Furosemide

Brand Names

Furosemide, frusemide

What is Furosemide

Furosemide is a loop diuretic preventing your body from absorbing too much salt allowing the salt to instead be passed in your urine.

Side effects of Furosemide

Stop using furosemide and call your doctor immediately if you have such serious side effects as:

• ringing in your ears, hearing loss
• feeling very thirsty or hot, being unable to urinate, heavy sweating or hot and dry skin
• painful or difficult urination
• pale skin, unusual bleeding (nose, mouth, vagina, or rectum), purple or red pinpoint spots under your skin
• feeling light-headed or short of breath, rapid heart rate, trouble concentrating
• nausea, upper stomach pain, itching, loss of appetite, dark urine, clay-colored stools, jaundice
• sudden numbness or weakness, especially on one side of the body
• skin rash, bruising, severe tingling, pain, muscle weakness
• dry mouth, increased thirst, drowsiness, restless feeling, confusion, nausea, vomiting, increased urination, muscle pain or weakness, uneven heart rate, fainting or seizure
• numbness or tingly feeling around your mouth, muscle tightness or contraction, overactive reflexes headache, trouble concentrating, weakness, loss of appetite, feeling unsteady, shallow breathing or breathing that stops
• severe skin reaction- fever, sore throat, swelling in your face or tongue, burning in your eyes, skin pain followed by a red or purple skin rash that spreads (especially in the face or upper body) and causes blistering and peeling

Indication

Furosemide is intended to treat congestive heart failure, hypertension, edema, liver disease or a kidney disorder such as nephrotic syndrome.

Precautions

You should not take this medicine if you have any of these conditions:

• kidney disease
• enlarged prostate, bladder obstruction or other urination problems
• cirrhosiss
• an electrolyte imbalance (such as low levels of potassium or magnesium in your blood)
• high cholesterol or triglycerides (a type of fat in the blood)
• gout
• lupus
• diabetes
• an allergy to sulfa drugs

Dosage forms

Furosemide Dosing for High Blood Pressure is 40 mg twice daily. But your doctor may increase or descrease your dose depending on the initial blood pressure response and side effects of furosemide.

Furosemide Dose for Water Retention can vary between 20 mg and 600 mg daily (taken as a single dose or divided and taken more frequently).

Furosemide Dosage for Infants and Children is 2 mg per kilogram per day (about 0.9 mg per pound per day). This dose can be increased up to a maximum of 6 mg per kilogram (about 2.7 mg per pound).