Drug interactions

[survivor]

I had this urine infection and had tablet urispas 200 mg bd and Tab Norfloxacin 400 mg bd. My whole neck and face developed these rashes which are evident when I touch the face but not exactly red so can not be felt by others. By any chance does phenytoin or sodium valporate have any interactions with these drugs. Kindly give me a little info as to which drugs can not be used with phenytoin and sodium valporate. I had levocterizine but it did not help.

[Nakamova]

Urispas and Norfloxacin have no known interaction with valproate. Norfloxacin has an unpredictable effect with phenytoin, and is contraindicated for people with epilepsy -- it may may lower your seizure threshold. Cipro, a similar antibiotic, has increased serum Phenytoin levels in some folks, and decreased them in others. The Norfloxacin web site does say to stop taking it immediately if you develop a rash, so I hope you've done so!

Hope you are feeling better now.

[survivor]

Thanx naka! I am much much better! I have stopped taking Norflox. Thanx dear I never knew that Norflox was not to be used.

[Endless]

Survivor,

When I get a new drug or am having a suspected problem with a drug I do call my pharmacist and doctor, but I also use my own resources to learn about the issue and to help me make a list of what questions to ask.

An excellent resource is the interaction checker on http://www.drugs.com/drug_interactions.html. You can input all of your medications and it will check for those with interactions. Then if there is a specific concern you can call your pharmacist or doctor to check it out.

Speaking of the pharmacists, they are a goldmine of information. Any questions around drugs - dosages, adverse reactions, how to take them, etc. can all be answered. I call mine a lot.

One more resource is the National Institute of Health's (NIH) site with package inserts for all FDA approved drugs. It is packed with information
http://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/about.cfm

[survivor]

Dear Endless, I put a dr. in my name, but sometimes this mind of mine is so sleepy that I do not do whats to be done. See.................I could have thought of it that the rashes are due to the drug and I should discontinue it but.................I did'nt for three days. I was so deplepted due to the infection that thinking was difficult. Thanx dear, Thank u a lot!!