Herpevir tablets 400 mg blister 10 pcs.

• active ingredient: 1 tablet contains acyclovir in terms of 100% substance 400 mg;
• excipients: potato starch, povidone, calcium stearate.

Hypersensitivity to acyclovir, valacyclovir or other components of the drug.

Mental and nervous system disorders: Common: headache, dizziness. Very rare: agitation, confusion, tremor, ataxia, dysarthria, hallucinations, psychotic symptoms, convulsions, drowsiness, encephalopathy, coma.

Gastroenterological system: Common: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain.

Hepatobiliary system: Rare: reversible elevations in bilirubin and liver enzymes.

Skin and subcutaneous tissue disorders: Common: pruritus, rash (including photosensitivity). Uncommon: urticaria, accelerated diffuse hair loss. Since hair loss can be associated with a large number of diseases and medications, no clear association with acyclovir has been identified.

General disorders: Common: fatigue, fever.

The tablet should be taken whole with water. When using high doses of acyclovir, adequate hydration should be maintained.

Adults

Treatment of infections caused by the herpes simplex virus

To treat infections caused by the herpes simplex virus, it is necessary to take acyclovir tablets at a dose of 200 mg 5 times a day at approximately 4-hour intervals, except at night.

Treatment should last 5 days, but in case of severe primary infection it may be extended.

For patients with severe immunodeficiency (e.g. after bone marrow transplantation) or for patients with reduced intestinal absorption, the dose can be doubled to 400 mg or an appropriate dose for intravenous administration can be used.

Treatment should be started as early as possible after the onset of infection. In the case of recurrent herpes, it is best to start treatment in the prodromal period or after the first signs of skin lesions appear.

Prevention of recurrence (suppressive therapy) of infections caused by the herpes simplex virus

In patients with normal immunity, to prevent recurrence of infections caused by the herpes simplex virus, acyclovir tablets at a dose of 200 mg are taken 4 times a day with an interval of approximately 6 hours.

For convenience, most patients can take 400 mg of acyclovir 2 times a day, approximately 12 hours apart.

Treatment will be effective even after reducing the dose of acyclovir tablets to 200 mg, taken 3 times a day at 8-hour intervals or even 2 times a day at 12-hour intervals.

Some patients experience radical improvement after taking a total daily dose of 800 mg of acyclovir.

To monitor possible changes in the natural course of the disease, acyclovir therapy should be interrupted periodically at intervals of 6-12 months.

Use during pregnancy or breastfeeding

Gerpevir tablets should be used when the potential benefit of the drug for the mother outweighs the possible risk to the fetus.

When 200 mg of acyclovir is taken orally 5 times a day, acyclovir penetrates into breast milk in concentrations that are 0.6-4.1% of the corresponding plasma acyclovir level. Potentially, a child fed this milk can absorb acyclovir at a dose of up to 0.3 mg/kg body weight per day. Therefore, acyclovir should be prescribed to breastfeeding women with caution, taking into account the risk/benefit ratio.

Children

Acyclovir tablets are used in children aged 2 years and older.

Ability to influence reaction speed when driving vehicles or other mechanisms

When deciding whether to drive or operate machinery, the patient’s clinical status and the side-effect profile of the drug should be taken into account. Clinical studies of the effect of acyclovir on the speed of reaction when driving or operating machinery have not been conducted. In addition, the pharmacology of acyclovir does not give reason to expect any negative effects.

Symptoms. Acyclovir is only partially absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract. Accidental ingestion of up to 20 g of acyclovir by patients has not caused toxic effects. Accidental repeated overdose of oral acyclovir over several days has resulted in gastroenterological (such as nausea and vomiting) and neurological symptoms (headache and confusion). Overdose of intravenous acyclovir has been associated with increases in serum creatinine and blood urea nitrogen, leading to renal failure. Neurological manifestations of overdose may include confusion, hallucinations, agitation, convulsions and coma.

Treatment. The patient should be carefully examined for signs of intoxication. Since acyclovir is well removed by hemodialysis, the latter should be used in case of overdose.

Clinically significant interactions of acyclovir with other drugs have not been identified. Acyclovir is excreted mainly unchanged by the kidneys by tubular secretion, therefore any drugs with a similar mechanism of excretion can increase the concentration of acyclovir in the blood plasma. Probenecid and cimetidine prolong the half-life of acyclovir and the area under the “concentration/time” curve. With simultaneous use of acyclovir with an immunosuppressant used in the treatment of patients after organ transplantation, mycophenolate mofetil – in the blood plasma also increases the level of acyclovir and the inactive metabolite of mycophenolate mofetil, but given the wide therapeutic index of acyclovir, dose adjustment is not required.

An experimental study in five men indicated that concomitant acyclovir therapy increased the AUC of total theophylline by approximately 50%. It is recommended that theophylline plasma concentrations be measured during concomitant acyclovir therapy.

Store in original packaging, at a temperature not exceeding 25 ºС.

Keep out of reach of children.