Levaquin is a fluoroquinolone antibiotic containing Levofloxacin as the active ingredient. It is manufactured and marketed by Johnson & Johnson/Ortho McNeil drug companies. Levofloxacin (manufactured by Sanofi-Aventis under license from Daiichi Pharmaceutical Company) was first approved in the USA by Drug and Food Administration in 1996 for the treatment of life-threatening bacterial infections. It is particularly used in treating bacterial infections that have failed to respond to common antibiotics. Levaquin is a broad-spectrum antibiotic and therefore very effective against both Gram-positive and also Gram-negative bacteria. It acts by preventing bacterial cell division by inhibiting DNA gyrase, the enzyme responsible for separating replicated bacterial DNA.
Disease/Conditions
Levaquin is indicated for the cure of varied bacterial infections including respiratory tract infections, anthrax, meningitis, pelvic , urinary tract infections inflammatory disease, traveler’s diarrhea, pneumonia, Skin and also Skin Structure infections, chronic protastitis, acute Sinusitis and chronic bronchitis amongst other diseases. Due to its potency, doctors do not prescribe Levaquin as the first line of treatment; they only do so after a patient has used other antibiotics without any positive response.
Side Effects
Like with other fluoroquinolones, Levaquin side effects are very common, compared to other types of antibiotics. Although most of Levaquin side effects are generally mild and moderate, adverse effects can occur, especially in cases of self-medication. Such include:
- Peripheral neuropathy – Long-term use of Levaquin can cause peripheral neuropathy, which is the irreversible damage to nerves
- Tendon rupture and tendonitis
- Central nervous system disorder including seizures
- Photosensitivity
- Kidney damage
- Acute pancreatitis
- Temporary/permanent loss of vision
- Abdominal pain
Levaquin side effects can occur at any time during use or long after discontinuation. The fact that a patient does not show any side effects initially does not therefore mean that he/she may not experience the same long after completing dosage.
Levaquin dosage
Levaquin is a prescription only medication that is available in tablet, injection and oral solution. Its active ingredient (Levofloxacin) is also used as an ingredient in both eye and ear drops for the treatment of serious ear and eye bacterial infections. Doctors do not normally prescribe Levaquin to children, unless there is no other alternative (which is rare). For adults, the dosage depends on a patient’s body mass and more importantly, a patient’s renal condition. Depending on a patient’s infection, dosage period can be as short as three days or long as 60 days. Although doctors take all precautions to ensure that a patient does not receive overdose of Levaquin, mistakes do occur. Overdose is normally treated through hydration and emptying of the stomach.
Levaquin is a very potent medication and its use in many countries is strictly controlled. This is because of the apparent risk of bacterial resistance in case of misuse. In any case, it is made available only in selected health care facilities. Pharmacies also sell the medication only on a doctor’s prescription. In normal cases, doctors Levaquin only to patients who have failed other antibiotic treatments. In any case, the medication is only prescribed in life-threatening bacterial infections.
3 Responses
I am chronic asthma patient and my doctor has tried various drug permutations and combinations to help me get relief from this chronic problem. The problem gets all the more severe during winter when I spend quite a few nights staying awake. I have been using a number of inhalers and bronchodilators but to no effect. I had lost all hope until one day my physician put me on a dose of Levaquin. Since then I am able to breath much easier and my sleepless nights are now far and few between. My appetite has also increased quite a lot, which I understand could be a side effect of this drug.
I often suffer from acute cold and cough and the first thing that gets affected when I have this problem is my ability to breath freely. My nasal passages get blocked and it takes almost months before I am able to breath properly. Hardly I recover from this bout of cold, when I am attacked by a fresh of such problem. I have tried many medicines and lastly my physician put me on Levaquin. It has worked very well on me and I am now a much freer person and am able to sleep better in the nights. However, I do suffer from bouts of sleeplessness and insomnia which I understand is a side effect of this drug.
I was down with a severe attack of hives which perhaps was caused by an overdose of histamine. It was very irritating and I had to spend some night awake not being able to bear the irritation to the skin brought about by this problem. I approached my doctor after stopping the drug which caused this problem. But the hives would not vanish and so my doctor prescribed Levaquin to me. It has amazing results and my hives problem vanished within a couple of days. Though people talk a lot about side effects of Levaquin, I did not have any such problem.