Patient leaflet - Acetazolamide tablets BP 250 mg
1. What Acetazolamide Tablets are and what they are used for
These tablets contain the active ingredient Acetazolamide, which is one of the group of medicines called carbonic anhydrase inhibitors.
Acetazolamide Tablets are used to treat abnormal retention of fluids, to treat epilepsy (fits or convulsions) and to treat glaucoma (a condition of the eye) by reducing the pressure in the eye.
2.What you need to know before you take Acetazolamide Tablets
Do not take these tablets if:
- you are allergic to acetazolamide, sulfonamides or to any of the other ingredients of this medicine (see section 6)
- you have kidney disease or kidney problems
- you have liver disease including cirrhosis, or liver problems
- you have reduced function of the adrenal glands (also known as Addison’s disease) • you suffer from chronic non-congestive angle-closure glaucoma
- you have low blood levels of sodium and/or potassium or you have high blood levels of chlorine (your doctor will advise you).
Warnings and Precautions
Talk to your doctor before taking these tablets if:
- you have lung problems such as bronchitis, asthma, wheezing or emphysema • you have a history of kidney stones as this medicine may cause further kidney stones • you are over the age of 65
- you experience lung or breathing problems (fluid in the lungs) following acetazolamide intake in the past
Some medicines used for treating epilepsy such as acetazolamide have been reported to cause some people to think about harming or killing themselves; you must immediately tell your doctor if you start to have any thoughts about harming yourself whilst you are taking this medicine. A decrease in vision or eye pain could be symptoms of fluid accumulation in the vascular layer of the eye (choroidal effusion or choroidal detachment).This can happen within hours of taking Acetazolamide. Talk to your doctor promptly if you experience these symptoms. If you are taking this medicine for a long time your doctor may want to do some tests to check your blood cell count and electrolyte levels.
You should tell your doctor if you get an unusual skin rash.
If you develop shortness of breath or difficulty breathing after taking Acetazolamide Tablets, seek medical attention immediately (see also section 4).
Other medicines and Acetazolamide
Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you are taking, have recently taken or might take any other medicines, including any that you can buy without a prescription. This is especially important if you are taking:
- medicines used for heart problems such as cardiac glycosides, e.g. digoxin • medicines used to control high blood pressure
- medicines used to thin the blood such as warfarin
- medicines to lower blood sugar levels e.g. metformin, gliclazide
- folic acid antagonists such as methotrexate, pyrimethamine, trimethoprim • aspirin
- phenytoin, carbamazepine, primidone (for epilepsy/fits)
- ciclosporin used to suppress the immune system/prevent organ rejection following a transplant
- lithium used to treat mental illness
- methenamine used to treat urinary tract infections
- medicines containing sodium bicarbonate (used to treat high states of acid in the body) • other carbonic acid anhydrase inhibitors e.g. dorzolamide or brinzolamide which are also used to treat glaucoma
- amphetamines (stimulant drugs)
- quinidine for irregular heartbeat.
Pregnancy, breast-feeding and fertility
If you are pregnant or breast-feeding, think you may be pregnant or are planning to have a baby check with your doctor before taking this medicine. It is not recommended that acetazolamide is taken during pregnancy, particularly in the first 3 months of pregnancy, and should only be used with extreme caution while breast-feeding.
Driving and using machines
This medicine may cause drowsiness, dizziness and confusion and may affect your eyesight. Do not drive or operate machinery if this medicine has that effect on you. Information on Sodium content
This medicine contains less than 1mmol sodium (23 mg) per tablet, that is to say essentially “sodium free”.
3. How to take Acetazolamide Tablets
The tablets should be swallowed with a drink of water.
Always take this medicine exactly as your doctor or pharmacist has told you.Check with your doctor or pharmacist if you are not sure.
The recommended doses are:
Glaucoma:
Adults: 1 -4 tablets (250 -1000 mg) daily in divided doses.
rs—r--
Measure bar should be 150mm at 100% scale Retention of fluids:
Adults: 1 -11/2 tablets (250- 375 mg) daily, in the morning. Best results may be obtained taking this dose for 2 days, rest a day and then repeat, or every other day, but your doctor will adjust your dose as necessary and tell you how often to take the tablets.
Epilepsy:
Adults: 1 -4 tablets (250-1000 mg) daily in divided doses.
Children: The dose will depend on the bodyweight of the child but will be 8 to 30mg/kg body weight daily in divided doses. The maximum daily dose is 750mg (3 tablets). Elderly: Caution should be exercised in older patients.
If you take more tablets than you should
Contact your doctor immediately or go to the nearest hospital casualty department.Take with you any remaining tablets and the pack so that the medicine can be identified. If you forget to take Acetazolamide Tablets
Take your dose as soon as you remember and then your next dose at the usual time. However, if this is within two hours of when your next dose is due, skip the missed dose and continue with your normal dosing schedule. DO NOT take a double dose to make up for a forgotten dose.
4. Possible side effects
Like all medicines, this medicine can cause side effects, although not everybody gets them. If any of the following occur STOP TAKING the tablets IMMEDIATELY and contact your doctor: • Sudden wheeziness, difficulty breathing; a rash, itching or hives (raised red weals) on the skin; sudden swelling of the eyelids, face, throat or lips. These are signs of a serious allergic reaction.
- Other serious skin reactions including blistering, swelling, or blisters on the skin, eyes, mouth and genitals (Stevens-Johnson syndrome).
Contact a doctor immediately if you experience a serious skin reaction; a red, scaly rash with bumps under the skin and blisters (exanthematous pustulosis).The frequency of this side effect is not known (cannot be estimated from the available data).
Contact a doctor immediately if you experience any of the following symptoms: • If you develop shortness of breath or difficulty breathing. These can be symptoms of accumulation of fluid in the lungs (pulmonary oedema).The frequency of this side effect cannot be estimated from the available data (not known).
Acetazolamide can affect the cells in your blood. This could mean that you are more likely to catch infections and that your blood may not clot properly.Contact your doctor immediately if you have a sore throat or fever or you notice bruises or tiny red or purple spots on your skin. If your muscles feel weak or you have fits, you should see your doctor immediately. Acetazolamide can affect the liver and kidneys.Contact your doctor if you experience pain in your lower back, pain or burning when you pass urine, have difficulty in passing urine, or you stop passing urine, have blood in your urine, pale stools, or if your skin or eyes look slightly yellow.You should also contact your doctor if your stools are black or tarry, or if you notice blood in your stools.
The following other side effects have also been reported (frequency unknown, cannot be estimated from the available data):
- Excess sugar in the urine, need to pass more urine than usual
- Thirst, taste disturbances, feeling or being sick, diarrhoea
- Tingling or numbness in the fingers or toes, or coldness in the extremities • Looking flushed, fever, headache, dizziness, tiredness, irritability, depression • Loss of interest in sex
- Loss of full control of arms or legs
- Convulsions (fits)
- Drowsiness or confusion
- Ringing in the ears or difficulty in hearing
- Increased skin sensitivity to sunlight
- Short-sightedness which lasts only a short time and which usually subsides when the medicine is withdrawn or the dose reduced
- Decrease in vision or pain in your eyes due to accumulation of fluid in the vascular layer of the eye (choroidal effusion or choroidal detachment).
If you take Acetazolamide for a long time it can occasionally affect the amount of potassium, or sodium in your blood. Your doctor will probably take blood tests to check that this does not happen.
You might also experience bone thinning or the risk of kidney stones with long-term therapy. Reporting of side effects
If you get any side effects, talk to your doctor, pharmacist or nurse.This includes any possible side effects not listed in this leaflet. You can also report side effects directly via the Yellow Card Scheme at: www.mhra.gov.uk/yellowcard or search for MHRA Yellow Card in the Google Play or Apple App Store. By reporting side effects you can help provide more information on the safety of this medicine.
5. How to store Acetazolamide Tablets
KEEP THIS MEDICINE OUT OF THE SIGHT AND REACH OF CHILDREN. Keep the tablets in the pack provided and protect from heat, light and moisture. Do not use this medicine after the expiry date which is stated on the carton after EXP. The expiry date refers to the last day of that month.
Do not throw away any medicines via wastewater or household waste.Ask your pharmacist how to throw away medicines you no longer use.These measures will help protect the environment.
6. Contents of the pack and other information
What Acetazolamide Tablets contain
Each tablet contains 250 mg of Acetazolamide as the active ingredient. Other ingredients are: dicalcium phosphate, maize starch, pregelatinised maize starch, sodium starch glycolate and magnesium stearate.
What Acetazolamide Tablets look like and contents of the pack
Acetazolamide Tablets are white, round tablets engraved with R and crescent moon logo on one side and with A and 303 on either side of a breakline on the other.
The tablets are available in pack sizes of 28, 30, 42, 50, 56, 60, 84, 90, 100 or 112 tablets. Not all pack sizes may be marketed.
Marketing Authorisation Holder and Manufacturer
Crescent Pharma Ltd., Key House, Sarum Hill, Basingstoke, RG21 8SR, UK. This leaflet was last revised: April 2025.
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< Measure bar should be 150mm at 100% scale