This belongs to the group of medicines known as potassium-sparing diuretics.

Diuretics are often referred to as water tablets.

Moduretic is known as a potassium-sparing diuretic because, unlike some other diuretics, it does not cause your body to lose potassium.

Moduretic is mainly used alongside other diuretics to treat oedema (water retention), often caused by liver disease, kidney problems or heart failure. It is also used to treat hypertension (high blood pressure). It prevents the build up of fluid by increasing the amount of urine produced by the kidney.

Moduretic is available in tablet and oral liquid form.

Why is this drug prescribed?

This drug contains two active ingredients, amiloride hydrochloride and hydrochlorothiazide. These are both drugs called diuretics as 'water tablets'). Diuretics work by causing the kidneys to increase the amount of salts such as potassium and sodium that are filtered out of the blood and into the urine. When these salts are filtered out of the blood by the kidneys, water is also drawn alongside. As diuretics increase the removal of salts from the blood, they also cause more water to be drawn out of the blood and into the urine. Removing water from the blood decreases the volume of fluid circulating through the blood vessels. This subsequently decreases the pressure within the blood vessels. Diuretics are therefore used to lower high blood pressure. As diuretics remove fluid from the body, they are also used to treat conditions where excess fluid has been retained in the body. In heart failure for example, fluid can accumulate in the lungs, causing shortness of breath. Diuretics are used to help the body remove this excess fluid and therefore relieve the symptoms of heart failure. The decreased pressure in the blood vessels caused by the diuretic also decreases the effort required by the heart to pump blood around the body, which is useful in heart failure where the pumping mechanism of the heart is less effective. The loss of fluid caused by diuretics is also used to remove excess fluid that can accumulate in people with cirrhosis of the liver. This fluid may accumulate in the abdomen or in the legs. Hydrochlorothiazide is type of diuretic known as a thiazide diuretic. As it works by making the kidneys remove salts from the blood it can, when used alone, cause low levels of potassium in the blood. Amiloride is a different type of diuretic known as a potassium-sparing diuretic, and it, as the name would suggest, does not have this effect. It has a weak diuretic effect by itself, but is included in this drug to prevent excessive loss of potassium from the body.

Treatments

* Fluid retention in liver cirrhosis * Heart failure * High blood pressure

What side effects can this drug cause?

* Headache * Thirst * Disturbed sleep * A drop in blood pressure that occurs when going from lying down to sitting or standing, which results in dizziness and lightheadedness * Impotence * Confusion * Fatigue * Disturbances of the gut such as diarrhoea, constipation, nausea, vomiting or abdominal pain * Weakness * Abnormal heart beats * Dizziness * Loss of appetite * Chest pain * Disturbances in the levels of chemical components in the blood * A general feeling of being unwell * Rash or itching * Kidney disorders