The effects of some drugs can change if you take other drugs or herbal products at the same time. This can increase your risk for serious side effects or may cause your medications not to work correctly. These drug interactions are possible, but do not always occur. Your doctor or pharmacist can often prevent or manage interactions by changing how you use your medications or by close monitoring.

To help your doctor and pharmacist give you the best care, be sure to tell your doctor and pharmacist about all the products you use (including prescription drugs, nonprescription drugs, and herbal products) before starting treatment with this product. While using this product, do not start, stop, or change the dosage of any other medicines you are using without your doctor's approval.

Some products that may interact with this drug include: mefloquine.

Be sure to tell your doctor about all medications you take for malaria within the 4 weeks before, during, and after treatment with artemether/lumefantrine. Some antimalarial drugs (such as halofantrine) should not be used within one month of treatment with artemether/lumefantrine. In some cases a serious (possibly fatal) drug interaction may occur.

Other medications can affect the removal of artemether/lumefantrine from your body, which may affect how this product works. Examples include azole antifungals (such as ketoconazole), HIV drugs (such as ritonavir), macrolide antibiotics (such as erythromycin), among others.

This medication can speed up or slow down the removal of other medications from your body, which may affect how they work. Examples of affected drugs include flecainide, certain beta blockers such as metoprolol, certain tricyclic antidepressants (such as amitriptyline and imipramine), among others.

Many drugs besides artemether/lumefantrine may affect the heart rhythm (QT prolongation), including other antimalarial drugs (such as quinine, quinidine), antiarrhythmic drugs (such as amiodarone, sotalol, procainamide, disopyramide), antipsychotics (such as pimozide, ziprasidone), macrolide antibiotics (such as erythromycin), fluoroquinolone antibiotics (such as ciprofloxacin, moxifloxacin), among others. Therefore, before using this product, report all medications you are currently using to your doctor or pharmacist.

This medication may decrease the effectiveness of hormonal birth control such as pills, patch, or ring. This could cause pregnancy. Discuss with your doctor or pharmacist if you should use additional reliable birth control methods while using this medication. Also tell your doctor if you have any new spotting or breakthrough bleeding, because these may be signs that your birth control is not working well.

Check the labels on all your medicines (such as allergy or cough-and-cold products) because they may contain ingredients that cause dizziness. Ask your pharmacist about using those products safely.

This document does not contain all possible interactions. Therefore, before using this product, tell your doctor or pharmacist of all the products you use. Keep a list of all your medications with you, and share the list with your doctor and pharmacist.

OVERDOSE: If overdose is suspected, contact a poison control center or emergency room immediately. US residents can call the US National Poison Hotline at 1-800-222-1222. Canada residents can call a provincial poison control center. Symptoms of overdose may include: severe dizziness, fainting, slow/irregular heartbeat.

NOTES: Do not share this medication with others.

Laboratory and/or medical tests (such as EKG) should be performed at the start of treatment and periodically to monitor your progress or check for side effects. Consult your doctor for more details.

MISSED DOSE: If you miss a dose, take it as soon as you remember. If it is near the time of the next dose, skip the missed dose and resume your usual dosing schedule. Do not double the dose to catch up.

STORAGE: Store at room temperature at 77 degrees F (25 degrees C) away from sunlight and moisture. Brief storage between 59-86 degrees F (15-30 degrees C) is permitted. Do not store in bathroom. Keep all medicines away from children and pets.

Do not flush medications down the toilet or pour them into a drain unless instructed to do so. Properly discard this product when it is expired or no longer needed. Consult your pharmacist or local waste disposal company for more details about how to safely discard your product.

Information last revised May 2011. Copyright(c) 2011 First Databank, Inc.