Zantac Effervescent Tablets 150mg
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Package Leaflet: Information for the User
Zantac® Effervescent Tablets 150 mg and 300 mg ranitidine hydrochloride
Read all of this leaflet carefully before you start taking this medicine because it contains important information for you.
• Keep this leaflet. You may need to read it again.
• If you have any further questions, ask your doctor, pharmacist or nurse.
• This medicine has been prescribed for you only. Do not pass it on to others. It may harm them, even if their signs of illness are the same as yours.
• If you get any side effects, talk to your doctor, pharmacist or nurse. This includes any possible side effects not listed in this leaflet. See section 4.
What is in this leaflet:
1 What Zantac is and what it is used for
2 What you need to know before you take Zantac
3 How to take Zantac Effervescent Tablets
4 Possible side effects
5 How to store Zantac
6 Contents of the pack and other information
1 What Zantac is and what it is used for
Zantac contains a medicine called ranitidine. This belongs to a group of medicines
called H2-receptor antagonists. It lowers the amount of acid in your stomach.
For adults (including the elderly) Zantac is used to:
• heal and stop ulcers in the stomach, or the part of the gut it empties into (the duodenum)
• help clear up infection in your stomach, when taken with antibiotic medicines (medicines taken to treat germs)
• stop stomach ulcers when they are a side effect of some medicines
• stop ulcers from bleeding
• improve problems caused by acid in the food pipe (oesophagus) or too much acid in the stomach. Both of these can cause pain or discomfort sometimes known as ‘indigestion’, ‘dyspepsia’ or ‘heartburn’
• stop acid coming up from the stomach while under anaesthetic during an operation.
For children (3 to 18 years) Zantac is used to:
• heal ulcers in the stomach, of the part of the gut it empties into (the duodenum)
• heal and stop problems caused by acid in the food pipe (oesophagus) or too much acid in the stomach. Both of these can cause pain or discomfort sometimes known as “indigestion”,”dyspepsia” or "heartburn”.
2 What you need to know before you take Zantac
Do not take Zantac if:
• you are allergic to ranitidine or any of the other ingredients of this medicine (listed in Section 6).
If you are not sure, talk to your doctor or pharmacist before taking Zantac.
Warnings and precautions
Check with your doctor or pharmacist before taking your medicine if:
• you have stomach cancer
• you have kidney problems. You will need to take a different amount of Zantac
• you have had stomach ulcers before and you are taking Non-Steroidal AntiInflammatory (NSAID) medicines
• you have a rare condition called acute porphyria
• you are over 65 years old
• you have lung disease
• you are diabetic
• you have any problems with your immune system.
If you are not sure if any of the above apply to you, talk to your doctor or pharmacist before using this medicine.
Other medicines and Zantac
Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you are taking, have recently taken or might take any other medicines. This includes medicines that you buy without a prescription and herbal medicines. This is because Zantac can affect the way some other medicines work. Also some other medicines can affect the way Zantac works.
In particular tell your doctor or pharmacist if you are taking any of the following medicines:
• Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory (NSAID) medicines, for pain and inflammation
• lidocaine, a local anaesthetic
• propranolol, procainamide or n-acetylprocainamide, for heart problems
• diazepam, for worry or anxiety problems
• phenytoin, for epilepsy
• theophylline, for breathing problems (asthma)
• warfarin, for thinning your blood
• glipizide, for lowering blood glucose
• atazanavir or delaviridine, for treating HIV infection
• triazolam, for insomnia
• gefitnib, for lung cancer
• ketoconazole, an anti fungal medicine, sometimes used for treating thrush.
Midazolam is a medicine that may be given to you just before you have an operation. Tell the doctor you are taking Zantac before your operation in case he or she wants to give you midazolam.
If you are not sure if any of the above apply to you, talk to your doctor, pharmacist or nurse before taking Zantac.
Pregnancy and breast-feeding
If you are pregnant, might become pregnant or are breast-feeding, you should not take this medicine unless your doctor advises it is essential.
Ask your doctor, pharmacist or nurse for advice before taking any medicine, if you are pregnant or breast-feeding.
Zantac contains aspartame and sodium
• Zantac Effervescent Tablets are sweetened using a substance called aspartame, which contains a source of phenylalanine. If you have the rare condition called phenylketonuria, talk to your doctor before taking this medicine.
• Zantac also contains sodium (see Section 6 for the amount of sodium in each tablet). This should be noted by patients on a sodium restricted diet.
3 How to take Zantac Effervescent Tablets
Always take this medicine exactly as your doctor or pharmacist has told you. You should check with your doctor or pharmacist if you are not sure.
Taking this medicine
• Take this medicine by mouth.
• Place the tablet(s) in half a glass of water.
• Allow the tablets to dissolve completely in the water before you drink it.
The usual dose for an adult (including the elderly) is either:
• 150 mg in the morning and 150 mg in the evening, or
• 300 mg at bedtime.
Your exact dose will depend on your particular stomach condition, your doctor will tell you the dose you should take.
Children 12 years and over:
The adult dose is given.
Children over 30 kg of weight and from 3 to 11 years:
Your doctor will work out the right dose for you based on your child’s weight.
Treatment of stomach or duodenal (small intestine) ulcers:
The usual dose is 2 mg for each kg of body weight, twice a day for four weeks. This dose may be increased to 4 mg for each kg, twice a day. Take each dose about 12 hours apart. The duration of treatment may be increased to 8 weeks.
Treatment of heartburn due to too much acid:
The usual dose is 2.5 mg for each kg of body weight, twice a day for two weeks. This dose may be increased to 5 mg for each kg, twice a day. Take each dose about 12 hours apart.
If you take more Zantac than you should
Zantac is not normally harmful if you take more than you should, unless:
• you take many tablets at once
• you are on a sodium restricted diet.
If any of the above apply to you (or someone else taking this medicine), you should go to your nearest hospital casualty department straight away. Take the medicine pack or any remaining medicine with you so that the doctor knows what you have taken.
If you forget to take Zantac
• If you forget a dose, take it as soon as you remember, unless it is nearly time for your next dose.
• Do not take a double dose to make up for a forgotten dose.
If you stop taking Zantac
After a few days of taking the tablets you should start to feel much better. Do not stop taking the tablets without talking to your doctor or pharmacist first, otherwise the original pain and discomfort may come back.
If you have any further questions on the use of this product, ask your doctor or pharmacist.
Possible side effects
Like all medicines, this medicine can cause side effects, although not everybody gets them.
The following side effects may happen with this medicine.
Stop taking Zantac and see a doctor straight away, if you notice any of the following serious side effects, you may need urgent medical treatment:
• allergic reactions, the signs may include:
- rash, itching or hives on the skin
- swelling of your face, lips, tongue or other parts of the body
- chest pain, shortness of breath, wheezing or having trouble breathing
- unexplained fever and feeling faint, especially when standing up.
• kidney problems, which can lead to back pain, fever, pain when passing urine, blood in the urine and changes in blood tests.
• severe stomach pain, this may be a sign of something called ‘pancreatitis’
• a slow or irregular heartbeat
Check with your doctor at your next visit if you notice any of the following:
Uncommon (may affect up to 1 in 100 people)
• stomach pain
• constipation
• feeling sick (nausea)
Rare (may affect up to 1 in 1,000 people)
• skin rash
Rare side effects that may show up in blood tests:
• increase of serum creatinine in the blood (kidney function test)
• changes to liver function
Check with your doctor as soon as possible if you notice any of the following:
Very rare (may affect up to 1 in 10,000 people)
• there can be changes in the level of certain substances in your blood. This can lead to you feeling unusually tired or short of breath and being more likely to bruise or get an infection
• feeling depressed, confused, seeing or hearing unexplained things (hallucinations)
• headache (sometimes severe)
• feeling dizzy or having blurred vision
• your joints or muscles are painful or swollen or you cannot control their movement
• your small blood vessels can become swollen (known as ‘vasculitis’). Signs of this can include: a rash, swollen joints or kidney problems
• your liver can become swollen. This can lead to: nausea (feeling sick) or vomiting (being sick), loss of appetite or generally feeling unwell, itching, fever, yellowing of the skin and eyes or dark coloured urine.
• flushing or marks on your skin that look like targets
• unexplained hair loss
• diarrhoea
• impotence
• breast tenderness and/or breast enlargement
• breast discharge.
Reporting of side effects
If you get any side effects, talk to your doctor, pharmacist or nurse. This includes any possible side effects not listed in this leaflet. You can also report side effects directly via the Yellow Card Scheme at: www.mhra.gov.uk/yellowcard
By reporting side effects you can help provide more information on the safety of this medicine.
5 How to store Zantac
• Keep this medicine out of the sight and reach of children.
• Do not use this medicine after the expiry date which is stated on the label. The expiry date refers to the last day of that month.
• Do not store above 30°C
• Store in a dry place
• Do not throw away any medicines via wastewater or household waste. Ask your pharmacist how to throw away medicines you no longer use. These measures will help to protect the environment.
6 Contents of the pack and other information
What Zantac contains:
• The active substance is ranitidine (as the hydrochloride) 150 mg or 300 mg
• The other ingredients are sodium bicarbonate, monosodium citrate, povidone, sodium benzoate (E211), orange and grapefruit flavouring and a sweetener, aspartame.
• Each 150 mg tablet contains 327 mg sodium. Each 300 mg tablet contains 476 mg sodium.
What Zantac looks like and contents of the pack
Zantac Effervescent Tablets are round, white to pale yellow tablets.
Cartons contain plastic (polypropylene) tubes of 15 tablets. 150 mg strength cartons contain 60 tablets and 300 mg strength cartons contain 30 tablets.
Marketing Authorisation Holder and Manufacturer
Product licence held by Glaxo Wellcome UK Limited, Stockley Park West,
Uxbridge, Middlesex UB11 1BT.
Manufactured by Glaxo Wellcome Production, Zone Industrielle No. 2, 23 Rue Lavoisier, 27000 Evreux, France.
The information provided applies only to Zantac Effervescent Tablets 150 mg and 300 mg.
Other formats:
To listen to or request a copy of this leaflet in Braille, large print or audio please call, free of charge:
0800 198 5000 (UK Only)
Please be ready to give the following information:
Product name Zantac Effervescent Tablets 150 mg
Zantac Effervescent Tablets 300 mg
Reference number 10949/0137
This is a service provided by the Royal National Institute of Blind People.
Leaflet date: February 2014
Zantac is a registered trademark of the GlaxoSmithKline group of companies © 2014 GlaxoSmithKline group of companies. All rights reserved
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