week beginning 2 weeks prior to traveling to an area where malaria is common.

Common side effects include headache, loss of appetite, diarrhea, and upset stomach.

Aralen is a prescription medication used to prevent and treat malaria. It is also used to treat amebiasis (an infection caused by the parasite Entamoeba histolytica).

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

• Sanofi-Aventis U.S. LLC

You should not use this medication if you are allergic to chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil), or if you have a history of vision changes or damage to your retina caused by chloroquine or similar anti-malaria medications.

Before you take chloroquine, tell your doctor if you have psoriasis, porphyria, liver disease, alcoholism, G6PD deficiency, or a history of problems with your vision or hearing.

Take chloroquine for the entire length of time prescribed by your doctor. If you are taking this medicine to treat malaria, your symptoms may get better before the infection is completely treated.

Some people taking this medication over long periods of time or at high doses have developed irreversible damage to the retina of the eye. Stop taking chloroquine and call your doctor at once if you have trouble focusing, if you see light streaks or flashes in your vision, or if you notice any swelling or color changes in your eyes.

This medication may cause blurred vision and may impair your thinking or reactions. Be careful if you drive or do anything that requires you to be alert and able to see clearly.

Call a poison control center at once and then seek emergency medical attention if you think you have used too much of this medicine. An overdose of chloroquine can be fatal, especially in children.

You should not use this medication if you are allergic to chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil), or if you have a history of vision changes or damage to your retina caused by chloroquine or similar anti-malaria medications.

To make sure chloroquine is safe for you, tell your doctor about your other medical conditions, especially:

• psoriasis;

• porphyria;

• liver disease;

• alcoholism;

• epilepsy or other seizure disorder;

• glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency; or

• a history of problems with your vision or hearing.

It is not known whether chloroquine will harm an unborn baby. Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant while using this medication.

Malaria is more likely to cause death in a pregnant woman. If you are pregnant, talk with your doctor about the risks of traveling to areas where malaria is common.

It is not known whether chloroquine passes into breast milk or if it could harm a nursing baby. You should not breast-feed while you are using chloroquine.

Avoid taking an antacid or Kaopectate (kaolin-pectin) within 4 hours before or after you take chloroquine. Some antacids can make it harder for your body to absorb chloroquine.

If you also take an antibiotic called ampicillin (Principen, Unasyn), avoid taking it within 2 hours before or after you take chloroquine. Chloroquine can make ampicillin much less effective when taken at the same time.

This medication may cause blurred vision and may impair your thinking or reactions. Be careful if you drive or do anything that requires you to be alert and able to see clearly.

In the U.S.

• Aralen Phosphate

Available Dosage Forms:

• Tablet

Therapeutic Class: Antimalarial

Chemical Class: Aminoquinoline

If you will be taking this medicine for a long time, it is very important that your doctor check your progress at regular visits. This is to make sure that the infection is cleared up completely, and to allow your doctor to check for any unwanted effects. Your doctor may check your blood, eyes, ears, and knee or ankle reflexes during or after using this medicine.

If your symptoms do not improve within a few days, or if they become worse, check with your doctor.

This medicine may cause heart problems and changes in your heart rhythm. Check with your doctor right away if you have chest pain or tightness, decreased urine output, dilated neck veins, extreme fatigue, swelling of the face, fingers, feet, or lower legs, troubled breathing, or weight gain. You may also feel dizzy or faint, or you may have a fast, pounding, or uneven heartbeat.

This medicine may cause hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), which may be life-threatening. Low blood sugar must be treated before it causes you to pass out (unconsciousness). People feel different symptoms of low blood sugar. It is important that you learn which symptoms you usually have so you can treat it quickly. Talk to your doctor about the best way to treat low blood sugar.

Chloroquine may cause vision problems. It may also make you dizzy or lightheaded. Do not drive or do anything else that could be dangerous until you know how this medicine affects you. . If these reactions are especially bothersome, check with your doctor.

Check with your doctor immediately if blurred vision, difficulty with reading, or any other change in vision occurs during or after treatment. Your doctor may want your eyes be checked by an ophthalmologist (eye doctor).

This medicine may cause extrapyramidal disorders (eg, dystonia, dyskinesia, tongue protrusion, torticollis). Check with your doctor right away if you have the following symptoms after using the medicine: difficulty in speaking, drooling, loss of balance control, muscle trembling, jerking, or stiffness, restlessness, shuffling walk, stiffness of the limbs, twisting movements of the body, or uncontrolled movements, especially of the face, neck, and back.

Using this medicine for a long time may cause muscle weakness. Check with your doctor right away if you have muscle weakness while using this medicine.

Children are very sensitive to this medicine, and accidental overdoses have occurred with small amounts of chloroquine. Keep this medicine out of the reach of children.

Check with your doctor right away if you have continuing ringing or buzzing or other unexplained noise in the ears or hearing loss while using this medicine.

While you are being treated with chloroquine, do not have any immunizations (eg, rabies vaccine) without your doctor's approval.

Malaria is spread by the bites of certain kinds of infected female mosquitoes. If you are living in or will be traveling to an area where there is a chance of getting malaria, the following mosquito-control measures will help to prevent infection:

• If possible, avoid going out between dusk and dawn because it is at these times that mosquitoes most commonly bite.
• Remain in air-conditioned or well-screened rooms to reduce contact with mosquitoes.
• Wear long-sleeved shirts or blouses and long trousers to protect your arms and legs, especially from dusk through dawn when mosquitoes are out.
• Apply insect repellent, preferably one containing DEET, to uncovered areas of the skin from dusk through dawn when mosquitoes are out.
• If possible, sleep in a screened or air-conditioned room or under mosquito netting, preferably coated or soaked with pyrethrum, to avoid being bitten by malaria-carrying mosquitoes.
• Use mosquito coils or sprays to kill mosquitoes in living and sleeping quarters during evening and nighttime hours.

Do not take other medicines unless they have been discussed with your doctor. This includes prescription or nonprescription (over-the-counter [OTC]) medicines and herbal or vitamin supplements.

Data not available

Consult WARNINGS section for dosing related precautions.