DETAILED DRUG INFORMATION |
DRUG | INDICATION | DOSAGE | SIDE EFFECTS |
ACETAZOLAMIDE 250mg tablets | Altitude acclimatisation | 250mg twice daily starting 24 hours before ascent and continuing for 24 hours after arrival | Mild diuretic, dry mouth, tingling in hands, feet and face |
ASPIRIN 300mg tablets | Pain and fever | 300 to 600mg every 4 to 6 hours as required | Rash, gastric irritation. Do not take if there is a history of stomach ulcer or asthma. Not suitable for anyone under the age of 16 |
CHLORPHENIRAMINE MALEATE 4mg tablets | Allergy, itchy skin rash, hay fever | 4mg every 6 hours as required | Drowsiness (for this reason it should not be taken when ascending significantly as drowsiness is a symptom of altitude sickness) |
Zirtek / Cetirizine | 10mg once a day | Minimal side effects |
CIPROFLOXACIN 250mg tablets | Diarrhoea caused by campolybacter, salmonella or shigella | 500mg twice a day for 5 days | Nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, headache, dizziness, sleep disorder, rash, itching. Interacts with combined oral contraceptive pill |
Chest infection | 500mg twice a day for 5 days |
Urinary tract infection (cystitis) | 250mg twice a day for 3 days |
CLOTRIMAZOLE 1% cream | Athlete's foot, ringworm, crotch-rot | Apply twice a day for 1 to 2 weeks | Occasional skin irritation |
CO-PHENOTROPE 2.5/0.025 tablets | Temporary arrest of diarrhoea to aid rehydration | 4 tablets initially followed by 2 every six hours until diarrhoea controlled - 48 hours maximum use | Constipation, persistence of infection |
LOPERAMIDE HYDROCHLORIDE 2mg capsules | Temporary arrest of diarrhoea to aid rehydration | 2 capsules initially followed by one with each further episode of diarrhoea for 48 hours maximum | Constipation, persistence of infection |
MEBENDAZOLE 100mg tablets (chewable) | Threadworm | 1 tablet | Abdominal pain, diarrhoea, allergy |
Roundworm, hookworm, whipworm | 1 tablet twice a day for 3 days |
METRONIDAZOLE 400mg tablets | Amoebic dysentery | 2 tablets three times a day for 5 days | Do not take with alcohol, produces an instant severe hangover. Nausea, vomiting, unpleasant taste, stomach upset, rashes. Interacts with combined oral contraceptive pill |
Giardiasis | 5 tablets daily for 3 days |
PARACETAMOL 500mg tablets | Pain and temperature | 2 tablets every 4 to 6 hours, to a maximum of 8 tablets in 24 hours | Rare but can cause liver damage in overdose |