Health Centres - Natrilix
How does it work?
Natrilix tablets contain the active ingredient indapamide hemihydrate, which is a type of medicine called a diuretic. (NB. Indapamide is also available without a brand name, ie as the generic medicine.)
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.
Removing water from the blood decreases the volume of fluid circulating through the blood vessels. This subsequently decreases the pressure within the blood vessels. Diuretics are therefore used to lower high blood pressure.
Although indapamide is classed as a diuretic, its main mechanism of lowering blood pressure is due to a direct action on the blood vessels. It is thought that indapamide blocks the movement of calcium into the muscle in blood vessel walls. As calcium is required for the muscles to contract and cause the blood vessels to narrow, indapamide causes the blood vessels to widen. This helps to lower blood pressure.
What is it used for?
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.
- It is recommended that people taking this medicine have their fluid and salt (electrolyte) balance monitored regularly.
- If you experience any of the following symptoms while taking this medicine you should inform your doctor promptly, so that the amount of fluids and salts in your body can be checked: thirst, lethargy, confusion, weakness, drowsiness, muscle cramps, scanty production of urine, abnormal heart rhythm, seizures, nausea and vomiting.
Use with caution in
-
Coronary heart disease
- Decreased kidney function
- Elderly people
-
Gout
- High levels of calcium in the blood (hypercalcaemia)
- Malnutrition
- Over activity of the parathyroid glands (hyperparathyroidism)
- Overproduction of aldosterone, a steroid hormone which regulates salt and water balance (hyperaldosteronism)
Not to be used in
- People who have recently had a stroke
- Severe liver failure
- Worsening of poor kidney funtion
This medicine should not be used if you are allergic to one or any of its ingredients. Please inform your doctor or pharmacist if you have previously experienced such an allergy.
Pregnancy and Breastfeeding
Certain medicines should not be used during pregnancy or breastfeeding. However, other medicines may be safely used in pregnancy or breastfeeding providing the benefits to the mother outweigh the risks to the unborn baby. Always inform your doctor if you are pregnant or planning a pregnancy, before using any medicine.
- The safety of this medicine in pregnancy has not been established. It should therefore be used with caution during pregnancy, and only if the benefits to the mother outweigh any risks to the foetus. Seek medical advice from your doctor.
- There is no information available about the safety of this medicine during breastfeeding. For this reason, the manufacturer states that it should not be used during breastfeeding. Seek medical advice from your doctor.
Side effects
Medicines and their possible side effects can affect individual people in different ways. The following are some of the side effects that are known to be associated with this medicine. Because a side effect is stated here, it does not mean that all people using this medicine will experience that or any side effect.
- Headache
- Rash
- Low blood potassium level (hypokalaemia)
- Impotence
- Muscle cramps
- Fatigue
- Blood disorders
- Disturbances of the gut such as diarrhoea, constipation, nausea, vomiting or abdominal pain
- Indigestion (dyspepsia)
- Dizziness
- Loss of appetite
- A drop in blood pressure that occurs when going from lying down to sitting or standing, which results in dizziness and lightheadedness (postural hypotension)
The side effects listed above may not include all of the side effects reported by the drug's manufacturer.
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