What is rifampin?
Rifampin is an antibiotic. Rifampin prevents bacteria from spreading in your body. Rifampin is used to treat or prevent tuberculosis (TB). Rifampin may also be used to eliminate a bacteria from your nose and throat that may cause meningitis or other infections, even if you do not have an infection. Rifampin prevents you from spreading this bacteria to other people, but the medication will not treat an infection caused by the bacteria. Rifampin may also be used for other purposes not listed in this medication guide.
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What are the possible side effects of rifampin?
Get emergency medical help if you have any of these signs of an allergic
reaction: hives; difficulty breathing; swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat.
Call your doctor at once if you have a serious side effect such as:
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fever, chills, body aches, flu symptoms;
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joint pain or swelling;
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easy bruising or bleeding, weakness;
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urinating less than usual or not at all; or
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nausea, stomach pain, loss of appetite, itching, dark urine,
clay-colored stools, jaundice (yellowing of the skin or eyes).
Less serious side effects may include:
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tired feeling; or
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red or orange colored urine, stools, tears, sweat, or saliva.
This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur. Tell
your doctor about any unusual or bothersome side effect.
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How should I use rifampin?
Take this medication exactly as prescribed by your doctor. Do not take it in larger amounts or for longer than recommended. Follow the directions on your prescription label. Take the rifampin capsule on an empty stomach 1 hour before or 2 hours after meals. Swallow the capsule with a full glass (8 ounces) of water. Take this medication for the full prescribed length of time. Your symptoms may improve before the infection is completely cleared. Rifampin will not treat a viral infection such as the common cold or flu.
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What is the most important information I should know about rifampin?
Before taking rifampin, tell your doctor if you are allergic to any drugs, or if you have liver disease or porphyria (an enzyme disorder that causes blue discoloration of the skin). Take this medication for the full prescribed length of time. Your symptoms may improve before the infection is completely cleared. Rifampin will not treat a viral infection such as the common cold or flu. Take the rifampin capsule on an empty stomach 1 hour before or 2 hours after a meal. Rifampin can make birth control pills less effective. Ask your doctor about using a non-hormone method of birth control (such as a condom, diaphragm, spermicide) to prevent pregnancy while taking rifampin.
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What happens if I miss a dose?
Take the missed dose as soon as you remember. However, if it is almost time for your next regularly scheduled dose, skip the missed dose and take the next one as directed. Do not take extra medicine to make up a missed dose.
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What other drugs will affect rifampin?
Many drugs can interact with rifampin. Below is just a partial list. Tell your doctor if you are using: acetaminophen (Tylenol); a blood thinner such as warfarin (Coumadin); a barbiturate such as phenobarbital (Solfoton); diazepam (Valium) or similar medicines such as alprazolam (Xanax), chlordiazepoxide (Librium), midazolam (Versed), temazepam (Restoril), triazolam (Halcion), and others; a beta-blocker such as atenolol (Tenormin), bisoprolol (Zebeta, Ziac), labetalol (Normodyne, Trandate), metoprolol (Lopressor, Toprol), propranolol (Inderal, InnoPran), timolol (Blocadren), and others;
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Can I take this if I am pregnant or trying to get pregnant or if I am breastfeeding?
Rifampin has been assigned to pregnancy category C by the FDA. Animal studies have revealed evidence of embryotoxicity and teratogenicity. There are no controlled data from human pregnancy studies. Congenital anomalies have been associated with the use of rifampin during pregnancy. Rifampin is only recommended for use during pregnancy when there are no alternatives and benefit outweighs risk.
Rifampin crosses the human placenta. Data reveal a fetal:maternal serum concentration ratio of 0.23.
Reports of the use of rifampin during pregnancy generally involve multiple drug therapy. In a review of 204 pregnancies during which exposure to rifampin occurred, 7 malformations were thought to be due to drug therapy, including anencephaly (1 case), hydrocephalus (2 cases), limb malformations (3 cases), and renal tract abnormalities (1 case).
Hemorrhagic complications resulting from vitamin K deficiency, have been rarely associated with the use of rifampin. Some experts recommend prophylactic vitamin K during rifampin therapy if dietary vitamin K intake is inadequate.
The initial therapy of active tuberculosis in pregnant patients recommended by the Centers for Disease Control includes rifampin. Rifampin is also recommended by the American Thoracic Society.
Rifampin is excreted into human milk. Due to the potential for serious adverse effects in nursing infants, the decision should be made to either discontinue nursing or discontinue the drug based on the importance of the therapy to the mother.
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What happens if I overdose?
Seek emergency medical attention if you think have used too much of this medicine. Overdose symptoms may include nausea, vomiting, itching, headache, weakness, fast or uneven heart rate, or feeling like you might pass out.
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What should I discuss with my healthcare provider before using rifampin?
You should not use this medication if you are allergic to rifampin. Before taking rifampin, tell your doctor if you are allergic to any drugs, or if you have: liver disease; or porphyria (an enzyme disorder that causes blue discoloration of the skin). If you have any of these conditions, you may need a dose adjustment or special tests to safely take rifampin. FDA pregnancy category C. This medication may be harmful to an unborn baby. Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant during treatment.
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Can I stop taking the medication if I feel better?
If you have been diagnosed with a disease for which an antibiotic is needed, you must complete the prescribed course of treatment. Even if you start to feel better, do not skip any doses and remember to take the medication until it is all gone.
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I am on so many medications; do I have to take them all?
This is called polypharmacy—many different medications being used at the same time by one person. Sometimes, being on multiple medications is acceptable and appropriate but at other times it may be problematic. If you are receiving your medications from multiple physicians you need to ensure that they all know what medications you are taking. The best way to do this is to make a list of all the medications you are currently using, including all nutritional supplements, homeopathic remedies, vitamins and over-the-counter drugs (if possible, also include all the diseases you have been diagnosed with). Give a copy to every doctor who takes care of you so they have it on file, this way they can avoid duplicating medications and perhaps even try to consolidate some. After every doctor's visit remember to update the list accordingly. Also, as much as you possibly can, try to use the same pharmacy to fill all your prescriptions, this way any potential drug interactions can be caught and averted.
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