PACKAGE LEAFLET: INFORMATION FOR THE USER • You have severe stomach pain • Your bowel is partially or fully blocked MAALOX® 175mg/200mg Do not take this medicine if any of the above apply to you. If you are not sure, talk to your doctor or pharma- Oral Suspension cist before taking Maalox Suspension. 175mg/5 ml Warnings and precautions 200mg/5 ml Take special care with Maalox Suspension. Check with your doctor or pharmacist before taking this medicine if: Is this leaflet hard to see or read? You are on a low-phosphorous diet Phone 0800 035 2525 for help Other medicines and Maalox Suspension Read all of this leaflet carefully before you start taking this medicine because it con- Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you are tak- tains important information for you. ing, have recently taken or might take any This medicine is available without prescription. Al- other medicines. This includes medicines ways take this medicine exactly as described in this you buy without a prescription, including herbal leaflet or as your doctor or pharmacist has told you. medicines. -Keep this leaflet. You may need to read it again. Maalox Suspension should not be taken at the same - Ask your pharmacist if you need more information or time as other medicines. This is because Maalox Sus- advice pension can affect the way other medicines work. - If you get any side effects, talk to your doctor, phar- macist or nurse. This includes any possible side ef- Some medicines may be affected by magnesium fects not listed in this leaflet (see section 4). hydroxide or they may affect how well magnesium - You must talk to a doctor if you do not feel better or hydroxide will work. Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you feel worse if you are already taking: - salicylates. What is in this leaflet: In particular, Maalox Suspension can affect the 1. What Maalox Suspension is and what it is used for following medicines: 2. What you need to know before you take Maalox • Some medicines used to treat infections such as Suspension tetracycline, ciprofloxacin, rifampicin and keto- 3. How to take Maalox Suspension conazole 4. Possible side effects • Medicines for malaria such as chloroquine and hy- 5. How to store Maalox Suspension droxychloroquine 6. Contents of the pack and other information • Chlorpromazine – used for mental illness (psy- 1. What Maalox Suspension is chosis) and what it is used for i • Vitamins Maalox Suspension contains two different med- • Polystyrene sulphonate – used to treat high levels icines. They are called aluminium hydroxide and of potassium in the blood magnesium hydroxide. They belong to a group of Pregnancy and breast-feeding medicines called . Talk to your doctor or pharmacist before taking this Maalox Suspension is used for: medicine if: • or when your stomach has too much • You are pregnant, might become pregnant, or acid () think you may be pregnant. You should not take • Inflammation of the stomach (gastritis), and Maalox Suspension during the first three months • When prescribed by a doctor it may also be used of pregnancy for lowering the amount of acid in your stomach • You are breast-feeding or planning to breast-feed or gut (intestine) when you have an ulcer Maalox Suspension contains sorbitol (E420). Maalox Suspension works by lowering the amount of This medicine contains 50 mg sorbitol in each 5ml acid in your stomach. which is equivalent to 10mg/ml. Sorbitol is a source of fructose. If your doctor has 2. What you need to know before you take told you that you (or your child) have an intolerance Maalox Suspension to some sugars or if you have been diagnosed with Do not take Maalox Suspension if: hereditary fructose intolerance (HFI), a rare genetic disorder in which a person cannot break down fruc- • You are allergic to aluminium hydroxide or mag- tose, talk to your doctor before you (or your child) nesium hydroxide or any of the other ingredi- take or receive this medicine. ents in Maalox Suspension (listed in section 6). Signs of an allergic reaction include: a rash, swal- Maalox Suspension contains less than 1 mmol sodium lowing or breathing problems, swelling of your (23 mg) per 5 ml dose, i.e. essentially ‘sodium free’. lips, face, throat or tongue 3. How to take Maalox Suspension • You are feeling very weak and have no energy (de- bilitated) Always take this medicine exactly as de- • You have kidney problems. Long term exposure to scribed in this leaflet or as your doctor or high doses of Maalox Suspension can lead to de- pharmacist has told you. Check with your mentia. doctor or pharmacist if you are not sure. Taking this medicine Reporting of side effects • Shake well before use to ensure the product is If you get any side effects, talk to your doctor,phar- mixed properly macist or nurse. This includes any possible side ef- • Take this medicine by mouth fects not listed in this leaflet. You can also report side • If necessary, Maalox Suspension may be taken with effects directly via the Yellow Card Scheme at: www. water or milk mhra.gov.uk/yellowcard or search for MHRA Yellow Card in the Google Play or Apple App Store. Adults, the elderly and children aged 14 years or By reporting side effects you can help provide more older information on the safety of this medicine. • Take two to four 5ml teaspoonfuls • Take 20 minutes to 1 hour after meals and at bed- 5. How to store Maalox Suspension time Keep this medicine out of the sight and reach of • Alternatively, take as directed by your doctor children. If the symptoms do not go away, talk to your doctor Do not use Maalox Suspension after the expiry date Children less than 14 years old which is stated on the carton and the bottle after • Maalox Suspension is not recommended for chil- EXP. The expiry date refers to the last day of that dren less than 14 years of age month. If you take more Maalox Suspension than you Discard any medicine remaining 6 months after should opening the bottle. Talk to your doctor or go to a hospital straight away. Remember to take any medicine that is left with you Store below 25°C. so the doctor knows what you have taken. Do not throw away medicines via wastewater or The following effects may happen: diarrhoea, stom- household waste. Ask your pharmacist how to dis- ach pain or you may get a bloated feeling and pose of medicines no longer required. These meas- cramping pain in the abdomen (stomach), be sick ures will help to protect the environment. (vomit), have indigestion, heartburn, upset stom- 6. Contents of the pack and other information ach, constipation, loss of appetite, dry mouth. This could be caused by an obstruction or blockage of What Maalox Suspension contains the bowel (ileus). • Each 5ml of suspension contains 175mg of al- uminium hydroxide and 200mg of magnesium hy- 4. Possible side effects droxide as the active ingredients. Like all medicines, Maalox Suspension can cause side • The other ingredients are: hydrochloric acid, cit- effects, although not everybody gets them. ric acid monohydrate, peppermint oil, mannitol (E421), domiphen bromide, saccharin sodium, sorb- Stop taking Maalox Suspension and see a doctor itol liquid (E420), hydrogen peroxide and purified or go to a hospital straight away if: water. Not known (frequency cannot be estimated from the available data) What Maalox Suspension looks like and contents of • You have a red and lumpy skin rash, swollen eye- the pack lids, face, lips, mouth or tongue, itching and dif- Maalox Suspension is a white, mint flavoured ficulty breathing or swallowing. This could be an suspension and is available in a 250ml pol- allergic reaction. yethylene terephthalate (PET) bottle, with a poly- propylene (PP) closure and polyethylene (PE/LDPE) Tell your doctor or pharmacist if any of the fol- liner. lowing side effects get serious or lasts longer than a few days. Also tell them if you notice any Marketing Authorisation Holder and side effects not listed in this leaflet: Manufacturer Uncommon (may affect up to 1 in 100 people): Marketing Authorisation Holder: • Constipation Sanofi, 410 Thames Valley Park Drive, • Diarrhoea Reading, Berkshire, RG6 1PT, UK Tel: 0800 035 2525 Very rare (may affect up to 1 in 10,000 people) email: [email protected] • Hypermagnesemia, including observations after prolonged administration to patients with renal Manufacturer: impairment. sanofi-aventis S.r.l. viale Europa, 11 – 21040 Origgio (Va) Not known (frequency cannot be estimated from Italy the available data) • Hypophosphatemia is an electrolyte disturbance This leaflet does not contain all the information in which there is an abnormally low level of phos- about your medicine. If you have any questions or phate in the body. This may occur at high doses of are not sure about anything, ask your doctor or phar- the product or even at normal doses especially in macist. patients with low phosphorous diets This leaflet was last revised in October 2020 • Abdominal pain © Sanofi, 2020 • Hyperaluminemia is an electrolyte disturbance in which there is an abnormally elevated level of alu- minium in the body 795192