Doxochem

Indications

Doxophylline (also called Doxofylline) is used to relieve and prevent wheezing and breathlessness in asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), including chronic bronchitis. It is a regular, preventive treatment and does not replace a quick-relief inhaler during a sudden attack.

How It Works

It relaxes the muscles around the airways so they open wider and air can move more easily. It belongs to the same family as Theophylline but has less effect on the heart and fewer stimulant side effects.

Dosage and Administration

Adults: usually 400 mg two or three times a day, or as prescribed. Older people and people with liver disease may need a lower dose. Children: as prescribed by weight. Take it after meals with water, at evenly spaced times. Injections are given by a doctor or nurse in hospital.

Interactions

Do not take it with other xanthine medicines such as Theophylline or Aminophylline. Erythromycin and some other antibiotics (such as Clindamycin and Lincomycin), Allopurinol, Cimetidine, Propranolol and the flu vaccine may raise its level in the blood. Avoid large amounts of tea, coffee and energy drinks, as caffeine adds to its side effects.

Contraindications

• Allergy to Doxophylline or other xanthine medicines.
• A recent heart attack.
• Very low blood pressure.
• Breastfeeding.

Side Effects

Common: nausea, vomiting, stomach upset, headache, irritability and difficulty sleeping. Less common: a fast heartbeat or palpitations, tremor and loss of appetite.

Get urgent medical help if you have:

• A very fast, pounding or irregular heartbeat, or chest pain.
• Fits.
• Vomiting that does not stop.
• Breathlessness that gets worse and does not improve with your reliever inhaler.
• Swelling of the face or throat, or a severe rash.

Pregnancy and Lactation

There is limited information on use in pregnancy, so use it only if a doctor decides the benefit outweighs the risk. Do not take it while breastfeeding.

Precautions and Warnings

Use with care in people with heart disease or heart rhythm problems, high blood pressure, an overactive thyroid, stomach ulcers, liver or kidney disease, epilepsy, and in older people. Keep taking your other asthma or COPD medicines as prescribed. Do not take more than the prescribed dose.

Overdose

Too much can cause severe nausea and vomiting, agitation, a fast or irregular heartbeat, low blood pressure and fits. This is an emergency; seek medical help at once.

Therapeutic Class

Methylxanthine bronchodilator.

Storage

Store below 30°C in a dry place, away from light and out of the reach of children.