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Home » Stomach Disorder » Forlax/Movicol
Forlax
Brand Names: Forlax, Movicol
Generic name: Macrogol 4000
Manufacturer: Various
Forlax/Movicol Indications
This medicine (Forlax/Movicol) is widely prescribed in the treatment of chronic constipation and faecal impaction.
Forlax/Movicol Information
Each pack of Forlax/Movicol contains macrogol (also known as polyethlene glycol).
Forlax/Macrogol is popular a type of drug that is also widely called an osmotic laxative.
Forlax/Movicol’s ingredients also contain sodium chloride, sodium bicarbonate, and potassium chloride.
Forlax/Macrogol is a benefic inert substance that is known for its ability to pass through the patient’s gut without being absorbed into the organism. This substance is able to relieve constipation because it retains water into the bowel instead of allowing it to be absorbed into the organism, thus increasing the volume and the water content of the stools in the bower (making the stools easier to pass and softer).
The sodium bicarbonate, potassium chloride and sodium chloride (electrolytes) have been included among this drug’s ingredients in order to help ensure that this medicine (this laxative) achieves its goal without causing the organism to lose or gain significant amounts of sodium, water and potassium.
Forlax/Movicol is usually used to help patients who are suffering from severe constipation (faecal impaction) but also to patients who have been constipated for a prolonged period of time.
A prolonged treatment (more than 2 weeks of intake) with Movicol to treat constipation is not regularly recommended. However, your personal doctor may advise you to take it for a longer period of time if you are suffering from chronic constipation (this condition might be triggered by some other disorders such as multiple sclerosis or Parkinson’s disease or by the intake of regular drugs that are known to cause constipation, for example opioid painkillers, antispasmodic medicines or anticholinergic drugs that are used to treat some of the symptoms of Parkinson's disease).
If you want to start taking this medicine to treat faecal impaction, your treatment should not exceed 3 days.
Forlax/Movicol Warnings
This drug should not be prescribed to patients (children) who are younger than 8 years.
You should stop taking this drug and consult your personal doctor if you begin to feel fatigued, weak, breathless, with a headache, very thirsty, or if you develop swollen ankles. These symptoms are known to sometimes indicate that your electrolyte and your fluid levels have been severely disturbed. Your physician should ask you to undergo a blood test.
This medicine should be used with extreme caution in the case of patients who are suffering from Heart disorders.
Blockage of the gut
Crohn's Disease
Hole in the gut
Inflammation of the back passage and of the bowel (Ulcerative Colitis)
Sudden expansion of the patient’s large intestine
If you are suffering from any of the medical conditions that have been listed here, you might not be allowed to start using ForlaxMovicol, or you might have to be prescribed a lower dose of it.
You should not start taking this drug if you are suffering from an allergic reaction to it or to any of its main ingredients. Alert your personal physician if you are allergic to foods, dyes, preservatives, other medicines or any other types of substances before you start taking Forlax/Movicol. If you suspect that you might have allergic reaction to this medicine, you must stop using it and inform your personal physician or pharmacist immediately.
It is not known whether it is safe to start taking this medicine during a pregnancy. You should ask your personal physician for further information regarding the risks of taking Forlax/Movicol while being pregnant. It has not been clearly determined whether this medicine’s main ingredients are able to pass into breast milk or not. Ask for your personal physician’s opinion before you start taking this medicine if you are currently breastfeeding an infant.
Forlax/Movicol Intake Guidelines
May be taken with or without food (Dissolve each sachet in a glass of water.)
Forlax/Movicol Dosage
1-2 sachet daily. Children Max duration: 3 mth.
Forlax/Movicol Contraindications
Severe inflammatory bowel disease (ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease), toxic megacolon, perforation or risk of perforation, ileus or suspicion of intestinal obstruction or symptomatic stenosis, painful abdominal syndromes of undetermined reason, fructose intolerance.
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