💊 Hydroxychloroquine Tablet 400 mg
📘 Description:
Hydroxychloroquine 400 mg tablets are oral antimalarial and immunomodulatory medications. They are typically white or off-white, film-coated, and oval- or capsule-shaped tablets. Some manufacturers score them for easy splitting.
🔬 Nature / Drug Class:
- Class: Antimalarial, DMARD (Disease-Modifying Antirheumatic Drug)
- Mechanism:
- Increases pH within intracellular vacuoles
- Inhibits antigen processing and presentation
- Suppresses immune overactivation and inflammation
🩺 Prescription / Uses:
| Indication | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) | Reduces joint swelling and pain, slows damage |
| Systemic lupus erythematosus | Manages flares, protects organs |
| Discoid lupus erythematosus | Treats skin-related lupus lesions |
| Malaria (treatment/prevention) | Active against P. vivax, P. ovale, P. malariae |
| Other autoimmune conditions | Off-label: Sjögren’s syndrome, sarcoidosis |
✅ Advantages:
- Well-tolerated for long-term use
- Safer than stronger immunosuppressants
- Pregnancy-safe (used for lupus)
- Reduces flares and fatigue in autoimmune conditions
- May lower blood clot risk in lupus patients
- Dual action: anti-inflammatory + antimalarial
⚠️ Precautions:
- Vision risk: Retinal toxicity (regular eye exams needed)
- Avoid use in retinal disease, maculopathy
- Use caution in:
- Renal or liver impairment
- Cardiac conditions (risk of QT prolongation)
- Take with food to minimize GI upset
📦 Storage:
- Store at 15–30°C in a dry, light-protected environment
- Keep away from children
🧾 Important Advice to Patients:
- Eye checks every 6–12 months (after 5 years of use, more frequent)
- Report vision changes (blurriness, trouble focusing, halos, etc.) immediately
- Continue medication even if symptoms improve
- Not to be stopped without doctor supervision
- Safe in pregnancy for lupus under doctor monitoring