Plaquenil Medication for Malaria and Autoimmune Conditions

Plaquenil is a medication used to treat malaria and autoimmune conditions like rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. It works by interfering with the parasites' growth in the body.
Category
Medication
Where to get
Available by prescription at pharmacies.
Applicable for
Prepared by Shruti Sahoo, reviewed by Dr. Eugene Smith

Plaquenil FAQ


Image credit: pacientes.sfe.com.mx

What is Plaquenil used for?

1. Why am I using Plaquenil? Plaquenil contains the active ingredient hydroxychloroquine sulfate. Plaquenil is used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and may slow down the process of joint damage and relieve the symptoms of the disease.

What is Plaquenil (hydroxychloroquine)?

What Is Plaquenil? Plaquenil (hydroxychloroquine) is an antimalarial medication used to treat or prevent malaria, a disease caused by parasites, which enter the body through the bite of a mosquito. Plaquenil is also used to treat symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis and discoid or systemic lupus erythematosus.

Is Plaquenil a steroid?

No, Plaquenil isn’t an immunosuppressant drug. (Immunosuppressants work by lowering the activity of your immune system.) It’s not a steroid either. Instead, Plaquenil is called an antimalarial drug because it’s used to prevent or treat malaria. Plaquenil is also used to treat rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and certain forms of lupus.

Are there any side effects of Plaquenil?

However, some side effects may need medical attention. Plaquenil helps most people with rheumatoid arthritis, SLE, DLE, treatment of malaria and the control of malaria symptoms, but it may have unwanted side effects in a few people. All medicines can have side effects. Sometimes they are serious, most of the time they are not.

Why is Plaquenil called an antimalarial drug?

Instead, Plaquenil is called an antimalarial drug because it’s used to prevent or treat malaria. Plaquenil is also used to treat rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and certain forms of lupus. When Plaquenil is used to treat RA and lupus, it’s considered a disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD).

Is Plaquenil a hydroxychloroquine?

Plaquenil comes as a tablet that you take by mouth. It belongs to a group of drugs called antimalarials. Plaquenil contains the active drug hydroxychloroquine. It’s also available as a generic drug called hydroxychloroquine. In this article, we describe Plaquenil’s side effects, dosage, uses, and more. What are Plaquenil’s side effects?

Plaquenil References

If you want to know more about Plaquenil, consider exploring links below:

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