Precautions

Drug information provided by: Merative, Micromedex®

It is important that your doctor check your progress at regular visits. This will allow your doctor to see if the medicine is working properly and to decide if you should continue to use it. Urine or blood tests may be needed to check for unwanted effects.

Check with your doctor right away if you have bloody urine, decreased amount of urine, lower back or side pain, nausea and vomiting, pain in the groin or genitals, sharp back pain just below the ribs, swelling of the face, fingers, or lower legs, or unusual tiredness or weakness. These could be symptoms of serious kidney problems, including kidney stones.

Check with your doctor right away if you have stomach pain, bloody diarrhea, cramps, fever, headache, or a rash while you are using this medicine. These may be symptoms of a condition called mesalamine-induced acute intolerance syndrome.

Call your doctor right away if you have chest pain, difficulty breathing or swallowing, a fast heartbeat, itching, rash, or skin redness, or swelling of the face, throat, or tongue. These may be symptoms of a serious allergic reaction to this medicine.

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

This medicine may cause serious skin reactions, including Stevens-Johnson syndrome, toxic epidermal necrolysis, drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS), and acute generalized exanthematous pustulosis (AGEP). Check with your doctor right away if you have black, tarry stools, blistering, peeling, or loosening of the skin, chest pain, chills, cough, diarrhea, itching, joint or muscle pain, painful or difficult urination, red irritated eyes, red skin lesions, often with a purple center, sore throat, sores, ulcers, or white spots in the mouth or on the lips, swollen glands, trouble breathing, unusual bleeding or bruising, or unusual tiredness or weakness.

Check with your doctor if you notice rectal bleeding, blistering, pain, burning, itching, or other sign of irritation not present before you started using this medicine.

This medicine may make you more sensitive to light and cause serious unwanted skin reaction. This is more likely if you have an existing skin problem (eg, atopic dermatitis, atopic eczema). Check with your doctor right away if you have increased sensitivity of the skin to sunlight, itching, redness or other discoloration of the skin, severe sunburn, or skin rash. Use a sunscreen when you are outdoors. Avoid sunlamps and tanning beds.

Mesalamine may stain clothing, fabrics, flooring, painted surfaces, marble, granite, vinyl, enamel, or other surfaces it touches. Keep this medicine away from these surfaces to prevent staining.

Before you have any medical tests, tell the medical doctor in charge that you are using this medicine. The results of some tests may be affected by this medicine.

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.

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Portions of this document last updated: April 01, 2024

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