Drug Interactions With Rimantadine

Certain medications could cause drug interactions with rimantadine, including aspirin, cimetidine, acetaminophen, and the intranasal flu vaccine. Some interactions can decrease the level of the flu medication in the blood, while others may increase your risk of developing side effects. To help prevent these rimantadine interactions from occurring, be sure to talk to your healthcare provider before taking any medicines with rimantadine.

Rimantadine Hydrochloride (HCL)

Rimantadine Drug Interactions: An Introduction

Rimantadine hydrochloride (Flumadine^®) can potentially interact with several other medicines. Some of these medicines that may lead to Rimantadine interactions include:

Acetaminophen (Tylenol^® and many others)
Aspirin (Bayer^® and many others)
Cimetidine (Tagamet^®)
The intranasal flu vaccine (FluMist™).

Rimantadine Interactions Explained

The following sections explain in detail the potentially negative interactions that can occur when rimantadine is combined with any of the drugs listed above.

Acetaminophen (Tylenol and Others)

Taking rimantadine with acetaminophen can slightly decrease the level of rimantadine in the blood. It is not known if this is significant enough to decrease the effectiveness of rimantadine.

Aspirin (Bayer and Others)

Taking rimantadine with aspirin can slightly decrease the level of rimantadine in the blood. It is not known if this is significant enough to decrease the effectiveness of rimantadine. However, keep in mind that children and adolescents under age 19 should not take aspirin if they have (or may have) the flu, since aspirin increases the risk of Reye's syndrome.

(Drug Interactions With Rimantadine Continued: Page 2)