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What is nevirapine?

Nevirapine is an antiviral medication that prevents human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) cells from multiplying in your body.

Nevirapine is used to treat HIV, which causes the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Nevirapine is not a cure for HIV or AIDS.

Nevirapine may also be used for purposes other than those listed in this medication guide.

Precautions

Instructions

Side-effects

Interactions

Precautions

Nevirapine can cause severe or life-threatening effects on the liver. Call your doctor at once if you have any of these liver symptoms while taking nevirapine: skin rash, nausea, stomach pain, loss of appetite, low fever, dark urine, clay-colored stools, jaundice (yellowing of the skin or eyes).

Nevirapine may also cause severe or life-threatening skin reactions. Contact your doctor if you have any type of skin rash. Even a minor skin rash could be an early sign of a serious reaction. Later signs include fever, sore throat, and headache with a severe blistering, peeling, and red skin rash. This type of reaction is a medical emergency.

Do not use this medication if you are allergic to nevirapine.

Before taking nevirapine, tell your doctor if you are allergic to any drugs, or if you have:

• liver disease;
• kidney disease (or if you are on dialysis); or
• if you have ever taken delavirdine (Rescriptor) or efavirenz (Sustiva) and they were not effective in treating your condition.

If you have any of these conditions, you may not be able to use nevirapine, or you may need a dosage adjustment or special tests during treatment.

FDA pregnancy category C. This medication may be harmful to an unborn baby. Nevirapine may also be more likely to cause liver damage in a pregnant woman. Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant during treatment.

HIV can be passed to the baby if the mother is not properly treated during pregnancy. Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant during treatment. Take all of your HIV medicines as directed to control your infection while you are pregnant.

Nevirapine can make birth control pills less effective. Ask your doctor about using a non-hormone method of birth control (such as a condom, diaphragm, spermicide) to prevent pregnancy while taking nevirapine.

Your name may need to be listed on an antiviral pregnancy registry when you start using nevirapine. The purpose of this registry is to track the outcome of the pregnancy and delivery to evaluate whether nevirapine had any effect on the baby.

You should not breast-feed while you are using nevirapine. Women with HIV or AIDS should not breast-feed at all. Even if your baby is born without HIV, you may still pass the virus to the baby in your breast milk.

Avoid drinking alcohol while taking nevirapine. Alcohol may increase your risk of liver damage.

Taking nevirapine will not prevent you from passing HIV to other people through unprotected sex or sharing of needles. Talk with your doctor about safe methods of preventing HIV transmission during sex, such as using a condom and spermicide. Sharing drug or medicine needles is never safe, even for a healthy person.

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Instructions

Seek emergency medical attention if you think you have used too much of this medicine.

Symptoms of a nevirapine overdose may include skin rash, headache, dizziness, tired feeling, sleep problems, nausea, vomiting , weight loss, joint pain or swelling, red or tender bumps on your shins, wheezing, cough, or trouble breathing.

Take the missed dose as soon as you remember. If it is almost time for your next dose, skip the missed dose and take the medicine at the next regularly scheduled time. Do not take extra medicine to make up the missed dose.

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Side-effects

Get emergency medical help if you have any of these signs of an allergic reaction: tired feeling, joint or muscle pain, muscle weakness, skin rash, bruising, severe tingling, numbness, mouth sores, trouble breathing, or swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat.

Stop taking nevirapine and call your doctor at once if you have:

• fever, sore throat, and headache with a severe blistering, peeling, and red skin rash;
• nausea, stomach pain, loss of appetite, dark urine, clay-colored stools, jaundice (yellowing of the skin or eyes);
• fever, chills, body aches, flu symptoms; or
• any other signs of new infection.

Keep taking nevirapine if you have any of these less serious side effects:

• nausea, vomiting, stomach pain;
• headache, tired feeling; or
• changes in body fat (e.g., increased fat in the upper back, neck, breast, and trunk and loss of fat from the legs, arms, and face).

Side effects other than those listed here may also occur. Talk to your doctor about any side effect that seems unusual or that is especially bothersome.

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Interactions

There are many other medicines that can interact with nevirapine, or make it less effective. Before taking nevirapine, tell your doctor if you are using any of the following drugs:

• St. John's wort;
• a blood thinner such as warfarin (Coumadin);
• an antibiotic such as clarithromycin (Biaxin), itraconazole (Sporanox), rifabutin (Mycobutin), or rifampin (Rifadin, Rifater, Rifamate, Rimactane);
• ergot medicine such as ergotamine (Ergomar, Ergostat, Cafergot, Ercaf, Wigraine), dihydroergotamine (D.H.E. 45, Migranal Nasal Spray), ergonovine (Ergotrate), or methylergonovine (Methergine);
• heart or blood pressure medications such as amlodipine (Norvasc), diltiazem (Tiazac, Cartia, Cardizem), felodipine (Plendil), nicardipine (Cardene), nifedipine (Procardia, Adalat), nimodipine (Nimotop), nisoldipine (Sular), or verapamil (Calan, Covera, Isoptin, Verelan);
• medication to prevent organ transplant rejection;
• other HIV medicines such as nelfinavir (Viracept), efavirenz (Sustiva), indinavir (Crixivan), lopinovir/ritonavir (Kaletra), nevirapine (Viramune), or saquinavir (Invirase); or
• seizure medications such as carbamazepine (Tegretol), clonazepam (Klonipin), or ethosuximide (Zarontin).

If you are using any of these drugs, you may not be able to use nevirapine, or you may need dosage adjustments or special tests during treatment.

Tell your doctor about all the prescription and over-the-counter medications you use. This includes vitamins, minerals, herbal products, and drugs prescribed by other doctors. Do not start using a new medication without telling your doctor. Keep a list with you of all the medicines you use and show this list to any doctor or other healthcare provider who treats you.

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