What is montelukast?
Montelukast is a leukotriene (loo-koe-TRY-een) inhibitor. Leukotrienes are chemicals your body releases when you breathe in an allergen (such as pollen). These chemicals cause swelling in your lungs and tightening of the muscles around your airways, which can result in asthma symptoms.
Montelukast is used to prevent asthma attacks in adults and children as young as 12 months old. It is also used to relieve runny nose and sneezing caused by allergies in adults and children as young as 6 months old.
Do not give this medication to a child without a doctor's advice.
Montelukast is also used to prevent exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (narrowing of the air passages in the lungs) in adults and teenagers who are at least 15 years old and are not already taking this medicine for other conditions.
If you already take this medication to prevent asthma or allergy symptoms, do not use an extra dose to treat exercise-induced bronchoconstriction.
Montelukast may also be used for purposes not listed in this medication guide.
What is the most important information I should know about montelukast?
Montelukast will not work fast enough to treat an asthma attack that has already begun. Use only a fast-acting inhalation medicine to treat an asthma attack. Talk with your doctor if any of your asthma medications do not seem to work as well in treating or preventing attacks.
It may take up to several weeks before your symptoms improve. Keep using the medication as directed and tell your doctor if your symptoms do not improve after several weeks of treatment.
Call your doctor right away if you feel that this medicine is not working as well as usual, or if it makes your condition worse. If it seems like you need to use more of any of your medications in a 24-hour period, talk with your doctor.
If you already take this medication to prevent asthma or allergy symptoms, do not use it for exercise-induced bronchoconstriction.
Call your doctor at once if you have any mood or behavior changes, anxiety, depression, or thoughts about suicide or hurting yourself.
What should I discuss with my healthcare provider before taking montelukast?
Do not use this medication if you are allergic to montelukast.
The chewable tablet form of this medication may contain phenylalanine. Talk to your doctor before using this form of montelukast if you have phenylketonuria (PKU).
FDA pregnancy category B. This medication is not expected to be harmful to an unborn baby. Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant during treatment.
It is not known whether montelukast passes into breast milk or if it could harm a nursing baby. Do not use this medication without telling your doctor if you are breast-feeding a baby.