Menadione

Menadione / Vitamin K3

Vitamins are a type of compound that is necessary for people to have for health purposes and to grow. However, they are usually only needed in relatively small amounts and can usually be found in foods that are eaten all the time. Vitamin K is a type of compound that is required in order to make sure the blood clots as it normally should.

Some of the foods can vitamin K can be found in include dairy products, meat and green leafy vegetables, such as spinach. All of the vitamin K that is necessary to have in a day can be found provided a person regularly eats a balanced diet that includes those foods in it. Vitamin K does not significantly die out when foods are cooked ordinarily.

In the event that a person is taking a blood thinner, or an anticoagulant medication, the amount of vitamin K that is present in the diet may have a tendency to affect how well the medications function for their served purpose. For this reason, the doctor may wish to change the course of the diet so that the medicines may work better or more effectively.

It is rare for a person to experience a lack of vitamin K, but in the event that a person does, they will likely experience problems with the clotting of their blood and they will likely experience more bleeding. For the purposes of treatment in this case, the doctor may prescribe that vitamin K be taken. The medicine is only available in this way, by way of a prescription from a doctor. It is also only available in either a capsule form or a tablet form. Sometimes, vitamin K will often be given to a newborn infant so that they do not experience any kind of problems with bleeding.

US Brand Names

Mephyton is a well known US brand name.

Before Using

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Anybody who is presently taking a dietary supplement and does not have a prescription for it would do well to carefully read the precautions on the label and follow them to the fullest extent. For such supplements, all of the following should be kept in mind:

Allergies

Make sure to tell the doctor in the event that there has ever been any kind of allergic or unusual reaction to the medicines that are labeled in the group or to any other kind of medicine. Make sure to tell the qualified health care professional if any other kinds of allergies exist as well, such as to animals, preservatives, foods or dyes. Always read the package ingredients and the label on a non-prescription product with the utmost care.

Pediatric

Children are prone to being especially sensitive to vitamin K and its potential effects, particularly having high dosages of phytonadione or menadiol. Because of this, there is the possibility of a higher risk of side effects during a treatment of vitamin K. Likewise, newborns, and especially babies that were born prematurely, are likely to be even more sensitive to the effects of vitamin K than children that are older are.

Geriatric

There are numerous medications that have not fully been tested, if at all, in elderly people. For this reason, it is not necessarily known that the medications will work in the same fashion as they do in adults of a younger age, or if they may cause a different kind of side effect or any other problems in those who are of an older age. There is currently no specific information with regards to using vitamin K for the elderly.

Pregnancy

There have been no reports involving vitamin K with relation to birth defects or any other problems found in humans. However, it has been reported to cause some troubles for a baby, such as jaundice, so it is not recommend for women who are pregnant to take any kind of supplementation for vitamin K throughout the duration of their pregnancy.

Breastfeeding

There have been no reports of nursed babies being affected by vitamin K supplements being taken by a breastfeeding mother. It is important to discuss how to give a child supplements if they are being given a formula that is unfortified. In these cases, the baby is required to obtain their vitamins in another way.

Drug interactions

There are some medicines that should not be use during or near the time that a person eats food or eats a certain kind of food due to the potential interactions that may occur. It is also possible for interactions with medicines to occur when taking them with alcohol or tobacco. The interactions as described below are selected for their believed level of significance, though it is important to keep in mind that this section is not necessarily all-inclusive.

The presence of pre-existing medical conditions may cause the way a person uses dietary supplements to vary. If any of the medical conditions below apply, make sure to tell the doctor, or if any other medical problems may apply that might affect the supplementation.

Cystic fibrosis or any other similar diseases that affect the pancreas.

Gallbladder Disease

Intestinal problems, which have a tendency to interfere with the way a person can absorb vitamin K when it is taken in a oral manner, in which case they may either require a higher dosage or require that the medication is injected into them

Deficienty in G6PD, or glucode-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, the side effects of which may increase in the likelihood of occurrence, especially when combined with menadiol

Liver disease, the unwanted effects of which may increase in the likelihood of occurrence.

Proper use

It is important that this kind of medicine is only use as it is directed by the doctor. In no way should any more or less be taken of it, nor should it be used for any longer than was ordered by the physician. Failing to adhere to the strict orders that the physician provided could prove to have potentially serious effects, including problems with blood clotting.

Dosing

The required dosage for each individual will differ in between patients with different conditions. It is important to follow the orders as provided by the physician on the label. The information as provided in this section is merely what the average doses among all cases generally seem to be for these medications. Do not change the dosage if it is different than described here. Only change the dosage if ordered to by the doctor.

The amount of medication that a person is required to take will depend on how strong the medication is per tablet or capsule. It will also vary how often a person is required to take a dosage per day, how much time must be in between each dosage, and how long the person is required to take the dosage, depending on why the medicine is being taken in the first place.

Typical Dosage

For issues with regards to increased bleeding or blood clotting, or for supplementation of vitamins:

Adults / Children – Five to ten milligrams on a daily basis are generally recommended.

For the injection form of dosage:

For issues with regards to increased bleeding or blood clotting, or for supplementation of vitamins:

Adults / Teenagers – Five to fifteen milligrams on a daily basis are generally recommended, injected beneath the skin or into a muscle either once or twice per day.

Children – The typical usage for children is to take five to ten milligrams injected beneath the skin or into a muscle either once or twice per day.

For Phytonadione: Oral dosage type (tablets):

For issues with regards to increased bleeding or blood clotting:

Adults / Teenagers – It is generally recommended to take between 2.5 and 25 milligrams per day, though it is rarely recommended they go up to 50 milligrams. It may be necessary to repeat the dosage.

Children – It is not recommended that children take this kind of dosage.

For the injection form of dosage:

For issues with regards to increased bleeding or blood clotting:

Adults / Teenagers – It is generally recommended to take between 2.5 and 25 milligrams per day, and it is usually injected beneath the skin. It may be necessary to repeat the dosage.

In order to prevent bleeding from occurring in newborns:

It is usually recommended that 0.5 – 1 milligram is to be injected beneath the skin or into a muscle immediately after the delivery of the baby. It may be necessary to repeat this dosage after another six to eight hours.

Missed Dose

In the event that a dosage of the medication is missed, it is important to take it as soon as a person remember that the dosage was missed. However, this rule will not apply if a person remembers that another dosage needs to have been taken around the time of the next dosage. In this case, it is important to not double the dosage but to just skip the dosage that was missed, effectively returning to the regularly scheduled dosages as ordered. However, make sure to let the doctor know about any dosages that might have been missed.

Storage

Make sure to keep all medications out of the reach of children. Make sure to store the medication in a closed container and away from any moisture, heat, or direct light. Keep it at room temperature and make sure it does not freeze. Do not store any medication that is no longer needed or is outdated.

Precautions

Every time a person who is taking this kind of medication goes to a medical doctor or a dentist, they should inform them about usage of the medicine. Always make sure to consult a physician before taking any other kind of medication or stopping the current one. This rule applies for any over the counter, nonprescription medications as well, especially aspirin. Third party medications may alter the way that the current medication affects the body and how it works.

Regular trips to the doctor should be made so that the progress may be determined. There will be regularly blood tests in order to determine how quickly the blood is forming clots, which will ultimately determine how much medication will be necessary.

Side Effects

There may be some undesired effects outside of the necessary effects that a medication may produce. Though this is not necessarily going to occur in everybody who takes this kind of medication, it is important to seek medical assistance if any of them do.

Make sure to check with the doctor at once should any of the side effects as listed below should occur after taking this medication:

Less Common Effects

• Decreased appetite
• Decreased activity of movement
• Difficulty with breathing
• Enlarged liver
• General swelling of the body
• Irritability
• Muscle stiffness
• Paleness or
• Yellow skin or eyes.
• Rare
• Difficulty with swallowing
• Irregular or fast breathing
• Lightheadedness or fainting
• Shortness of breath
• Skin rash, itching and/or hives
• Swelling of lips, eyelids or face
• Tightness in chest or trouble with breathing and/or wheezing
• Rarer
• Blue color, or a redness of the skin, or a flushing of the skin
• Dizziness
• Weak and/or fast heartbeat
• Increased sweating or Temporarily low blood pressure

Some side effects may potentially occur but may not necessarily require any medical attention. These kinds of side effects will likely subside throughout the course of treatment while the body becomes more well adjusted to the medication.

A health care professional might be able to discuss ways to either prevent or reduce the severity of the side effects. Make sure to check with the health care professional in the event that any of the following side effects resume after awhile or are bothersome or even if there are any questions about them:

There may be other side effects that may occur in other patients as not described here. If this should occur, contact a physician whenever they arise rather than waiting for them to get worse over a period of time.