Lasix (Furosemide)
Brand Names: Lasix, Diaqua-2, Lo-Aqua
Related Medications: Aldactazide, Aldactone, Azor, Bumex, Cardura, Coreg, Demadex, Diovan HCT, Dutoprol, Dyazide, Edarbi, Exforge, Fosrenol, Inderal LA, Inderal XL, Isoptin, Isuprel, Lanoxin, Levatol, Moduretic, Mykrox, Rapamune, Renagel, Tekamlo, Zemplar
LasixRecommendations and Precautions
Lasix belongs to effective diuretics that are taken by many patients to treat edema or swelling and their excessive accumulation of fluid. These medical
conditions are often caused by such serious diseases as cirrhosis, heart failure, nephric syndrome and others. Sometimes, this popular medicine is combined
with blood pressure meds to treat hypertension or high potassium, magnesium and calcium levels.
How Lasix Acts
Basically, Lasix is quite a powerful water pill prescribed by doctors to eliminate salt and water from people’s body. In kidneys, water, salt and other
tiny molecules are commonly filtered out of the blood, and this fluid becomes urine while most of water, chloride and sodium are reabsorbed into the blood.
Lasix acts by blocking this kind of absorption, thus, resulting in increasing the output of urine or diuresis. Patients should understand that the diuretic
effect of this medication may lead to depletion of body water, chloride, sodium and other minerals, so that their treatment must be closely supervised by
doctors. The intake of Lasix was approved by the FDA more than 30 years ago.
Most Common and Dangerous Side Effects
Like other meds, the use of Lasix may lead to the development of a set of unwanted symptoms, including:
The good news is that side effects are quite rare, so that most patients take this medication safely. Some of the most serious adverse effects include the
following:
Preparations and Doses
Nowadays, Lasix is available in the form of injections, oral solutions and standard tablets that come in different strengths, from 20 mg to 80 mg. It’s
necessary to store them properly and remember that the right dosage depends on such important factors as particular health condition that should be
treated. To treat edema, patients need to take 20-80 mg once, and this dose can be repeated after 6-8 hours until the required effect is achieved. In rare
cases, some people need 600 mg of Lasix take on a daily basis. For minor patients, their starting dose is 2 mg per 1 kilo, and it can be increased, too. To
treat high blood pressure it’s recommended to take 40 mg twice a day, but the dosage of other medications that treat the same condition should be decreased
accordingly.
Unwanted Drug Combinations
Patients undergoing this treatment should avoid combining Lasix with aminoglycoside antibiotics because it may cause hearing damages. Other pharmaceutical
products that should be avoided while taking this medicine include Aspirin, lithium, Sucralfate, antihypertensive pills, NSAIDs and a few others. The main
reason is that they reduce effectiveness and may result in developing unwanted symptoms.