Omeprazole 20 mg hard gastro-resistant capsules 

What Omeprazole is used for:

Omeprazole belongs to a group of medicines called proton pump inhibitors. They work by reducing theamount of acid that your stomach produces.

Omeprazole is used to treat the following conditions:

In adults:

• ‘Gastro-esophageal reflux disease’ (GERD). This is where acid from the stomach escapes into the gullet (the tube which connects your throat to your stomach) causing pain, inflammation and heartburn.
• Ulcers in the upper part of the intestine or stomach.
• Ulcers which are infected with bacteria called ‘Helicobacter pylori’.
• Ulcers caused by medicines called Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs). Omeprazole can also be used to stop ulcers from forming if you are taking NSAIDs.
• Too much acid in the stomach caused by a growth in the pancreas (Zollinger-Ellison syndrome).

In children:

• Children over 1 year of age and ≥ 10 kg
• ‘Gastro-esophageal reflux disease’ (GERD). In children, the symptoms of the condition can include the return of stomach contents into the mouth, vomiting and poor weight gain.
• Children and adolescents over 4 years of age
• Ulcers which are infected with bacteria called ‘Helicobacter pylori’. 

Do not take Omeprazole: 

• If you are allergic to omeprazole or any of the other ingredients of this medicine. 
• If you are allergic to medicines containing other proton pump inhibitors.

Warnings and precautions:

Talk to your doctor or pharmacist before taking Omeprazole. Omeprazole may hide the symptoms of other diseases. Therefore, if any of the following happen to you before you start taking Omeprazole or while you are taking it, talk to your doctor straight away: 

• You lose a lot of weight for no reason and have problems swallowing. 
• You get stomach pain or indigestion. 
• You begin to vomit food or blood. 
• You pass black stools (blood-stained feces). 
• You experience severe or persistent diarrhea. 
• You have severe liver problems.
• You are due to have a specific blood test (Chromogranin A). 
• Taking a proton pump inhibitor like Omeprazole, especially over a period of more than one year, may slightly increase your risk of fracture in the hip, wrist or spine. Tell your doctor if you have osteoporosis or if you are taking corticosteroids (which can increase the risk of osteoporosis).

Possible side effects:

Like all medicines, this medicine can cause side effects, although not everybody gets them. If you notice any of the following rare but serious side effects, stop taking Omeprazole and contact a doctor immediately: severe allergic reaction or symptoms of liver problems.

Other side effects include:

• Headache
• diarrhea, stomach pain
• constipation, flatulence
• Benign polyps in the stomach
• Swelling of the feet and ankles
• Disturbed sleep
• Skin rash and itchy skin
• feeling unwell and lacking energy
• Blood problems 
• Low levels of sodium in the blood
• Feeling agitated, confused or depressed
• Taste changes
• Eyesight problems such as blurred vision
• Suddenly feeling wheezy
• Dry mouth
• An inflammation of the inside of the mouth
• Liver problems
• Hair loss
• Skin rash on exposure to sunshine
• Joint pai 

Other medicines and Omeprazole:

Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you are taking, have recently taken, or might take any other medicines. This includes medicines that you buy without a prescription. This is because Omeprazole can affect the way some medicines work and some medicines can have an effect on Omeprazole. 

Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you are taking any of the following medicines used for:

• Fungal infection
• heart problems
• anxiety
• epilepsy
• tuberculosis
• HIV infection
• organ transplantation
• mild depression
• intermittent claudication
• blood clots
• cancer