Before Using This Medicine

In deciding to use a medicine, the risks of taking the medicine must be weighed against the good it will do. This is a decision you and your doctor will make. For ketotifen, the following should be considered:

Allergies—Tell your doctor if you have ever had any unusual or allergic reaction to ketotifen. Also tell your health care professional if you are allergic to any other substances, such as preservatives.

Pregnancy—Ketotifen has not been studied in pregnant women. However, studies in animals have shown that ketotifen, when given in very high doses to some types of animals, causes birth defects. Before using this medicine, make sure your doctor knows if you are pregnant or if you may become pregnant.

Breast-feeding—It is not known whether ketotifen passes into human breast milk. However, it does pass into the milk of animals with nursing young. Mothers who are taking this medicine and who wish to breast-feed should discuss this with their doctor.

Children— Studies on this medicine have been done only in adult patients, and there is no specific information comparing use of ketotifen in children younger than 3 years of age with use in other age groups.

Older adults—Many medicines have not been studied specifically in older people. Therefore, it may not be known whether they work exactly the same way they do in younger adults or if they cause different side effects or problems in older people. There is no specific information comparing use of ophthalmic ketotifen in the elderly with use in other age groups.

Other medicines—Although certain medicines should not be used together at all, in other cases two different medicines may be used together even if an interaction might occur. In these cases, your doctor may want to change the dose, or other precautions may be necessary. Tell your health care professional if you are taking or using any other prescription or nonprescription (over-the-counter [OTC]) medicine.