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" What is it used for?   Period pain (dysmenorrhoea).    How does it work? Feminax Ultra tablets contain the active ingredient naproxen, which is a type of medicine called a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID). NSAIDs are used to relieve pain and inflammation.  Naproxen works by blocking the action of a substance in the body called cyclo-oxygenase (COX). Cyclo-oxygenase is involved in the production of various chemicals in the body, some of which are known as prostaglandins. Prostaglandins are produced by the body in response to injury and certain diseases and conditions, and cause pain, swelling and inflammation.  Prostaglandins are also produced by the lining of the womb during menstrual periods. These prostaglandins cause the muscle in the uterus to contract and the womb lining to be shed. Naproxen blocks the production of these prostaglandins and is therefore effective at relieving period pain.  Feminax Ultra tablets have a special &amp;#039;enteric coat&amp;#039; that is designed to prevent the tablet breaking down and releasing the naproxen in the stomach, and thus reduce the risk of it irritating the stomach. When the tablet reaches the intestine, the coating dissolves and the naproxen is absorbed into the bloodstream. The tablets should be swallowed whole and not broken or chewed to avoid damaging this coating.    Warning!  Feminax Ultra tablets should be swallowed whole and not broken, crushed or chewed. The tablets should be taken with or after food. The lowest effective dose of this medicine should be used for the shortest possible time to relieve your symptoms. This is to minimise the chance of any side effects, particularly those mentioned below. Do not take these tablets for more than three days in any monthly period. If your period pain continues after three days of taking this medicine then you should seek medical advice from your doctor. Do not exceed the dose recommended in the leaflet supplied with this medicine. This medicine may cause dizziness or drowsiness and so may affect your ability to drive or operate machinery safely. Do not drive or operate machinery until you know how this medicine affects you and you are sure it won&amp;#039;t affect your performance.  This medicine may mask the signs and symptoms of infection, such as fever and inflammation. This may make you think mistakenly that an infection is getting better when it isn&amp;#039;t, or that an infection is less serious than it is. For this reason you should tell your doctor if you get an infection while you are taking this medicine.   NSAIDs can occasionally cause serious side effects on the gut, such as ulceration, bleeding or perforation of the stomach or intestinal lining. This type of side effect is more likely to occur in elderly people and in people taking high doses of the medicine. The risk can also be increased by taking certain other medicines (see below). It is important that these people, as well as people with a history of disorders affecting the stomach or intestines, do not take this medicine without consulting their doctor first. All people taking this medicine should stop treatment and consult their doctor immediately if they experience any sign of bleeding from the stomach or intestine during treatment, for example vomiting blood and/or passing black/tarry/bloodstained stools. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as this one may be associated with a small increase in the risk of experiencing a heart attack or stroke, although naproxen may have a lower risk than some other NSAIDs. Any risk is more likely with high doses and prolonged treatment. If you have heart problems, have ever had a stroke, or think that you might be at risk of these conditions (for example if you have high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol or are a smoker) you should discuss this with your doctor or pharmacist before taking this medicine. Very rarely, NSAIDS may cause serious blistering or peeling skin reactions (eg Stevens-Johnson syndrome, toxic epidermal necrolysis, exfoliative dermatitis). For this reason, you should stop taking this medicine and consult your doctor if you get a skin rash or sores inside your mouth while taking this medicine. If you need to have a test to monitor the functioning of your adrenal glands while taking this medicine, you should let the doctor performing the test know that you are taking naproxen. They may want you to stop taking the naproxen a couple of days before the test, as it could interfere with the results.   Use with caution in If you are under 15 or over 50 years of age, you started to have period pains more than a year after starting your periods, or you have any of the problems listed below, you should not take this medicine without consulting your doctor first.  History of disorders affecting the stomach or intestines. Inflammatory bowel disease such as Crohn&amp;#039;s disease or ulcerative colitis. Decreased kidney function. Decreased liver function. Heart failure. High blood pressure (hypertension). Heart disease caused by inadequate blood flow to the heart (ischaemic heart disease), eg angina or history of heart attack. Disease of the blood vessels in and around the brain (cerebrovascular disease), eg history of stroke or mini-stroke (TIA). Poor circulation in the arteries of the legs or feet (peripheral arterial disease). Raised levels of fats such as cholesterol in the blood (hyperlipidaemia). Diabetes. Smokers. People with blood clotting disorders or taking anticoagulant medicines. History of asthma. History of allergies. Diseases affecting connective tissue, eg systemic lupus erythematosus.   Not to be used in   People already taking aspirin or other NSAIDs, eg ibuprofen. People in whom aspirin or other NSAIDs, eg ibuprofen, cause allergic reactions such as asthma attacks, itchy rash (urticaria), nasal inflammation (rhinitis), nasal polyps, or swelling of the lips, tongue and throat (angioedema). Active peptic ulcer or a history of this. People with active bleeding from the gut. People who have previously experienced bleeding or perforation in the gut while taking an NSAID medicine. Severe heart failure. Feminax Ultra tablets are not recommended for girls under 15 years of age and for women aged over 50 years old.  This medicine contains lactose and may not be suitable for people with rare hereditary problems of galactose intolerance, the Lapp lactase deficiency or glucose-galactose malabsorption.   This medicine should not be used if you are allergic to one or any of its ingredients. Please inform your doctor or pharmacist if you have previously experienced such an allergy.  If you feel you have experienced an allergic reaction, stop using this medicine and inform your doctor or pharmacist immediately.    Pregnancy and breastfeeding  Certain medicines should not be used during pregnancy or breastfeeding. However, other medicines may be safely used in pregnancy or breastfeeding providing the benefits to the mother outweigh the risks to the unborn baby. Always inform your doctor if you are pregnant or planning a pregnancy, before using any medicine.   This medicine is not recommended for use in pregnancy unless considered essential by your doctor. Seek medical advice from your doctor. This is particularly important in the first and third trimesters. If taken in the third trimester, NSAIDs may delay labour, increase the length of labour and cause complications in the newborn baby. Some evidence suggests that NSAIDs should also be avoided by women attempting to conceive, as they may temporarily reduce female fertility during treatment and may also increase the risk of miscarriage or malformations. Seek medical advice from your doctor. This medicine passes into breast milk. It is not recommended for use by mothers who are breastfeeding. Seek medical advice from your doctor.    Label warnings  This medication is to be swallowed whole, not chewed. Take with or after food. Do not take indigestion remedies at the same time of day as this medication.   Side effects  Medicines and their possible side effects can affect individual people in different ways. The following are some of the side effects that are known to be associated with this medicine. Just because a side effect is stated here does not mean that all people using this medicine will experience that or any side effect.   Disturbances of the gut such as indigestion, diarrhoea, constipation, nausea, vomiting or abdominal pain. Headache. Dizziness. Difficulty sleeping (insomnia). Sensation of spinning (vertigo). Sensation of ringing, or other noise in the ears (tinnitus). Skin reactions such as rash or itching. Ulceration or bleeding in the stomach or intestines. Retention of water in the body tissues (fluid retention), resulting in swelling (oedema). Increase in blood pressure. Visual disturbances (consult your doctor if you experience any visual disturbances so your eyes can be checked). Drowsiness. Concentration difficulties. Depression. Seizures (convulsions). Hair loss (alopecia). Hypersensitivity reactions such as narrowing of the airways (bronchospasm), swelling of the lips, throat and tongue (angioedema), itchy blistering rash or anaphylactic shock. Abnormal reaction of the skin to light, usually a rash (photosensitivity). Kidney, liver or blood disorders.  The side effects listed above may not include all of the side effects reported by the medicine&amp;#039;s manufacturer. For more information about any other possible risks associated with this medicine, please read the information provided with the medicine or consult your doctor or pharmacist.    How can this medicine affect other medicines? It is important to tell your doctor or pharmacist what medicines you are already taking, including those bought without a prescription and herbal medicines, before taking this medicine. Similarly, check with your doctor or pharmacist before taking any new medicines while taking this one, to ensure that the combination is safe.  Indigestion remedies such as antacids should not be taken at the same time of day as Feminax Ultra tablets, as they will stop the special enteric coating on the tablets from working.  This medicine should not be taken in combination with painkilling doses of aspirin or any other NSAID taken by mouth, eg ibuprofen, as this increases the risk of side effects on the stomach and intestines. If you are taking selective inhibitors of COX-2 such as celecoxib or etoricoxib you should also avoid taking this medicine for the same reason. There may be an increased risk of ulceration or bleeding in the gut if naproxen is taken with corticosteroids such as prednisolone.  There may also be an increased risk of bleeding in the gut if naproxen is taken with the following medicines:  anti-blood-clotting (anticoagulant) medicines, such as warfarin or heparin  anti-platelet medicines to reduce the risk of blood clots or &amp;#039;thin the blood&amp;#039;, eg low-dose aspirin, clopidogrel, dipyridamole erlotinib SSRI antidepressants, eg fluoxetine, paroxetine, citalopram venlafaxine.  Naproxen may enhance the effect of blood-thinning or anti-clotting medicines (anticoagulants) such as warfarin. As this may increase the risk of bleeding, people taking naproxen with an anticoagulant should be closely monitored by their doctor.  There may be an increased risk of seizures (fits), if naproxen is used in combination with quinolone antibiotics, such as ciprofloxacin, norfloxacin or levofloxacin. Naproxen may reduce the removal of the following medicines from the body and so may increase the blood levels and risk of side effects of these medicines. People taking naproxen with any of these should be closely monitored by their doctor:   digoxin lithium  methotrexate.  There may be an increased risk of side effects on the kidneys if naproxen is taken with any of the following medicines:  ACE inhibitors, eg enalapril  ciclosporin  diuretics, eg furosemide tacrolimus.   Naproxen may alter the effect of mifepristone, a medicine used to terminate a pregnancy. Therefore, this medicine should not be taken within 8-12 days of taking mifepristone. Naproxen may oppose the blood pressure lowering effects of certain medicines to treat high blood pressure, such as the following:   ACE inhibitors such as captopril  beta-blockers such as atenolol diuretics such as furosemide.  Probenecid may increase the blood level of naproxen, which may increase the risk of side effects.   Other medicines containing the same active ingredient     Naprosyn Naprosyn EC Synflex    Naproxen tablets and enteric-coated tablets are also available on prescription without a brand name, ie as the generic medicine.  Last updated 06.07.2008 "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/medicines/aches-and-pains/a8676/feminax-ultra-naproxen/>