Quinine Drugs:

What are Quinine Drugs?

Quinine is a type of drug that was originally formulated to help fight malaria, a potentially life-threatening disease. However, in recent years, quinine has also been discovered to "help" those who suffer from leg cramps, and several medications containing quinine have been marketed over the counter and the drugs have sold at a high volume.

Intended Use of Quinine Drugs

Quinine is a substance that appears naturally in the tree bark of the cinchona tree, and its use for the treatment of malaria can be traced back to the 17th Century in South America, where the cinchona tree grows naturally. Missionaries from Europe learned of this treatment and brought the knowledge to their home continent. Quinine became the treatment of choice for malaria until well into the 20th Century as a result.

Today, quinine is still used to treat malaria, but there are safeguards that must be followed. There is an extremely fine line between a safe dose of quinine and a lethal dose, which is why quinine must be closely administered and managed by a doctor.

FDA Warnings and Quinine.

In recent years, quinine was discovered to help with leg cramps, and it began to appear in several substances that were marketed for this off-label purpose. However, this marketing of the drug has come under recent scrutiny from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), as the agency recently ordered the halt of this off-label use for quinine, citing serious health concerns.

Side Effects of Quinine and Injuries. Optic Neuritis and Blindness

Quinine has been shown to cause side effects in patients including cardiac arrhythmias, anemia, thrombocytopenia (a decrease in blood platelets that can cause hemorrhage or clotting problems), and severe hypersensitivity reactions. Quinine has also been shown to cause serious health problems in terms of its interaction with other drugs. Since 1969, 93 deaths have been reported as a result of ingesting quinine. Quinine has been linked as one of many chemicals that can lead to the development of optic neuritis and possible blindness.

What You Should Do

If you or someone you love has experienced side effects due to the off-label use of quinine, you need to do two things. First, contact your doctor and report your use of quinine and its resulting side effects so that your doctor can recommend a different course of action immediately.

Secondly, you need to contact an experienced attorney for a consultation. You do have legal rights available that could possibly entitle you to the recovery of damages if you have suffered harm as a result of the off-label use of this drug. You only have a certain amount of time to act, so contact an attorney today.