Arava
Arava is leflunomide, a daily tablet for rheumatoid arthritis, available here as 10mg and 20mg tablets in a range of pack sizes.
All strengths and pack prices
| Strength | Pack | Price | Per tablet |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10mg | 10 tablets | $20.98 | $2.12 |
| 10mg | 30 tablets | $55.50 | $1.85 |
| 10mg | 60 tablets | $103.80 | $1.73 |
| 10mg | 90 tablets | $148.50 | $1.65 |
| 10mg | 120 tablets | $187.98 | $1.57 |
| 10mg | 180 tablets | $278.98 | $1.55 |
| 10mg | 240 tablets | $369.60 | $1.54 |
| 20mg | 10 tablets | $29.60 | $2.96 |
| 20mg | 30 tablets | $86.70 | $2.89 |
| 20mg | 60 tablets | $162.00 | $2.70 |
| 20mg | 90 tablets | $242.10 | $2.69 |
| 20mg | 120 tablets | $316.80 | $2.64 |
- Category
- Autoimmune Support
- Active ingredient
- Leflunomide
- Route
- Oral
- Form
- Tablet
- Strengths
- 10/20mg
You will receive a quality generic equivalent, depending on stock.
Shipped in a discreet, unmarked envelope.
Details
- Conditions
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Therapeutic Class
- Disease-modifying antirheumatic drug
- Pharmacological Class
- Pyrimidine synthesis inhibitor
- Minor Side Effects
- Diarrhoea, Hair thinning
- Moderate Side Effects
- Upper respiratory infection, Nausea
- Dosage Forms
- Tablet
- Administration Route
- Oral
- Originator
- Sanofi
- Onset Time
- Days to weeks
- Duration
- Long-term effect
- Storage Instructions
- Keep in original packaging.
- Drug Interactions
- Methotrexate, Rifampin
- Age Restrictions
- Not for children.
What you will receive
Arava is the originator brand name, made by Sanofi. We use it to identify the medicine; the pack you receive is a generic equivalent, not the original Arava.
- The same active ingredient (Leflunomide) at the same strength.
- The exact brand supplied depends on what is in stock when your order ships.
FAQ
Which Arava strengths and pack sizes can I order?
Arava tablets come as 10mg and 20mg. 10mg is sold in packs of 10 to 240 tablets; 20mg in packs of 10 to 120 tablets. It is generic leflunomide, not the original Arava. Each page shows price per tablet in HKD, and larger packs cost less per tablet.
How is Arava delivered to Hong Kong?
Arava can go by tracked courier, which takes 5 to 9 business days with online tracking, or by standard airmail, which takes 14 to 21 business days, up to 30, and is untracked. Every order arrives in plain, unbranded packaging with nothing on the outside about the contents.
What other names is leflunomide sold under?
Arava is a brand name of leflunomide, which is also sold as Lefno and Lefra. Here, leflunomide can be bought online as generic Arava. These are generics, not the original brand.
Is Arava a steroid or a painkiller?
Neither. Leflunomide is a DMARD, a disease-modifying antirheumatic drug, so it works on the immune activity that drives rheumatoid arthritis rather than blocking pain signals the way paracetamol or ibuprofen do. It contains no steroid, and it is not the tablet to reach for on a bad afternoon.
How long does leflunomide stay in your body?
Far longer than the last tablet suggests. The active form has a half-life of about two weeks, and traces turn up in the blood for months afterwards, in some people for up to two years. A washout with cholestyramine or activated charcoal speeds this up and is used when quick clearance matters, for instance before a planned pregnancy.
Does Arava cause hair loss?
Thinning hair is a fairly common effect and usually turns up within the first few months of a course. Hair generally recovers after the medicine is stopped, though regrowth can be slow because leflunomide leaves the body so gradually.
Can I drink alcohol while taking Arava?
Alcohol does not appear among leflunomide's listed interactions, but the medicine can raise liver enzymes and alcohol does the same. That makes heavy or regular drinking a poor match for a course of Arava.
Is Arava the same as methotrexate?
No — they are different medicines. Both are DMARDs used in rheumatoid arthritis, but methotrexate is normally taken once a week while leflunomide is a daily tablet, and the two have their own side-effect profiles.
About Arava
What leflunomide does in rheumatoid arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis is not the ordinary wear-and-tear kind of joint pain. The immune system turns on the lining of the joints, which swell, stiffen and ache, and the damage builds over years. Leflunomide is a DMARD (disease-modifying antirheumatic drug): it works on the immune activity behind the disease instead of only easing pain, with the aim of protecting the joints from long-term harm. The body converts the tablet into its active form, which blocks an enzyme that fast-dividing immune cells need, so fewer of those cells keep the inflammation going.
How the tablets are taken
Arava is one tablet, 10mg or 20mg, once a day. Swallow it whole with water; meals make no difference. Some courses begin with a higher loading dose for the first three days before dropping to the daily 10mg or 20mg that most people stay on.
Results come slowly. Improvement tends to start around week four and keeps building over the next three to six months, so a course is judged in months. Blood tests for liver enzymes and blood counts are run along the way. If a tablet is missed, take it later the same day and never two together. The strips do best out of direct sun.
Side effects, common and serious
Diarrhoea is the most frequent complaint and usually eases after the first few weeks. Nausea, headache, mouth ulcers, a rash, thinning hair and a rise in blood pressure also turn up. Rarer but more serious are liver damage, a fall in blood cells, infections, inflammation of the lung tissue and severe blistering skin reactions. Yellowing of the eyes or skin, dark urine, unexplained bruising or bleeding, a fever with a sore throat, or new breathlessness with a cough point to one of those problems. Swelling of the face, lips or tongue, or a rash with breathing trouble, needs urgent help.
What interacts with leflunomide
Rifampicin, an antibiotic used against tuberculosis, raises the level of leflunomide's active metabolite. Other medicines that put pressure on the liver add to the same load. The drug also lingers: months after the last tablet it can still be found in the body, and cholestyramine or activated charcoal is sometimes given to clear it faster. Since it stays in the body for so long, and can harm a developing baby, it is not used in pregnancy.
Arava and leflunomide
Arava is the brand name the medicine is best known by; leflunomide is the ingredient name. Tablets come as 10mg and 20mg.
Sources
- Leflunomide: MedlinePlus Drug Information — National Library of Medicine
- Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) - symptoms, causes, complications and treatments - Healthdirect — Healthdirect Australia