Common questions about mebendazole (2024)

FAQs

Common questions about mebendazole? ›

Wash hands and fingernails often, especially before eating and after using the toilet. Wash all fruits and vegetables thoroughly. Cook them well. Clean the bedroom floor by vacuuming or damp mopping for several days after treatment with this medicine.

Wash hands and fingernails often, especially before eating and after using the toilet. Wash all fruits and vegetables thoroughly. Cook them well. Clean the bedroom floor by vacuuming or damp mopping for several days after treatment with this medicine.

Mebendazole is an antihelmintic used for the treatment of pinworms, whipworms, hookworms, and roundworms.

If you take too much

Taking an extra dose of mebendazole is unlikely to harm you. However, you may get side effects such as: stomach cramps. feeling or being sick (nausea or vomiting)

Mebendazole will not treat a viral infection such as the flu or a common cold. You may need to take this medicine for 1 to 3 days, depending on the condition you are treating. However, it could take as long as 3 weeks before the infection is completely cleared.

Key facts. 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 when given for prolonged periods in high doses has been associated with elevations in serum enzyme levels, and rare instances of acute, clinically apparent liver injury have been linked to its use.

Mebendazole sometimes causes diarrhea, abdominal pain, and elevated liver enzymes. In rare cases, it has been associated with a dangerously low white blood cell count, low platelet count, and hair loss, with a risk of agranulocytosis in rare cases.

Gut microbiota diversity increased after Enterobius infection, and it peaked after administration of mebendazole. At the phylum level, pinworm infection and mebendazole deworming were associated with a decreased relative abundance of Fusobacteria and an increased proportion of Actinobacteria.

Why is mebendazole no longer available? ›

Why is Mebendazole discontinued? Mebendazole was discontinued in 2011 due to the poor tissue penetration of Mebendazole and the current availability of albendazole and not for safety or efficacy reasons, stated by the Federal Register determination.

Mebendazole does not kill the worms' eggs, and these can cause you to get worms again and pass it on to other people. A doctor or pharmacist may advise you to take mebendazole again after 2 weeks, to stop the worms from coming back.

lumbricoides, albendazole is superior to mebendazole for treating hookworm, and mebendazole slightly outperforms albendazole with regard to treating T. trichiura. To achieve high CRs against hookworm and T. trichiura infections, triple dose regimens should be considered.

Dosing of mebendazole for common FDA indications are listed below: Roundworm (Ascaris lumbricoides): 100 mg twice daily (morning and night) for three consecutive days.

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.

Pregnancy & Breastfeeding

Mebendazole can pass into breast milk and may harm a nursing baby. You should not breast-feed while using this medicine.

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.