How to Use

To guarantee the safe use of Sulfamethoxazole and Trimethoprim, let your doctor know if you have a history of or suffer from any of these conditions:

• Folic acid deficiency
• Liver disease
• kidney disease
• Thyroid disease
• Severe allergies
• Asthma
• HIV/AIDS
• Porphyria
• Deficiency of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase
• You are malnourished

Follow the directions on the prescription label carefully. Do not take a smaller or larger dose than recommended. You should also not take the dose for a longer period than directed.

Always shake the oral suspension properly before measuring the dose. A pharmacist will provide you with the right measuring cup or spoon.

Use Sulfamethoxazole and Trimethoprim for the whole prescribed period. The symptoms may improve before the infection clears completely. Do not skip a dose as this will increase the risk of an infection that may be resistant to the antibiotics.

Take plenty of fluids during treatment to avoid kidney stones. This medication can lead to unusual results in medical tests. Let the doctor or lab technician know you are using Sulfamethoxazole and Trimethoprim. 

Sulfamethoxazole and Trimethoprim will not treat any viral infection.

FDA Pregnancy Classification

Category D

Sulfamethoxazole and Trimethoprim should not be used by pregnant women. The drug can cause harm to an unborn baby. Let your doctor know if you are pregnant or breastfeeding a baby. It is unknown if the medicine can pass into the breast milk and if it can harm a breastfeeding baby. This medicine should not be given to a baby below the age of 2 months.

Storage

Store at room temperature and away from light, heat and moisture.

Side Effects

Serious

• Watery or bloody diarrhea
• Pale skin, shortness of breath, severe dizziness, trouble concentrating, rapid heart rate
• Flu or cold symptoms, difficulty swallowing, swollen gums, painful sores in the mouth, skin sores
• Low sodium levels in the body (confusion, severe weakness, poor coordination, headache, feeling unsteady, vomiting, slurred speech)
• Liver problems (tired feeling, pain in upper stomach, dark urine, jaundice, clay-colored stools)
• Severe skin reaction (sore throat, fever, burning in the eyes, skin pain, purple or red rash that spreads to the face or upper body and causes peeling and blistering

Common

• Mild itching
• Mild rash
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Loss of appetite

Safety

Sulfamethoxazole and Trimethoprim should not be used by patients with severe kidney or liver disease or anemia caused by folic acid deficiency. Patients with a history of low blood platelets that is caused by a sulfa or trimethoprim drug should also not use this medication.

Side effects may be more common in older adults and especially those using medications like digoxin or some diuretics. Don’t use Sulfamethoxazole and Trimethoprim if you are allergic to trimethoprim or sulfamethoxazole.

Interactions

Sulfamethoxazole and Trimethoprim interact with 399 drugs, and 12 diseases.