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Plaquenil vs. Humira

Are Plaquenil and Humira the Same Thing?

Plaquenil (hydroxychloroquine) and Humira (adalimumab) are used to treat symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis.

Plaquenil is also used to treat or prevent malaria, and to treat symptoms of discoid or systemic lupus erythematosus.

Humira is also used to treat juvenile idiopathic arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, and plaque psoriasis. Humira is also used to treat Crohn's disease after other drugs have been tried without successful treatment of symptoms.

Plaquenil and Humira belong to different drug classes. Plaquenil is an antimalarial medication and Humira is an injectable protein (antibody).

Side effects of Plaquenil and Humira that are similar include headache or stomach pain or cramps.

Side effects of Plaquenil that are different from Humira include nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, weight loss, diarrhea, dizziness, spinning sensation, ringing in your ears, mood changes, nervousness, irritability, skin rash, itching, or hair loss.

Side effects of Humira that are different from Plaquenil include injection site reactions (redness, itching, pain, bruising, swelling, or bleeding), stuffy nose, or sinus pain.

Plaquenil may interact with acetaminophen, cancer medications, tuberculosis medications, birth control pills or hormone replacement therapy, arthritis medications, ACE inhibitors, antibiotics, antifungals, cholesterol medications, HIV/AIDS medications, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), or seizure medications.

Humira may interact with “live” vaccines, abatacept, etanercept, anakinra, azathioprine, mercaptopurine, certolizumab, golimumab, infliximab, or rituximab.

What Are Possible Side Effects of Plaquenil?

Common side effects of Plaquenil include:

  • nausea,
  • vomiting,
  • stomach pain or cramps,
  • loss of appetite,
  • weight loss,
  • diarrhea,
  • dizziness,
  • spinning sensation,
  • headache,
  • ringing in your ears,
  • mood changes,
  • nervousness,
  • irritability,
  • skin rash,
  • itching, or
  • hair loss.

Tell your doctor if you experience serious side effects of Plaquenil including:

  • muscle weakness,
  • twitching,
  • uncontrolled movement,
  • loss of balance or coordination,
  • blurred vision,
  • light sensitivity,
  • seeing halos around lights,
  • pale skin,
  • easy bruising or
  • bleeding,
  • confusion,
  • unusual thoughts or behavior, or
  • seizures (convulsions).

What Are Possible Side Effects of Humira?

Common side effects of Humira include:

  • injection site reactions (redness, itching, pain, bruising, swelling, or bleeding),
  • headache,
  • suffy nose,
  • sinus pain, or
  • stomach pain.

Tell your doctor if you have serious side effects of Humira including:

  • fast/irregular/pounding heartbeat,
  • stomach pain,
  • blood in the stools,
  • mental/mood changes,
  • severe headache,
  • easy bruising or bleeding,
  • dark urine,
  • yellowing eyes and skin,
  • leg pain or swelling,
  • numbness or tingling of the arms/hands/legs/feet,
  • unsteadiness,
  • unexplained muscle weakness,
  • difficulty with speaking/chewing/swallowing/facial movements,
  • vision changes,
  • extreme fatigue,
  • joint pain, or
  • butterfly-shaped rash on the nose and cheeks.

What Is Plaquenil?

Plaquenil (hydroxychloroquine) is an antimalarial medication used to treat or prevent malaria, a disease caused by parasites, which enter the body through the bite of a mosquito. Plaquenil is also used to treat symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis and discoid or systemic lupus erythematosus. Plaquenil is available in generic form.

What Is Humira?

Humira (adalimumab) is an injectable protein (antibody) used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, and plaque psoriasis. Humira is also used to treat Crohn's disease after other drugs have been tried without successful treatment of symptoms.

 

What Drugs Interact With Plaquenil?

Plaquenil may interact with acetaminophen, cancer medications, tuberculosis medications, birth control pills or hormone replacement therapy, arthritis medications, ACE inhibitors, antibiotics, antifungals, cholesterol medications, HIV/AIDS medications, NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), or seizure medications. Tell your doctor all medications you use.

What Drugs Interact With Humira?

Humira may interact with azathioprine or mercaptopurine. Asacol may also interact with pentamidine, tacrolimus, amphotericin B, antibiotics, antiviral medicines, cancer medicine, or aspirin or other NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs).

Humira may also interact with abatacept, anakinra, infliximab, etanercept, certolizumab pegol, golimumab, or rituximab.

 

How Should Plaquenil Be Taken?

To suppress malaria the adult dose of Plaquenil is 500 mg (= 300 mg base) taken on exactly the same day of each week. Pediatric dose is based on the child's weight.

How Should Humira Be Taken?

Humira is given by an injection under the skin. Your doctor will tell you how often to take an injection of Humira. This is based on your condition to be treated. Do not inject Humira more often than you were prescribed.

Do not try to inject Humira yourself until you have been shown the right way to give the injections. If your doctor decides that you or a caregiver may be able to give your injections of Humira at home, you should receive training on the right way to prepare and inject Humira.

Do not miss any doses of Humira unless your doctor says it is okay. If you forget to take Humira, inject a dose as soon as you remember. Then, take your next dose at your regular scheduled time. This will put you back on schedule.

In case you are not sure when to inject Humira, call your doctor or pharmacist.

If you take more Humira than you were told to take, call your doctor.