Precautions

Drug information provided by: Merative, Micromedex®

It is very important that your doctor check the progress of you or your child at regular visits to make sure this medicine is working properly. Blood and urine tests may be needed to check for unwanted effects.

Do not use this medicine if you or your child are also using alfuzosin (Uroxatral®), amiodarone (Cordarone®), apalutamide (Erleada®), astemizole (Hismanal®), bepridil (Vascor®), cisapride (Propulsid®), colchicine (Colcrys®), dronedarone (Multaq®), ergot medicines (eg, dihydroergotamine, ergotamine, methylergonovine, Cafergot®, or Ergomar®), flecainide (Tambocor®), lomitapide (Juxtapid®), lovastatin (Altocor®, Mevacor®), lurasidone (Latuda®), oral midazolam (Versed®), pimozide (Orap®), propafenone (Rythmol®), quinidine (Quinaglute®), ranolazine (Ranexa®), sildenafil (Revatio®), simvastatin (Simcor®, Vytorin®, Zocor®), terfenadine (Seldane®), triazolam (Halcion®), or voriconazole (Vfend®). Using these medicines together with ritonavir may increase your chance of having serious side effects.

This medicine may decrease the effects of some birth control pills. Use an additional form of birth control along with your pills to keep from getting pregnant. Other forms of birth control include condoms, a diaphragm, or a contraceptive foam or jelly.

Ritonavir oral liquid contains alcohol, which should not be given to pregnant women and preterm babies.

Check with your doctor right away if you or your child have pain or tenderness in the upper stomach, pale stools, dark urine, loss of appetite, nausea, unusual tiredness or weakness, or yellow eyes or skin. These could be symptoms of a serious liver problem.

Pancreatitis may occur while you are using this medicine. Check with your doctor right away if you or your child have sudden and severe stomach pain, chills, constipation, nausea, vomiting, fever, or lightheadedness.

This medicine may cause serious allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis and angioedema. These reactions can be life-threatening and require immediate medical attention. Call your doctor right away if you have a rash, itching, blistering, peeling, or loosening of the skin, fever or chills, trouble breathing or swallowing, or any swelling of your hands, face, mouth, or throat while you are using this medicine.

Serious skin reactions can occur with this medicine. Check with your doctor right away if you or your child have any of the following symptoms while taking this medicine: blistering, peeling, or loosening of the skin, fever, chills, cough, diarrhea, itching, joint or muscle pain, rash, red skin lesions, often with a purple center, sore throat, sores, ulcers, or white spots in the mouth or on the lips, swelling of your hands, face, tongue, or throat, or unusual tiredness or weakness.

This medicine may cause heart rhythm problems. Tell your doctor right away if you or your child gets dizzy or lightheaded, have fast or irregular heart beats, or feels like fainting.

This medicine may increase the amount of cholesterol and fats in your blood. If this condition occurs, your doctor may give you some medicines that can lower the amount of cholesterol and fats in the blood. Talk to your doctor if you or your child have concerns.

This medicine may increase your blood sugar levels. Check with your doctor right away if you or your child have the following symptoms: confusion, nausea or vomiting, increased hunger, thirst or urination, or unusual tiredness or weakness.

Your immune system may get stronger when you start taking HIV medicines. Tell your doctor right away if you notice any changes in your health. Sometimes the immune system will start to fight infections that were hidden in your body, such as pneumonia or tuberculosis, or may result in a flare-up of a hidden autoimmune disorder such as Graves disease, polymyositis, or Guillain-Barré syndrome.

This medicine may cause you to have excess body fat. Tell your doctor if you or your child notice changes in your body shape, such as an increased amount of fat in the upper back and neck, or around the chest and stomach area. You might also lose fat from the legs, arms, and face.

This medicine may increase the risk of bleeding in patients with hemophilia (a bleeding disorder). Talk with your doctor about this risk.

This medicine will not keep you from giving HIV to your partner during sex. Make sure you understand this and practice safe sex, even if your partner also has HIV, by using a latex condom or other barrier method. This medicine will also not keep you from giving HIV to other people if they are exposed to your blood. Do not re-use or share needles with anyone.

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