Health Centres - Frusol (furosemide)
How does it work?
Frusol oral solution contains the active ingredient furosemide (previously known as frusemide in the UK), which is a type of medicine called a loop diuretic. (NB. Furosemide is also available without a brand name, ie as the generic medicine.)
Diuretics are sometimes referred to as ‘water tablets’. They remove excess fluid from the body by increasing the production of urine.
Loop diuretics work by causing the kidneys to increase the amount of salts such as potassium and sodium that are filtered out of the blood and into the urine. When these salts are filtered out of the blood by the kidneys, water is also drawn alongside. As diuretics increase the removal of salts from the blood, they also cause more water to be drawn out of the blood and into the urine.
Furosemide is used to treat conditions where excess fluid has been retained in the body (oedema). For example, in heart failure, the pumping mechanism of the heart is less effective. This can cause fluid to build up in the ankles and the lungs (pulmonary oedema), which makes it difficult to breathe. Furosemide helps the body to remove this excess fluid. Removing fluid from the blood vessels also decreases the pressure within the blood vessels. This makes it easier for a weak heart to pump blood around the body. Furosemide is therefore used to relieve the symptoms of heart failure.
Furosemide is also used to remove excess fluid that can accumulate in people with cirrhosis of the liver. This fluid may accumulate in the abdomen (ascites) or in the legs (peripheral oedema).
Problems with blood circulation in the legs can also cause fluid retention and swelling of the ankles or lower legs, and this can also be treated with furosemide.
At higher doses the amount of water drawn from the blood into the urine is much greater, therefore furosemide is also used when there is reduced production of urine in people with kidney failure.
As furosemide decreases the pressure within the blood vessels, it is also sometimes used to treat high blood pressure, usually in people resistant to other blood pressure lowering medicines.
What is it used for?
- Removing excess fluid (oedema) from the body, for example due to conditions affecting the heart (eg heart failure), lungs, liver (eg cirrhosis), kidneys (eg kidney failure), or blood vessels.
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High blood pressure.
Warning!
- As diuretics cause your kidneys to produce more urine, you may prefer to take this medicine in the morning rather than before going to bed, as this will reduce the likelihood of you needing to get up in the night to visit the toilet. Seek further advice from your doctor or pharmacist.
- While taking this medicine you will need to have regular blood tests to monitor your kidney function and the levels of salts such as potassium and sodium in your blood.
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