Brand Name

Singulair {Merck}

Generic Name

montelukast, pronounced mon te LOO kast

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Drug Guide

The information contained in the following drug guide is intended as an educational resource only. This guide is not exhaustive and does not contain all available information about this drug.This guide is not intended as medical advice for individual conditions or treatment.

The information provided in this guide does not replace the need for the advice and services of medical professionals or the need for medical examination. Always talk to your physician or pharmacist before taking any prescription medication or over the counter drugs (including any supplements) or before making any changes to your treatment. Only your doctor, nurse or pharmacist can provide you with safe and effective advice regarding your drug treatment.

The use of the information in this guide is at your sole risk. This information is provided "AS IS" with no warranties to accuracy or timeliness.

**All trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

What is Singulair?

Singulair is prescribed to help manage and treat perennial or year-round allergies in both adults and children who are over 6 months of age. Your doctor may have also prescribed Singulair to treat your symptoms of seasonal allergies. Adults and children over age 2 may be prescribed Singulair for seasonal allergies.

Singulair is also prescribed to prevent asthma attacks in adults and children who are at least 1 year old. Singulair may also be prescribed for adults and children who are at least 6 years old to help prevent exercise-induced bronchospasm.

Singulair may also be used for conditions that are not described in this medication guide.

Key Facts About Singulair

Singulair is known as a leukotriene inhibitor. Leukotrienes are released by cells in response to allergens such as pollen and are responsible for inflammation of the airways; restriction of the air passages; and increases mucosal secretions of the airway. Singulair hinders leukotriene activity by blocking them from their receptors and stopping them from causing the inflammation response. Singulair helps to alleviate allergy symptoms, as well as swelling in your lungs and tightening of the muscles around your airways.

If you take Singulair already to prevent asthma or to help relieve your allergy symptoms, you should not use an extra dose to treat exercise-induced bronchospasm. Talk to your doctor if you feel like Singulair is not working for your asthma or bronchospasm condition.

Singulair will not work fast enough to treat an asthma attack that has already started. You should not use Singulair to treat an acute asthma attack. You should only use a fast-acting inhalation medication to treat an asthma attack. Ask your doctor to prescribe a fast-acting inhaler and tell your doctor if any of your asthma medications, including Singulair, do not work as well as they used to for treating or preventing attacks.

Let your doctor know immediately if you feel that Singulair is not working as well as usual, or if it is making your condition worse. If you feel like you are using more of Singulair, or any of your medications in a 24-hour period, tell with your doctor right away.

You should contact your doctor right away of you have any behavior or mood changes, such as anxiety, depression, or thoughts about suicide while taking Singulair.

Singulair is in FDA pregnancy category B. Singulair is not known to be harmful to an unborn baby. You should tell your doctor if you are pregnant, or if you plan to become pregnant before starting treatment with Singulair. You should not use Singulair without telling your doctor if you are breast-feeding a baby, as it is not known if Singulair passes into breast milk.

Before You Take Singulair

You should not use Singulair if you are allergic to montelukast or Aspirin (ASA)

The chewable tablet form of Singulair may contain phenylalanine. Tell your doctor if you have phenylketonuria, or PKU, before you take Singulair.

Tell your doctor if you are taking a steroid asthma medication before starting treatment with Singulair. You should not stop taking your steroid medication suddenly because your doctor may need to taper you off of the steroid medication slowly to prevent adverse effects.

It may take up to several weeks before you experience symptom improvement with Singulair. You should be aware of this possibility before starting your treatment with Singulair. Continue to use Singulair as your doctor has directed you to, and contact your physician if you have not had any signs of improvement after several weeks.

If you are taking Singulair to prevent an asthma attack you should avoid situations or activities that may trigger an asthma attack and always take your rescue medication with you.

Singulair Drug Interactions

You should inform your doctor if you are taking any of the following:

• aspirin
• Advil
• celexicob (Celebrex)
• diclofenac (Arthrotec, Cambia, Cataflam, Voltaren, Flector Patch, Pennsaid, Solareze)
• indomethacin (Indocin)
• meloxicam (Mobic)
• motrin
• Naprelan
• Naprosyn
• naproxen (Aleve)
• phenobarbital (Luminal, Solfoton)
• rifampin (Rifadin, Rifater, Rifamate, Rimactane)
• Treximet

Other drugs you take that are not listed may interact with Singulair. You should tell your doctor about all of the medications you use. This includes prescription drugs, vitamins, supplements and herbal products, and over the counter medications. You should not begin taking a new medication without telling your doctor first.

Directions for Taking Singulair

You should take Singulair exactly as your doctor has prescribed you to. Do not use Singulair in larger or smaller amounts, or for shorter or longer than recommended. Follow the directions on your prescription label exactly.

Singulair is typically prescribed to be a once daily medication to help prevent allergy and asthma symptoms. The suggested once a day dose should be taken in the evening.

If you have been prescribed Singulair for exercise-induced bronchospasm you should take a single dose at least 2 hours before you exercise. You should not take another dose of Singulair within at least 24 hours of that pre-exercise dose.

If you are taking the regular tablet of Singulair you should swallow it whole with a full glass of water.

If you are taking the chewable tablet of Singulair you must chew it completely before swallowing it.

Singulair oral granules are available for you to take. If your doctor has prescribed you the oral granules you should open the packet and either place the granules directly into your mouth and swallow them, or you can mix the granules with a spoonful of soft food, such as applesauce or ice cream.

You can mix the oral granules with 1 teaspoon of baby formula or breast milk if you are administering the dose to a baby that is still nursing. You should not use any other type of liquid for mixing the granules.

After opening the granules you must use them within 15 minutes or discard them. The opened packet should not be saved for later use.

You should store Singulair at room temperature, and away from heat and moisture.

If you miss a dose of Singulair you should attempt to take the missed dose as soon as you remember. However, if it is almost time for your next scheduled dose do not take the missed dose in addition to your regular dose.

Singulair Side Effects

If you experience any of the following adverse effects you should stop taking Singulair and seek medical help immediately:

• Behavior or mood related changes
• Anxiety
• Agitation or aggressive behavior or hostility
• Bad or vivid dreams or trouble sleeping
• Depression
• Confusion
• Attention changes
• Vision changes, seeing things that are not there or hearing sounds that are not there
• Changes in memory
• Sleep walking
• Suicidal thoughts or actions
• bleeding that is unusual (such as from your nose, mouth, rectum or vagina)
• bruising
• muscle pain or weakness
• numbness
• red or purple pinpoint spots under your skin
• severe skin rash reaction, including a fever, sore throat, swelling in your face or tongue, burning in your eyes and skin pain; followed by a purple or red skin rash that spreads, particularly in your face or upper body and causes blistering and peeling
• shaking
• sinus pain that is severe
• swelling
• tremors
• worsening of your asthma symptoms

More common side effects of Singulair may include:

• Cough or upper respiratory infection
• diarrhea
• fever
• headache
• heartburn
• hoarseness
• nausea
• sore throat
• stomach pain or upset stomach
• stuffy nose
• tired feeling
• tooth pain

It should be noted that this is not a complete list of possible side effects of Singulair. You should contact your physician for a complete list and medical advice regarding these effects.

Singulair Description and Dosing

Singulair is available in 4 milligram chewable tablets, which are oval shaped and pink. There are 5 milligram chewable tablets available of Singulair, which are round and pink.

A non-chewable Singulair tablet is available, which is 10 milligrams, film coated, beige, and rounded-square shaped.

Singulair Oral granules are white granules and 4 milligrams.

Your doctor will tell you how to take Singulair, and which dose is right for you. Typical dosages are as follows:

Patients with asthma, ages 1 year and older- one tablet taken each evening.

Patients prescribed Singulair to prevent exercised induced bronchospasm, ages 6 and older- one tablet at least 2 hours before exercise.

Patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis, ages 2 and older- one tablet once daily.

Patients with perennial allergic rhinitis, ages 6 months and older- one tablet once a day.

If you suspect that you have overdosed with the Singulair you should seek emergency help immediately.

Ingredients in Singulair

The main ingredient in Singulair is Montelukast sodium. Additional ingredients in each dosage include:

The 10-mg film-coated Singulair tablets contain 10.4 milligrams of montelukast sodium, microcrystalline cellulose, lactose monohydrate, croscarmellose sodium, hydroxypropyl cellulose, and magnesium stearate. The film coating is made up of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, hydroxypropyl cellulose, titanium dioxide, red ferric oxide, yellow ferric oxide, and carnauba wax.

The 4 milligram and 5 milligram chewable Singulair tablets contain 4.2 milligrams and 5.2 milligrams of montelukast sodium, respectively. The inactive ingredients include mannitol, microcrystalline cellulose, hydroxypropyl cellulose, red ferric oxide, croscarmellose sodium, cherry flavor, aspartame, and magnesium stearate.

The 4 milligram packs of Singulair oral granules contain 4.2 milligrams of montelukast sodium, as well as mannitol, hydroxypropyl cellulose, and magnesium stearate.

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The information contained in this drug guide is intended as an educational resource only. This guide is not exhaustive and does not contain all available information about this drug.This guide is not intended as medical advice for individual conditions or treatment.

The information provided in this guide does not replace the need for the advice and services of medical professionals or the need for medical examination. Always talk to your physician or pharmacist before taking any prescription medication or over the counter drugs (including any supplements) or before making any changes to your treatment. Only your doctor, nurse or pharmacist can provide you with safe and effective advice regarding your drug treatment.

The use of the information in this guide is at your sole risk. This information is provided "AS IS" with no warranties to accuracy or timeliness.

**All trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.