Xifaxan
Xifaxan is rifaximin, a gut-acting antibiotic for bacterial traveller's diarrhoea, irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhoea and liver-related gut problems, in 200mg, 400mg and 550mg tablets.
All strengths and pack prices
| Strength | Pack | Price | Per tablet |
|---|---|---|---|
| 200mg | 10 tablets | $11.90 | $1.19 |
| 200mg | 20 tablets | $21.20 | $1.06 |
| 200mg | 30 tablets | $30.60 | $1.02 |
| 200mg | 60 tablets | $58.80 | $0.98 |
| 200mg | 90 tablets | $81.00 | $0.90 |
| 200mg | 120 tablets | $102.00 | $0.85 |
| 200mg | 180 tablets | $138.60 | $0.77 |
| 200mg | 270 tablets | $191.70 | $0.71 |
| 400mg | 10 tablets | $16.10 | $1.61 |
| 400mg | 20 tablets | $31.40 | $1.57 |
| 400mg | 30 tablets | $45.90 | $1.53 |
| 400mg | 60 tablets | $89.40 | $1.49 |
| 400mg | 90 tablets | $129.60 | $1.44 |
| 400mg | 120 tablets | $168.00 | $1.40 |
| 400mg | 180 tablets | $244.80 | $1.36 |
| 400mg | 270 tablets | $348.30 | $1.29 |
| 550mg | 10 tablets | $21.30 | $2.13 |
| 550mg | 20 tablets | $40.00 | $2.00 |
| 550mg | 30 tablets | $57.00 | $1.90 |
| 550mg | 60 tablets | $109.80 | $1.83 |
| 550mg | 90 tablets | $160.20 | $1.78 |
| 550mg | 120 tablets | $204.00 | $1.70 |
| 550mg | 180 tablets | $282.60 | $1.57 |
| 550mg | 270 tablets | $413.10 | $1.53 |
- Category
- Antibiotics
- Active ingredient
- Rifaximin
- Route
- Oral
- Form
- Tablet
- Strengths
- 200/400/550mg
You will receive a quality generic equivalent, depending on stock.
Shipped in a discreet, unmarked envelope.
Details
- Conditions
- Traveler's diarrhea
- Therapeutic Class
- Bacteriostatic
- Pharmacological Class
- Rifamycin
- Minor Side Effects
- Flatulence, Headache
- Moderate Side Effects
- Stomach cramps
- Dosage Forms
- Tablet
- Administration Route
- Oral
- Originator
- Salix Pharmaceuticals
- Duration
- Course of 3-14 days
- Storage Instructions
- Store at room temperature.
- Drug Interactions
- Cyclosporine
- Age Restrictions
- Adult and paediatric usage as per standard guidelines.
What you will receive
Xifaxan is the originator brand name, made by Salix Pharmaceuticals. We use it to identify the medicine; the pack you receive is a generic equivalent, not the original Xifaxan.
- The same active ingredient (Rifaximin) at the same strength.
- The exact brand supplied depends on what is in stock when your order ships.
FAQ
Which Xifaxan strengths and pack sizes can I order?
Xifaxan tablets come as generic rifaximin in 200mg, 400mg and 550mg, in packs of 10 to 270. This is generic rifaximin, not the original Xifaxan. Larger packs cost less per tablet.
Can a large Xifaxan order be split for Hong Kong delivery?
Very large orders over 120 units may be split into several parcels, and each one ships in plain, unbranded packaging with nothing on the outside about the contents. Tracked courier takes 5 to 9 business days with online tracking; standard airmail takes 14 to 21 business days, 30 at most.
What is another name for rifaximin?
Xifaxan is a brand name of rifaximin, which is also sold as Normix and Rifagut. Here, rifaximin can be bought online as generic Xifaxan. These are generics, not the original brand.
Can I drink alcohol with Xifaxan?
Alcohol is not known to interfere with rifaximin itself, but it can add to the dizziness and stomach upset the tablets sometimes bring, and it makes dehydration from diarrhoea worse. Keep it light while you are unwell and until the course ends.
How quickly does Xifaxan work?
For traveller's diarrhoea, most people notice a change within a day or two of the first tablet. If the diarrhoea is still going after a few days, turns bloody, or brings a fever, rifaximin is unlikely to clear it.
Can I take Xifaxan with a probiotic?
There is no clash between the two, but rifaximin works by cutting down gut bacteria, so a probiotic taken on the same days has little chance to take hold. Many people start theirs once the antibiotic course is finished.
Does Xifaxan treat parasites or viruses?
No — rifaximin acts on bacteria only. It has no effect on viral stomach bugs, and it is not a treatment for parasites such as giardia. Not every case of traveller's diarrhoea is bacterial, which is one reason the tablets do not help everyone.
How long is a course of Xifaxan?
Traveller's diarrhoea is usually treated for three days, and courses run from three to fourteen days in total. Irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhoea is normally a fourteen-day course, while hepatic encephalopathy is taken continuously, with repeats if symptoms return.
About Xifaxan
What Xifaxan is used for
Xifaxan is the brand name for rifaximin, an antibiotic that works inside the digestive tract instead of travelling around the body. Its main job is bacterial traveller's diarrhoea, usually from E. coli taken in with food or water, and irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhoea. It is also taken long term in hepatic encephalopathy — the muddled thinking and sleepiness that come back once a damaged liver stops removing toxins from the blood — to keep further episodes away.
Some stomach upsets do not belong here. Blood in the stool, or diarrhoea alongside a fever, calls for a different treatment, and rifaximin has no effect on viral bugs, colds or flu.
How the tablets work
The bacteria behind these problems need a particular enzyme to build the proteins they live on, and rifaximin blocks it, so they stop multiplying. Only a small share of each tablet reaches the bloodstream; the rest passes along the gut and leaves in the stool. That is why the effect stays in the bowel, and why most unwanted effects are digestive ones.
Taking Xifaxan
Doses are spread through the day — usually two or three of them — and food is not a factor either way. How long you take the tablets follows the condition: a few days for traveller's diarrhoea, around a fortnight for irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhoea, and continuing use for hepatic encephalopathy. Many people find traveller's diarrhoea settling 24 to 48 hours after the first tablet. If a dose is missed, do not take two together later to catch up.
Side effects worth knowing
Nausea, stomach pain, wind, headache, dizziness, tiredness, and joint or muscle aches are the ones people mention most, and they tend to fade as the course continues.
Two things need attention quickly. An allergic reaction that brings hives, a spreading rash, or swelling around the lips, tongue, face or throat, along with trouble breathing or swallowing, needs urgent treatment. Diarrhoea that turns watery or bloody and comes with cramps and a fever also matters, whether it begins while you are taking the tablets or in the two months after you stop.
Choosing a strength
The tablets on offer are generic rifaximin in 200mg, 400mg and 550mg. Traveller's diarrhoea is generally treated with 200mg; 550mg covers IBS with diarrhoea and the long-term treatment of hepatic encephalopathy, with 400mg between the two. Keep the tablets in the container they arrived in, closed, somewhere dry.
Sources
- Rifaximin: MedlinePlus Drug Information — MedlinePlus / U.S. National Library of Medicine
- Rifaximin (oral route) - Mayo Clinic — Mayo Clinic