AntiInfectiveMeds
Since 2010
| Quantity | Price per tablet | You save | Total price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60 | £0.68 | - | £40.74 | |
| 90 | £0.67 | £1.11 | £60.00 | |
| 120 | £0.64 | £4.44 | £77.04 | |
| 180 | £0.59 | £15.56 | £106.68 | |
| 270 | £0.58 | £27.78 | £155.57 | |
| 360 | £0.55 | £46.67 | £197.79 |
| Quantity | Price per tablet | You save | Total price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | £3.78 | - | £37.78 | |
| 20 | £3.48 | £5.93 | £69.64 | |
| 30 | £3.26 | £15.56 | £97.79 | |
| 60 | £3.10 | £40.74 | £185.94 | |
| 90 | £2.86 | £82.97 | £257.06 | |
| 120 | £2.72 | £126.68 | £326.69 | |
| 180 | £2.54 | £222.98 | £457.07 | |
| 270 | £2.42 | £367.44 | £652.64 | |
| 360 | £2.33 | £522.26 | £837.84 |
Your order is carefully packed and is dispatched within 24 hours. Here is what a typical package looks like.
Sized like a regular personal letter (approximately 24x11x0.7 cm), with no indication of what is inside.
| Delivery Method | Estimated delivery |
|---|---|
| Express Free for orders over £222.24 | Estimated delivery to the UK: 4-7 days |
| Standard Free for orders over £148.16 | Estimated delivery to the UK: 14-21 days |
Retrovir is used to treat HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) infection.
The active ingredient in Retrovir is zidovudine. Retrovir is a type of antiretroviral medicine. It belongs to a group of medicines called nucleoside analogue reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs).
Retrovir does not cure HIV infection, but it reduces the amount of virus in your body and helps keep it at a low level. Retrovir also increases the CD4 cell count in your blood. CD4 cells are a type of white blood cell that help your body fight infection.
Retrovir is used together with other medicines ('combination therapy') to treat HIV in adults and children. To keep your HIV infection under control and stop your illness getting worse, you must keep taking all your medicines.
If you're pregnant, your doctor may want you to take Retrovir to help prevent you passing HIV on to your unborn baby. After birth, your baby may also be given Retrovir to help prevent HIV infection.
HIV infection is spread through sexual contact with someone who has the infection or through infected blood (for example, by sharing needles).
Retrovir for newborn babies
Retrovir must not be given to some newborn babies with liver problems, including:
Some people taking Retrovir or combination therapy for HIV are more at risk of serious side effects. You need to be aware of the extra risks:
Talk to your doctor if any of these apply to you. You may need extra check-ups, including blood tests, while you're taking this medicine. See Section 4 for more information.
Some people taking medicines for HIV infection develop other conditions, which can be serious. You need to know which important signs and symptoms to watch out for while you're taking Retrovir. If you have any questions about this information or the advice given:
Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you're taking any other medicines, or have taken any recently, including herbal remedies or medicines you bought without a prescription.
Remember to tell your doctor or pharmacist if you start taking a new medicine while you're taking Retrovir.
Don't take these medicines with Retrovir:
Some medicines can make side effects more likely, or make them worse.
These include:
Tell your doctor if you're taking any of these.
Some medicines interact with Retrovir. These include:
Tell your doctor if you're taking clarithromycin or phenytoin. Your doctor may need to monitor you while you're taking Retrovir.
If you are pregnant, if you become pregnant, or if you're planning to become pregnant:
If pregnant women who are HIV-positive take Retrovir, they are less likely to pass HIV on to their unborn babies.
Retrovir and similar medicines may cause side effects in unborn babies; if they do, these effects may not show up until after the baby is born. Even so, the benefit of protecting your baby from HIV is greater than the risk of side effects.
If you've taken Retrovir while you were pregnant, your baby may be given extra check-ups (which may include blood tests) to make sure they are developing normally.
Women who are HIV-positive must not breastfeed, because HIV infection can be passed on to the baby in breast milk.
If you're breastfeeding, or thinking about breastfeeding:
Retrovir can make you feel dizzy and cause other side effects that make you less alert.
Don't drive or use machines unless you're feeling well.
Retrovir oral solution contains:
You will need regular blood tests
For as long as you're taking Retrovir, your doctor will arrange regular blood tests to check for side effects. There's more information about these side effects in Section 4 of this leaflet.
Stay in regular contact with your doctor
Retrovir helps control your condition, but it is not a cure for HIV infection. You need to keep taking it every day to stop your illness getting worse. You may still develop other infections and illnesses linked to HIV infection.
Keep in touch with your doctor, and don't stop taking Retrovir without your doctor's advice.
Retrovir will not stop you passing HIV on to other people through sex or blood transfer. To help protect other people from becoming infected with HIV:
Use a condom when you have oral or penetrative sex.
Don't risk blood transfer - for example, don't share needles.
Always take Retrovir exactly as your doctor has told you to. Check with your doctor or pharmacist if you're not sure.
How much Retrovir will you need to take?
Adults and adolescents weighing at least 30 kg:
The usual dose of Retrovir is 25 ml (250 mg) or 30 ml (300 mg) twice a day. Take each dose 12 hours apart.
Children weighing at least 9 kg and less than 30 kg:
Your doctor will decide the right dose of Retrovir for your child, depending on your child's size. Your child can also take Retrovir 100 mg capsules.
The usual dose is 9 mg for each kg of body weight twice a day and will be no more than 30 ml (300 mg) twice a day.
Children weighing at least 4 kg and less than 9 kg:
Your doctor will decide the right dose of Retrovir for your child, depending on your child's size.
The usual dose is 12 mg for each kg of body weight twice a day. If your baby cannot take medicines by mouth, your doctor may decide to give your baby Retrovir by injection instead.
You should not normally take Retrovir during the first 14 weeks of pregnancy. After week 14, the usual dose is 50 ml (500 mg) each day until you go into labour. During labour and birth, your doctor may give you Retrovir by injection until your baby's umbilical cord has been clamped. Your newborn baby may also be given Retrovir to help prevent HIV infection.
If you have severe kidney or liver problems, you may be given a lower dose of Retrovir, depending on how well your kidneys or liver are working. Follow your doctor's advice.
Use the oral dosing syringe supplied with the pack to measure your dose accurately.
If you accidentally take too much Retrovir, it is unlikely to cause serious problems. The most common effects of taking too much Retrovir are tiredness, headaches and being sick (vomiting). If you feel unwell:
If you forget to take a dose, don't worry. You can take your next dose as soon as you remember, but not within two hours of your next dose. If you remember within two hours of your next dose, just skip the missed dose and take your next dose at the usual time. Then continue your treatment as before.
Don't take a double dose to make up for a missed dose.
Take Retrovir for as long as your doctor recommends. Don't stop unless your doctor tells you to.
Like all medicines, Retrovir can cause side effects, although not everyone gets them. Some side effects may show up in blood tests and may not appear until 4 to 6 weeks after you start taking Retrovir. If you get any of these effects, and they are severe, your doctor may advise you to stop taking Retrovir.
As well as the effects listed below, other conditions can develop during combination therapy for HIV.
It is important to read the information in 'Other possible side effects of combination therapy for HIV'.
These may affect more than 1 in 10 people taking Retrovir:
These may affect up to 1 in 10 people taking Retrovir:
These may affect up to 1 in 100 people taking Retrovir:
Uncommon side effects that may show up in your blood tests are:
These may affect up to 1 in 1,000 people taking Retrovir:
A rare side effect that may show up in your blood tests is:
A very rare side effect that may affect up to 1 in 10,000 people taking Retrovir, and may show up in blood tests is:
If you get side effects
Some other conditions may develop during HIV treatment.
People with advanced HIV infection (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)) have weak immune systems and are more likely to develop serious infections (opportunistic infections). When these people start treatment, they may find that old, hidden infections flare up, causing signs and symptoms of inflammation. These symptoms are probably caused by the body's immune system becoming stronger, so that the body starts to fight these infections.
If you get any symptoms of infection while you're taking Retrovir:
People taking combination therapy for HIV may find that their body shape changes because of changes in fat distribution:
It is not yet known what causes these changes, or whether they have any long-term effects on your health. If you notice changes in your body shape:
Some people taking Retrovir, or other medicines like it (NRTIs), develop a condition called lactic acidosis, together with an enlarged liver. Lactic acidosis is caused by a build-up of lactic acid in the body. It is rare; if it happens, it usually develops after a few months of treatment. It can be life-threatening, causing failure of internal organs.
Lactic acidosis is more likely to develop in people who have liver disease, or in obese (very overweight) people, especially women.
Signs of lactic acidosis include:
During your treatment, your doctor will monitor you for signs of lactic acidosis. If you have any of the symptoms listed above, or any other symptoms that worry you:
See your doctor as soon as possible.
Some people taking combination therapy for HIV develop a condition called osteonecrosis. With this condition, parts of the bone tissue die because of reduced blood supply to the bone.
People may be more likely to get this condition:
Signs of osteonecrosis include:
If you notice any of these symptoms: Tell your doctor.
Combination therapy for HIV can also cause:
These effects may show up in the blood tests you'll have while you're taking Retrovir.
Keep Retrovir out of the sight and reach of children.
Throw away the bottle 1 month after first opening it. If you have any unwanted Retrovir, don't dispose of it in wastewater or household rubbish. Take it back to your pharmacist, who will dispose of it in a way that will not harm the environment.
My new zidovudine pack looks different from the one I received previously. What should I check before I start taking it?
A different appearance does not by itself mean the medicine is wrong. Compare the active ingredient, strength, dosage form, manufacturer, pack label, batch number, expiry date and any tablet imprint; do not use it until any mismatch in ingredient, strength, dosage form, seal or condition is resolved.
I live in Cardiff. Can I check whether zidovudine can be delivered to my postcode before placing an order?
Yes. Enter your Cardiff postcode at checkout to check whether delivery is available for your address before you complete the order.
I drive for work and have just started zidovudine. Is it safe to drive after taking a dose?
Zidovudine can cause dizziness, headache or tiredness in some people. Do not drive or operate machinery if you feel affected; once you know how it affects you and remain alert, driving may be possible.
| Active ingredient | Zidovudine |
|---|---|
| Drug class | Nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NRTI) |
| Dosage form | Capsules and tablets |
| Available strengths | 100 mg, 300 mg |
| Route | Oral |
| Storage | Store at 15°C to 25°C. |
| ATC code | J05AF01 |
This product has 7 ratings, but only 5 written reviews so far. Share your experience and help other customers.
I gave the wrong flat number when ordering my Retrovir capsules and tablets, but customer support got it all sorted before dispatch.
Retrovir used to cost a little less, but the zidovudine capsules and tablets are still worth paying for in my view.
My Retrovir order arrived in plain, unbranded packaging with no hint of what was inside, which I really appreciated.
When I lived in London, my Retrovir capsules and tablets seemed to arrive two or three days quicker, though that's not something I'd count on now in Glasgow.
I bought these Retrovir capsules and tablets for my father, and while the colour differed slightly from his usual pharmacy brand, matching zidovudine as the active ingredient mattered more to us.
