With more extended therapy, gastrointestinal symptoms are the most frequent side effects and rare but potentially severe adverse effects include neutropenia, hypersensitivity reactions, hepatitis, angioedema, Stevens Johnson syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis.
There have been reports of neutropenia and agranulocytosis with mebendazole use at higher doses and with more prolonged durations of treatment, as in helminth infections. Elderly patients and patients with comorbid conditions like liver impairment and/or end-stage renal disease require close monitoring.
This medicine may cause serious skin reactions when taken together with metronidazole. Check with your doctor right away if you have blistering, peeling, or loose skin, red skin lesions, severe acne or skin rash, sores or ulcers on the skin, or fever or chills while you are using this medicine.
Before taking this medicine
Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. Mebendazole can pass into breast milk and may harm a nursing baby. You should not breast-feed while using this medicine. Mebendazole is not approved for use by anyone younger than 2 years old.
Adults and children 2 years of age and older—100 milligrams (mg) two times a day, morning and evening, for 3 consecutive days. Treatment may need to be repeated in 3 weeks. Children younger than 2 years of age—Use and dose must be determined by your doctor.
Mebendazole is usually well tolerated and the liver injury reported with its use has been mild and self-limited in course. Patients with hypersensitivity and acute liver injury attributed to mebendazole should avoid repeat exposure.
Is there any food or drink I need to avoid? You can eat and drink normally while taking mebendazole. It's important to remember to wash your hands and scrub under your fingernails before eating. This removes any eggs and stops the infection spreading or coming back.
It's unknown why Vermox (mebendazole) was discontinued. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Vermox (mebendazole) wasn't discontinued because it was unsafe or didn't work well. It's possible that the manufacturers stopped making the medication because there wasn't a large demand for it.
Other drugs are used to treat worm infections outside the digestive tract, as mebendazole is poorly absorbed into the bloodstream. Mebendazole is used alone in those with mild to moderate infestations.
You'll usually take mebendazole as a single dose to treat threadworms, but you might need to take it for around 3 days for some other types of worm infection. It starts to work straight away but it may take several days to kill all the worms. Mebendazole kills worms but not their eggs.
Deworming programmes are currently relying on just two drugs namely, albendazole or mebendazole. Both these drugs work in the same way. Therefore if the worms develop a resistance to one it's likely they'll also be resistant to the other.
For other types of common worm infections (such as roundworm, hookworm), take mebendazole by mouth as directed by your doctor, usually twice a day (in the morning and in the evening) for 3 days. If necessary, a second treatment may be given in a few weeks.
Mebendazole Elicits a Potent Antitumor Effect on Human Cancer Cell Lines Both in Vitro and in Vivo1 | Clinical Cancer Research | American Association for Cancer Research.
Mebendazole is not suitable for some people. To make sure it's safe for you, tell a pharmacist or doctor if you: have ever had an allergic reaction to mebendazole or any other medicine.
Two Types of Common Intestinal Parasitic Infections
These parasitic worms live inside the GI tract. These parasites can contribute to long-term, sometimes severe, chronic health problems because of the way they deplete the body's resources.
Chronic parasite infection can alter the commensal flora of the gut, resulting in reduced airway inflammation/allergy and inflammatory bowel disease.
Mebendazole works by preventing the threadworms absorbing sugar, which means they should die within a few days.
Mebendazole is generally well-tolerated. Patients with severe worm infestation may have diarrhoea, vomiting, or abdominal pain as the worms are killed and excreted. Other side effects may include drowsiness, itching, headache, and dizziness.
Ascaricides (common roundworm infections)
Levamisole [unlicensed] (available from 'special-order' manufacturers or specialist importing companies) is an alternative when mebendazole cannot be used. It is very well tolerated.
Vermox (mebendazole) is an "antihelmintic," or anti-worm, medication used to treat infections caused by worms such as whipworm, pinworm, roundworm, and hookworm. Vermox is also used to treat infections caused by more than one of these worms at the same time. The brand name Vermox is no longer available in the U.S.
Mebendazole (Vermox) is used to treat roundworm and whipworm infections. Mebendazole (Emverm) is used to treat pinworm, whipworm, roundworm, and hookworm infections. Mebendazole is in a class of medications called anthelmintics.
Mebendazole is best taken with meals, especially fatty ones (eg, meals that include whole milk or ice cream). This helps to clear up the infection by helping your body absorb the medicine better. However, if you are on a low-fat diet, check with your doctor.
Adults and children 2 years of age and older—100 milligrams (mg) two times a day, morning and evening, for 3 consecutive days. Treatment may need to be repeated in 3 weeks.
Yes, it is normal to see dead threadworms in the persons bowel motions. Depending on the frequency of bathroom visits this can take up to one week. Symptoms of threadworm infection usually disappear within one week of treatment.