Rifampin, Oral

What are other names for this medicine?

Type of medicine: antibacterial; antitubercular

Generic and brand names: rifampin, oral; Rifadin; Rimactane

What is this medicine used for?

This medicine is used with one or more other medicines to treat tuberculosis. It is also used alone to get rid of meningitis bacteria in people who carry the bacteria but do not get sick. It may be used for other conditions as determined by your healthcare provider.

What should my healthcare provider know before I take this medicine?

Before taking this medicine, tell your healthcare provider if you have ever had:

• an allergic reaction to any medicine
• adrenal gland problems such as Addison's disease
• diabetes
• liver problems
• porphyria (nerve pain or sensitivity to sunlight).
• problems with alcohol abuse
• thyroid disease

Females of childbearing age: Tell your healthcare provider if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known whether this medicine will harm an unborn baby. Do not breast-feed while taking this medicine without your healthcare provider's approval.

How do I take it?

Take this medicine on an empty stomach, at least 1 hour before or 2 hours after meals, unless your healthcare provider tells you otherwise. If you are taking antacids take them 2 hours before doses of this medicine.

If the capsules are difficult to swallow, you may open them and mix the contents with soft food.

Check the label on the medicine for directions about your specific dose. Take this medicine exactly as directed by your healthcare provider for the length of time prescribed, even if you feel better. Do not stop taking this medicine without your healthcare provider's approval.

Do not use this medicine for any other infection unless your healthcare provider approves.

If you are taking more than one medicine for tuberculosis, take them at different times.

What if I miss a dose?

If you miss a dose, take it as soon as you remember unless it is almost time for the next scheduled dose. In that case, skip the missed dose and take the next one as directed. Do not take double doses. If you are not sure of what to do if you miss a dose, or if you miss more than one dose, contact your healthcare provider.

What if I overdose?

If you or anyone else has intentionally taken too much of this medicine, call 911 or go to the emergency room right away. If you pass out, have seizures, weakness or confusion, or have trouble breathing, call 911. If you think that you or anyone else may have taken too much of this medicine, call the poison control center. Do this even if there are no signs of discomfort or poisoning. The poison control center number is 800-222-1222.

Symptoms of an acute overdose may include: nausea, vomiting, tiredness, stomach pain, itching, headache, weakness, fainting, fast irregular heartbeat, yellowing of the skin or eyes.

What should I watch out for?

This medicine will make your urine, stool, saliva, sputum, sweat, and tears a reddish-orange color. This is not harmful.

You need to have blood tests regularly to see how this medicine affects you. Keep all appointments for these tests.

This medicine may interfere with the effectiveness of birth control pills. Use another form of birth control while you are taking this medicine.

Using this medicine may cause soft contact lenses to become permanently discolored. Hard contact lenses are not affected.

Do not take any other prescription or nonprescription medicines without your healthcare provider's approval while you are taking this medicine.

If you need emergency care, surgery, or dental work, tell the healthcare provider or dentist you are taking this medicine.

Diabetics: This medicine may affect your blood sugar level and change the amount of insulin or other diabetes medicines you may need. Talk to your healthcare provider about this.

What are the possible side effects?

Along with its needed effects, your medicine may cause some unwanted side effects. Some side effects may be very serious. Some side effects may go away as your body adjusts to the medicine. Tell your healthcare provider if you have any side effects that continue or get worse.

Life-threatening (Report these to your healthcare provider right away. If you are unable to reach your healthcare provider right away, get emergency medical care or call 911 for help): Allergic reaction (hives; itching; rash; trouble breathing; tightness in your chest; swelling of your lips, tongue, and throat).

Serious (report these to your healthcare provider right away): Dizziness; chills; fever; headache; muscle pain; extreme tiredness or weakness; nausea; vomiting; loss of appetite; yellowish skin or eyes; sore throat; unusual bleeding or bruising; severe skin rash; tingling, pain, or numbness in hands or feet; dark urine; light-colored bowel movements, vision changes.

Other: Diarrhea; stomach cramps; heartburn; red or orange colored sweat, tears, saliva, or urine.

What products might interact with this medicine?

When you take this medicine with other medicines, it can change the way this or any of the other medicines work. Nonprescription medicines, vitamins, natural remedies, and certain foods may also interact. Using these products together might cause harmful side effects. Talk to your healthcare provider if you are taking any other medicines, including:

• ACE inhibitors such as benazepril (Lotensin), captopril (Capoten), enalapril (Vasotec), fosinopril (Monopril), lisinopril (Prinivil, Zestril), quinapril (Accupril), and ramipril (Altace)
• acetaminophen (Tylenol)
• angiotensin receptor II blockers such as candesartan (Atacand), eprosartan (Teveten), irbesartan (Avapro), losartan (Cozaar), olmesartan (Benicar), telmisartan (Micardis), and valsartan (Diovan)
• antacids (take them 2 hours before or after doses of this medicine)
• antiarrhythmic medicines (to treat irregular heartbeat) such as amiodarone (Cordarone, Pacerone), disopyramide (Norpace), mexiletine (Mexitil), quinidine, and tocainide (Tonocard)
• antibiotics such as atovaquone (Mepron), cycloserine (Seromycin), ciprofloxacin (Cipro), chloramphenicol (Chloromycetin), clarithromycin (Biaxin), doxycycline (Doryx, Doxy-100, Doxy-200, Monodox, Vibra-tabs, Vibramycin), erythromycin (Ery-Ped, EES, E-mycin), levofloxacin (Levaquin), gemifloxacin (Factive), lomefloxacin, Maxaquin), norfloxacin (Noroxin), ofloxacin, (Floxin), and trovafloxacin (Trovan)
• antidepressants such as amitriptyline, nortriptyline (Aventyl, Pamelor), imipramine (Tofranil), sertraline (Zoloft), desipramine (Norpramin), doxepin (Sinequan), mirtazapine (Remeron), and nefazodone
• antifungals such as fluconazole (Diflucan), itraconazole (Sporanox), and ketoconazole (Nizoral)
• anti-HIV medicines such as amprenavir (Agenerase), delavirdine (Rescriptor), efavirenz (Sustiva), saquinavir (Invirase, Fortovase), ritonavir (Norvir), zidovudine (Retrovir), and nelfinavir (Viracept)
• antiseizure medicines such as carbamazepine (Tegretol), ethotoin (Peganone), primidone (Mysoline), valproic acid (Depakote, Depakene), and phenytoin (Dilantin)
• aprepitant (Emend)
• barbiturates such as phenobarbital, butabarbital (Butisol), and pentobarbital (Nembutal)
• benzodiazepines such as diazepam (Valium), chlordiazepoxide (Librium), alprazolam (Xanax), lorazepam (Ativan), clorazepate (Tranxene), prazepam, (Centrax), oxazepam (Serax), flurazepam (Dalmane), temazepam (Restoril), and triazolam (Halcion)
• beta blockers such as atenolol (Tenormin), carvedilol (Coreg), propranolol (Inderal), and metoprolol (Lopressor)
• buspirone (BuSpar)
• calcium channel blockers such as nifedipine (Adalat, Procardia), isradipine (DynaCirc), felodipine (Plendil), nicardipine (Cardene), diltiazem (Cardizem), and verapamil (Isoptin, Calan)
• cholesterol-lowering medicines such as atorvastatin (Lipitor), lovastatin (Mevacor), and simvastatin (Zocor)
• corticosteroids such as cortisone (Cortone), prednisone (Liquid Pred, Prednisone Intensol), hydrocortisone (Cortef, Hydrocortone, A-HydroCort), dexamethasone (Hexadrol, Dalalone), betamethasone (Celestone), and triamcinolone (Aristocort, Kenacort)
• dapsone
• digoxin (Lanoxin)
• gefitinib (Iressa)
• haloperidol (Haldol)
• hormonal birth control such as pills, implants, shots, patches, or vaginal rings and hormones such as estradiol (Estrace, Estratab), conjugated estrogens (Premarin), norethindrone (Aygestin, Micronor), norgestrel (Ovrette), megestrol (Megace), and medroxyprogesterone (Provera, Curretab, Cycrin)
• immunosuppressants such as cyclosporine (Neoral, Sandimmune, Gengraf), sirolimus (Rapamune), tacrolimus (Prograf, Protopic), and mycophenolate (Cellcept)
• levodopa/carbidopa (Sinemet)
• medicine that reduces the chance of blood clots forming such as warfarin (Coumadin) and clopidogrel (Plavix)
• medicines to treat diabetes such as acetohexamide (Dymelor), chlorpropamide (Diabinese), glimepiride (Amaryl), glipizide (Glucotrol, Glucotrol XL), glyburide (DiaBeta, Glynase, Micronase), tolazamide (Tolinase), repaglinide (Prandin), pioglitazone (Actos), rosiglitazone (Avandia), and tolbutamide
• medicines to treat erectile dysfunction such as sildenafil (Viagra), tadalafil (Cialis), or vardenafil (Levitra)
• methotrexate (Rheumatrex)
• metronidazole (Flagyl)
• naltrexone (Trexan)
• narcotic analgesics such as codeine, hydrocodone (Vicodin, Lortab), oxycodone (Percocet, Tylox, OxyContin), morphine (MS Contin), propoxyphene (Darvocet N-100), pentazocine (Talwin), meperidine (Demerol), fentanyl (Duragesic patches), hydromorphone (Dilaudid), meperidine (Demerol), and methadone (Dolophine)
• probenecid
• quinine sulfate
• sleeping pills such as zolpidem (Ambien, Ambien CR), eszopiclone (Lunesta), and zaleplon (Sonata)
• St. John's wort
• sulfa medicines such as sulfamethoxazole (Bactrim, Septra) and sulfisoxazole (Gantrisin)
• tamoxifen (Nolvadex)
• theophylline
• thyroid medicines such as levothyroxine (Levothroid, Levoxyl, Synthroid, Unithroid), thyroid USP (Armor Thyroid, Thyrar, Thyroid Strong), liothyronine (Cytomel, Triostat), and liotrix (Thyrolar)
• tramadol (Ultram)

Do not drink alcohol while you are taking this medicine.

Keep a list of all your medicines with you. List all the prescription medicines, nonprescription medicines, supplements, natural remedies, and vitamins that you take. Be sure that you tell all healthcare providers who treat you about all the products you are taking.

How should I store this medicine?

Store this medicine at room temperature. Keep the container tightly closed. Protect it from heat, high humidity, and bright light.

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This advisory includes selected information only and may not include all side effects of this medicine or interactions with other medicines. Ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist for more information or if you have any questions.

Ask your pharmacist for the best way to dispose of outdated medicine or medicine you have not used. Do not throw medicine in the trash.

Keep all medicines out of the reach of children.

Do not share medicines with other people.

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