Before Using

Drug information provided by: Merative, Micromedex®

In deciding to use a medicine, the risks of taking the medicine must be weighed against the good it will do. This is a decision you and your doctor will make. For this medicine, the following should be considered:

Allergies

Tell your doctor if you have ever had any unusual or allergic reaction to this medicine or any other medicines. Also tell your health care professional if you have any other types of allergies, such as to foods, dyes, preservatives, or animals. For non-prescription products, read the label or package ingredients carefully.

Pediatric

Appropriate studies on the relationship of age to the effects of hydralazine have not been performed in the pediatric population. However, no pediatric-specific problems have been documented to date.

Geriatric

No information is available on the relationship of age to the effects of hydralazine in geriatric patients.

Breastfeeding

Studies in women suggest that this medication poses minimal risk to the infant when used during breastfeeding.

Drug Interactions

Although certain medicines should not be used together at all, in other cases two different medicines may be used together even if an interaction might occur. In these cases, your doctor may want to change the dose, or other precautions may be necessary. Tell your healthcare professional if you are taking any other prescription or nonprescription (over-the-counter [OTC]) medicine.

Other Interactions

Certain medicines should not be used at or around the time of eating food or eating certain types of food since interactions may occur. Using alcohol or tobacco with certain medicines may also cause interactions to occur. The following interactions have been selected on the basis of their potential significance and are not necessarily all-inclusive.

Using this medicine with any of the following may cause an increased risk of certain side effects but may be unavoidable in some cases. If used together, your doctor may change the dose or how often you use this medicine, or give you special instructions about the use of food, alcohol, or tobacco.

  • Enteral Nutrition

Other Medical Problems

The presence of other medical problems may affect the use of this medicine. Make sure you tell your doctor if you have any other medical problems, especially:

  • Angina (severe chest pain) or
  • Blood disease or
  • Heart attack, history of or
  • Heart rhythm problems or
  • Hypotension (low blood pressure) or
  • Peripheral neuritis (nerve problem) or
  • Stroke, history of or
  • Systemic lupus erythematosus—Use with caution. May make these conditions worse.
  • Coronary artery disease or
  • Mitral valvular rheumatic heart disease—Should not be used in patients with these conditions.
  • Kidney disease—Use with caution. The effects may be increased because of slower removal of the medicine from the body.
  • Phenylketonuria—The oral solution contains aspartame, which can make this condition worse.

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