ECHINACEA-RATIOPHARM

ECHINACEA-RATIOPHARM 100 mg Tablets

Important notes (mandatory information)

Echinacea-ratiopharm 100 mg tablets. Active ingredient: Purple coneflower herb press juice. Areas of application: for the supportive treatment of frequently recurring infections in the respiratory tract and the urinary tract. Warning: Contains sorbitol!

For risks and side effects, read the package leaflet and consult your doctor or pharmacist.


PACKAGE LEAFLET: INFORMATION FOR THE USER

Echinacea-ratiopharm 100 mg tablets for use in children from 6 years of age, adolescents and adults
Active ingredient: Dried purple coneflower herb press juice, 100 mg

Read the entire package leaflet carefully before you start taking this medicine, because it contains important information. Always take this medicine exactly as described in this package leaflet or exactly as directed by your doctor or pharmacist.

• Keep the package leaflet. You may want to read it again later.
• Ask your pharmacist if you need more information or advice.
• If you experience any side effects, talk to your doctor or pharmacist. This also applies to side effects not listed in this package leaflet. See section 4.
• If you do not feel better or if you feel worse after 5 days, contact your doctor.

What this package leaflet contains

1. WHAT IS ECHINACEA-RATIOPHARM AND WHAT IS IT USED FOR?
2. WHAT SHOULD YOU CONSIDER BEFORE TAKING ECHINACEA-RATIOPHARM?
3. HOW TO TAKE ECHINACEA-RATIOPHARM?
4. WHAT SIDE EFFECTS ARE POSSIBLE?
5. HOW TO STORE ECHINACEA-RATIOPHARM?
6. CONTENTS OF THE PACK AND OTHER INFORMATION

1. WHAT IS ECHINACEA-RATIOPHARM AND WHAT IS IT USED FOR?

Echinacea-ratiopharm is a herbal immunostimulant (medicine to boost the body's own defences). Echinacea-ratiopharm is used for the supportive treatment of frequently recurring infections in the respiratory tract and the urinary tract.

2. WHAT SHOULD YOU CONSIDER BEFORE TAKING ECHINACEA-RATIOPHARM?

Echinacea-ratiopharm must not be taken:

• by children under one year of age, because the immune system is not yet fully developed,
• if you are allergic to purple coneflower herb, plants from the daisy family or any of the other ingredients of this medicine listed in section 6.
• for fundamental reasons, Echinacea-ratiopharm should not be used in progressive systemic diseases (such as tuberculosis, sarcoidosis) systemic diseases of the white blood cell system (e.g. leukaemia or leukaemia-like diseases, leukaemias), autoimmune diseases, (inflammatory diseases of the connective tissue (collagenoses), multiple sclerosis), immune deficiency (AIDS/HIV infections), immunosuppression (e.g. after organ or bone marrow transplantation, chemotherapy for cancer), chronic viral diseases.

Warnings and precautions

Please talk to your doctor or pharmacist before taking Echinacea-ratiopharm.

Use in respiratory infections

If symptoms persist for more than one week or if shortness of breath, fever, or purulent or bloody sputum occur, a doctor should be consulted.

Use in urinary tract infections

Repeated complaints in the urinary tract generally require medical clarification and regular medical check-ups. Irrespective of this, it is necessary to consult a doctor if there is blood in the urine, fever, or if the symptoms persist for more than 5 days. In patients with an allergic disposition, there may be an increased risk of anaphylactic shock. Ask your doctor first if you are allowed to use Echinacea-ratiopharm.

Children and adolescents

There are no adequate studies on the use of Echinacea-ratiopharm in children under 6 years of age. It should therefore not be used in children under 6 years of age. Please also note the information under Contraindications.

Taking Echinacea-ratiopharm with other medicines

No systematic interaction studies have been performed. Therefore, an increase or decrease in the effect of other medicines cannot be ruled out. Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you are taking/using, have recently taken/used or intend to take/use any other medicines.

Pregnancy and breast-feeding

Due to insufficient studies, taking Echinacea-ratiopharm is not recommended during pregnancy and breast-feeding. It should be noted that use in women of childbearing age who are not using contraception must also be carefully considered, as a possible pregnancy may not yet be known.

Driving and using machines

No special precautions are required.

Echinacea-ratiopharm contains sorbitol

Therefore, please only take Echinacea-ratiopharm after consulting your doctor if you are known to suffer from an intolerance to certain sugars. Each tablet contains 570 mg sorbitol (equivalent to 0.05 BE).

3. HOW TO TAKE ECHINACEA-RATIOPHARM?

Always take this medicine exactly as described in this package leaflet or exactly as agreed with your doctor or pharmacist. Check with your doctor or pharmacist if you are not sure.

Method of administration

The tablets can be sucked, chewed or taken with a glass of liquid, preferably a glass of water. The tablets can be taken independently of meals.

Duration of use

Echinacea-ratiopharm should not be taken continuously for more than 10 days without medical advice. Please talk to your doctor or pharmacist if you have the impression that the effect of Echinacea-ratiopharm is too strong or too weak

If you have taken more Echinacea-ratiopharm than you should

If you have taken one or two more single doses of Echinacea-ratiopharm than you should, this will generally not have any adverse consequences. If you take significantly more than this, please inform your doctor. He/she can decide on any necessary measures. The side effects listed below may occur more frequently.

If you forget to take Echinacea-ratiopharm

Do not take twice the amount if you have forgotten to take the previous dose.

If you have any further questions about taking this medicine, ask your doctor or pharmacist.

4. WHAT SIDE EFFECTS ARE POSSIBLE?

Like all medicines, this medicine can cause side effects, although not everybody gets them.

Possible side effects

Hypersensitivity reactions (skin rash, itching, facial swelling, shortness of breath, dizziness and drop in blood pressure, anaphylactic shock, Stevens-Johnson syndrome) have been observed when taking medicines containing echinacea preparations. Gastrointestinal complaints such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea may occur. Allergic reactions can be triggered in patients with an allergic disposition. Taking medicines containing echinacea preparations is associated with the occurrence of immune diseases. Blood count changes (leucopenia) may occur with long-term use (longer than 8 weeks). The frequency of side effects is not known. If you experience swelling of the face, mouth and/or throat or allergic reactions of the respiratory tract, stop taking Echinacea-ratiopharm and seek medical attention immediately so that the doctor can decide on the severity and any necessary measures.

Reporting of side effects

If you experience any side effects, talk to your doctor or pharmacist. This also applies to side effects not listed in this package leaflet. You can also report side effects directly to the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices, Dept. of Pharmacovigilance, Kurt-Georg-Kiesinger Allee 3, D-53175 Bonn, website: www.bfarm.de. By reporting side effects, you can help provide more information about the safety of this medicine.

5. HOW TO STORE ECHINACEA-RATIOPHARM?

Keep this medicine out of the reach of children. Do not store above 25°C. Store in the original package to protect the contents from moisture. Do not use this medicine after the expiry date which is stated on the carton and blister packs after "Use by". The expiry date refers to the last day of the specified month.

6. CONTENTS OF THE PACK AND OTHER INFORMATION

What Echinacea-ratiopharm contains

The active ingredient is dried purple coneflower herb press juice. Each tablet contains 100 mg of dried press juice from fresh, flowering purple coneflower herb (22 - 65 : 1). The other ingredients are: Highly dispersed silicon dioxide, sorbitol, sodium cyclamate, magnesium stearate.

What Echinacea-ratiopharm looks like and contents of the pack

Round, curved tablets, beige with brown spots. The plant extract contained in the tablets can lead to uneven discolouration of the tablet surface. Echinacea-ratiopharm is available in packs of 20 or 50 tablets. Not all pack sizes may be marketed.

Pharmaceutical entrepreneur

ratiopharm GmbH
Graf-Arco-Str. 3
89079 Ulm

Manufacturer

Merckle GmbH
Ludwig-Merckle-Str. 3
89143 Blaubeuren

This package leaflet was last revised in January 2017.

Source: Information from the package leaflet
Status: 11/2017
Active ingredient: Purple coneflower herb press juice. Areas of application: for the supportive treatment of frequently recurring infections in the respiratory tract and the urinary tract. Warning: Contains sorbitol!