Norfloxacin
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Norfloxacin is a second generation quinolone antibiotic, a class of medications that kills infection-causing bacteria.[1] It is sold under the brand name Noroxin.
Contents
Why It's Prescribed
Norfloxacin is used to treat bacterial infections including urinary tract and prostate infections.[2]
Labeled uses for Norfloxacin include:[3] Acute Gonococcal Cervicitis, Acute Gonococcal Urethritis, Acute Lower Genitourinary Gonorrhea, E. Coli Prostatitis, Urinary Tract Infections
Additinally, unlabeled uses include:[4] Bacterial Gastroenteritis, Prevention of Traveler's Diarrhea, Traveler's Diarrhea
Form, Route, and Dosage
Norfloxacin is available as a tablet to take orally.[5] Norfloxacin is only available in the stregnth 400mg.[6] The maximum adult dose is 800mg in a 24 hour period.
Risks
Side Effects
Sometimes patients taking norfloxacin experience side effects. These may include:[7]
- nausea
- diarrhea
- heartburn
- dizziness
- stomach cramps
- headache
- weakness
- severe diarrhea (watery or bloody stools) that may occur with or without fever and stomach cramps (may occur up to 2 months or more after your treatment)
- rash
- itching
- hives
- difficulty breathing or swallowing
- swelling of the face, lips, tongue, or throat
- hoarseness
- loss of consciousness
- fever
- blistering or peeling skin
- yellowing of the skin or eyes
- dark urine
- muscle or joint pain
- pale skin
- shortness of breath
- unusual bruising or bleeding
- fast, pounding, or irregular heartbeat
- fainting
- seizures
- confusion
- hallucinations (seeing things or hearing voices that do not exist)
- anxiety
- not trusting others or feeling that others want to harm you
- restlessness
- uncontrollable shaking of a part of the body
- pain, numbness, burning, tingling, or weakness in the arms, hands, legs, or feet
Warnings
Patients taking Norfloxacin may have an increased risk of getting tendinitis.[8]
As a Pollutant
Because humans and animals often do not fully metabolize pharmaceuticals in their body, they can excrete drugs or their breakdown products, which may the enter the environment.[9]
In Sewage Sludge
Norfloxacin has been found in sewage sludge. In the Targeted National Sewage Sludge Survey, a 2009 test of 84 samples of sewage sludge from around the U.S., the EPA found norfloxacin in 29 samples (35%) in concentrations ranging from 99.3 to 1,290 parts per billion.[10] There are no federal regulations governing how much of this drug may be present in sewage sludge applied to land as fertilizer.
Articles and resources
Related SourceWatch articles
References
- ↑ Norfloxacin: MedlinePlus Drug Information, Accessed September 2, 2010.
- ↑ Norfloxacin: MedlinePlus Drug Information, Accessed September 2, 2010.
- ↑ Norfloxacin Oral: Dosage, Uses, and Warnings, Accessed September 2, 2010.
- ↑ Norfloxacin Oral: Dosage, Uses, and Warnings, Accessed September 2, 2010.
- ↑ Norfloxacin: MedlinePlus Drug Information, Accessed September 2, 2010.
- ↑ Norfloxacin Oral: Dosage, Uses, and Warnings, Accessed September 2, 2010.
- ↑ Norfloxacin: MedlinePlus Drug Information, Accessed September 2, 2010.
- ↑ Norfloxacin: MedlinePlus Drug Information, Accessed September 2, 2010.
- ↑ O.A.H. Jones, N. Voulvoulis, and J.N. Lester, Human Pharmaceuticals in Wastewater Treatment Processes, Environmental Science and Technology, 2005.
- ↑ Targeted National Sewage Sludge Survey Report, US EPA website, Accessed August 28, 2010.
