Allopurinol

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Allopurinol (brand names include: Zyloprim / Allohexal / Allosig / Progout / Zyloric / Puricos) belongs to a group of medicines called anti-uricaemics.

These medicines work by reducing the formation and accumulation of uric acid in the body. Excess amounts of uric acid in the blood may lead to the development of crystals which deposit in the joints, causing pain, swelling and tenderness.

Allopurinol is used in the treatment of:

gout or gouty arthritis (a condition of painful swollen joints caused by uric acid crystals);
kidney stones (uric acid crystals in the kidney);
skin tophi (uric acid crystals beneath the skin);
other rare conditions where high levels of uric acid occur in the blood (eg. Lesch-Nyhan syndrome).

Your doctor may have prescribed Allopurinol for another reason.

Recommendations

Follow the directions for using this medicine provided by your doctor. Take Allopurinol exactly as directed.

The dose varies from person to person. Your doctor will tell you how many tablets you need to take each day.

In adults, the usual dose is 100 mg to 200 mg daily for mild conditions, 300 mg to 600 mg daily for moderately severe conditions and 700 mg to 900 mg daily for severe conditions.

Elderly people over 65 years of age and those with kidney or liver problems may need smaller doses.

For children under 15 years of age the dose is calculated according to body weight. The maximum dose used in children is usually 400 mg daily.

Your doctor may advise you to take a different dose. This depends on your condition and whether or not you are taking any other medicines.

Swallow the tablets with a glass of water. It is important to drink at least 2 litres of fluid each day when you have high levels of uric acid in the blood.

Take Allopurinol during or immediately after a meal.

Allopurinol is usually taken once a day. However, if your dose is higher than 300 mg a day, your doctor may advise you to take it morning and night.

Precautions

Tell your doctor before taking Allopurinol, if:

you are allergic to any medicines;
you or a member of your immediate family have haemochromatosis;
you are having an acute attack of gout;
you are pregnant or breast-feeding.