Drug Uses

Colchicine is used to treat attacks of gout.

How Taken

Take each dose of Colchicine with a full glass of water. You may take this medicine up to once every hour until the pain is relieved, until the maximum amount of medicine has been taken, or until nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea occurs. To prevent an attack from occurring, you may take Colchicine every day or several days a week. Do not take more doses than your doctor prescribed.

Warnings/Precautions

Do not take Colchicine without first talking to your doctor if you are breast-feeding a baby. Talk to your doctor if you are or plan on becoming pregnant as this medicine may have harmful effects on the unborn baby.

Missed Dose

If you miss a dose, use it as soon as you remember. If it is near the time for the next dose, skip the missed dose and resume your usual dosing schedule. Do not double the dose to catch up.

Possible Side Effects

Some of the side effects that may occur while taking Colchicine include: difficulty breathing; closing of your throat; swelling of your lips, tongue, or face; fever; rash; numbness or tingling.

Storage

Store Colchicine at room temperature away from moisture and heat. Keep out of the reach of children.

Overdose

Symptoms of a colchicine overdose include nausea; vomiting; stomach pain; diarrhea; muscle weakness; burning in your throat, stomach, or skin; difficulty breathing; delirium; and seizures. An overdose of colchicine can result in death. If you suspect an overdose, seek immediate medical attention.

More Information

Tell your doctor and pharmacist about all medicines that you are taking. Colchicine may interact with other drugs.

Disclaimer

This drug information is for your information purposes only, it is not intended that this information covers all uses, directions, drug interactions, precautions, or adverse effects of your medication. This is only general information, and should not be relied on for any purpose. It should not be construed as containing specific instructions for any particular patient. We disclaim all responsibility for the accuracy and reliability of this information, and/or any consequences arising from the use of this information, including damage or adverse consequences to persons or property, however such damages or consequences arise. No warranty, either expressed or implied, is made in regards to this information.

Other info about Colchicine at Wikipedia.org and other resources:

How to deal with Behcet's disease in daily practice
Conclusion: Behcet's disease is a systemic disease characterized by mucocutaneous, ocular, vascular and neurologic manifestations, progressing by attacks and remissions. (Source: APLAR Journal of Rheumatology)

Characterization of the Colchicine Binding Site on Avian Tubulin Isotype βVI
Biochemistry, Volume 0, Issue 0, Articles ASAP (As Soon As Publishable). (Source: Biochemistry)

Preparation and in vitro, in vivo characterization of elastic liposomes encapsulating cyclodextrin-colchicine complexes for topical delivery of colchicine.
Authors: Singh HP, Tiwary AK, Jain S In the present study, an attempt was made to develop a cyclodextrin-colchicine complex and to study its effect on skin permeation and deposition of colchicine. Colchicine beta cyclodextrin (BCD) complex was prepared by freeze-drying method and complex formation was confirmed by NMR and in vitro drug release study. Formulation containing cyclodextrin-drug complex showed 6-fold increase in transdermal flux in comparison with drug solution. Skin retention studies were carried out with the objective of determining the depot effect of elastic liposomes in skin. The amount of drug deposited was 12.4-fold higher in case of elastic liposomes of colchicine-cyclodextrin complex (567+/-1.5 mug) than drug solution (46+/-1.1 mug). The biological evaluation of va...

Familial Mediterranean Fever in Children Presenting with Attacks of Fever Alone.
CONCLUSION: FMF in young children may begin with attacks of fever alone, but it progresses to typical FMF disease over the next 2.9 +/- 2.2 years. Our study demonstrates that clinical heterogeneity at presentation is more likely to indicate a feature of a disease in development, rather than to mark distinct phenotypes of FMF. PMID: 20194447 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: J Rheumatol)

Bowel bypass syndrome/bowel-associated dermatosis arthritis syndrome post laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery
Bowel bypass syndrome, also known as bowel-associated dermatitis arthritis syndrome, has been described after a range of intestinal bypass procedures. With the increasing trend in laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery, we report an interesting case of bowel-associated dermatitis arthritis syndrome that developed 12 months following this procedure. A 49-year-old woman presented with ulcerating lesions and pustules on the upper and lower limbs, polyarthralgia, fevers and joint effusions. Before the development of these symptoms she was well, with no significant past medical or family history. A skin biopsy taken from the left shin showed superficial to mid-dermal neutrophilic dermatosis, consistent with bowel-associated dermatitis arthritis syndrome. The patient received corticosteroids, antib...