Folic Acid tablets may be used:

to treat: 

• Folate deficiency anaemia caused by poor diet, poor absorption of food (such as in coeliac disease or a digestive disorder called sprue) or increased use of folate in the body (as in pregnancy)

to prevent:

• Folate deficiency caused by some medicines (e.g. those used to treat epilepsy such as phenytoin, phenobarbital and primidone)
• Folate deficiency caused by long-term red blood cell damage or kidney dialysis 
• Neural tube defects in babies (e.g. spina bifida), where women are at risk of having an affected child.

Always take Folic Acid tablets exactly as your doctor has told you. Check with your doctor or pharmacist if you are not sure.

Swallow the tablets with water.

 Doses:

Adults (including the elderly):

• To treat folate deficiency anemia:  5 mg a day for 4 months, which may be increased up to a maximum of 15 mg a day.
• To prevent folate deficiency caused by some medicines: 5 mg a day for 4 months, which may be increased up to a maximum of 15 mg a day.
• To prevent folate deficiency caused by long-term red blood cell damage or kidney dialysis: 5 mg every 1-7 days.
• To prevent neural tube defects in babies, where women are at risk of having an affected child: 5 mg a day started before conception and continued throughout the first three months.
• To treat folate deficiency during pregnancy: 5 mg a day continued to birth.

Use in children and adolescents:

For young children a more suitable form of the medicine should be used.

• To treat folate deficiency anemia:  Children 1-18 years old: 5 mg a day for 4 months. The maintenance dose is 5 mg every 1-7 days.
• To treat hemolytic anemia and metabolic disorders: Children 1-12 years old: 2.5 mg-5 mg once a day. Children 12-18 years old: 5-10 mg once a day.
• To prevent folate deficiency in kidney dialysis: Children 1-12 years old: 250 micrograms per kg of body weight (up to a maximum of 10 mg) once a day.

Children 12-18 years old: 5-10 mg once a day.

Please tell your doctor or pharmacist if you are taking or have recently taken any other medicines, including medicines obtained without a prescription. Especially:

• antiepileptics (to treat epilepsy) such as phenytoin, phenobarbital, primidone, sodium valproate and carbamazepine
• antibacterial (to treat infections) such as trimethoprim, chloramphenicol and co-trimoxazole
• sulfasalazine (to treat ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease or rheumatoid arthritis)
• methotrexate (to treat Crohn’s disease, psoriasis or rheumatoid arthritis)
• lithium for mental health problems
• triamterene, a diuretic (or ‘water tablet’)
• a gas and air mixture to put you to sleep for an operation or to relieve pain while you are awake
• alcohol
• aspirin for pain relief or to thin your blood.

Like all medicines, Folic Acid tablets can cause side effects, although not everybody gets them. Tell your doctor if you notice any of the following side effects, they get worse or you notice any not listed:

Rare (may affect up to 1 in 1,000 people):

• Allergic reaction (hypersensitivity) e.g. itchy/red skin, rash.
• Severe allergic reaction (anaphylactic reaction) – swelling of the face, lips, tongue or throat or difficulty breathing or swallowing, shock (cold sweaty skin, weak pulse, dry mouth, dilated pupils).
• Stomach and intestines: loss of appetite, feeling sick, a bloated feeling, wind.

Do not take Folic Acid tablets and tell your doctor if you have:

• an allergy (hypersensitivity) to folic acid or any of the other ingredients in the tablets 
• an untreated vitamin B12 deficiency such as in certain anemias and lifelong vegetarians
• pernicious anemia (a form of anemia caused by lack of vitamin B12 ) or another condition caused by vitamin B12 deficiency
• a malignant (cancerous) disease.

Warnings and precautions:

Talk to your doctor or pharmacist before taking Folic Acid tablets if you:

• have a folate dependent tumour
• are pregnant
• have any disease that reduces the amount of vitamin B12 in the body.

Pregnancy and breast-feeding: If you are pregnant, planning to become pregnant or are breast feeding, ask your doctor or pharmacist for advice before taking any medicine.

Folic Acid tablets contain lactose: If you have been told by your doctor that you have an intolerance to some sugars, contact your doctor before taking this medicinal product.