← All medications

Colchicine

Medication anti-gout agent pain & fever
Aka: Colcrys
Brands seen in Singapore: Colcitex, Colchicine Halewood, Xoline
Not medical advice. Check with your doctor or pharmacist before you start, stop or change the timing of anything you take.
How to use
What it’s for
HealthHub: treatment and prevention of gout flares
When to take
HealthHub: once gout flare symptoms start · short courses
Take with
HealthHub: with or after food · NHS: swallowed whole, water
Pros & cons
Pros
  • NHS: it reduces gout pain and joint inflammation
  • NHS: also prevents attacks when gout treatment starts
  • SG register: 0.5 mg and 0.6 mg tablets registered
Cons
  • NHS: doses too close together can build up and harm
  • HealthHub: stomach pain, diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting
  • NHS: rare bone-marrow, nerve, muscle and kidney harm
Sources
  1. HSA — Listing of Registered Therapeutic Products (data.gov.sg dataset d_767279312753558cbf19d48344577084), Forensicclassification column; all 5,511 rows cached at /tmp/hsa_all.json and filtered locally (not re-fetched), 3 colchicine rows, 27 Aug 2026 · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “COLCITEX TABLET 0.6 mg SIN12301P · COLCHICINE HALEWOOD TABLET 500 MCG SIN15572P · XOLINE TABLET 500MCG SIN17275P — ATC M04AC01, all tablets; all 3 rows read Forensicclassification "Prescription Only"”
  2. NHS medicines A–Z — Colchicine: what colchicine is for and how to take it (reviewed 20 August 2026) · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “Colchicine treats gout by reducing pain and joint inflammation. It's used for a short time to: relieve symptoms of a gout attack; prevent attacks … Colchicine comes as tablets, which you swallow whole with a glass of water.”
  3. NHS medicines A–Z — Colchicine: important information on dosing · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “When taking colchicine, do not take your doses closer together than your doctor has told you. This can cause too much of the medicine to build up in your body, which can cause serious side effects.”
  4. NHS medicines A–Z — Colchicine: side effects · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “too much of the medicine building up in your body (toxicity) …; bone marrow problems …; nerve problems (neuropathy) …; muscle and kidney problems – causing symptoms such as muscle pain, muscle weakness, and dark red or brown pee”
  5. NHS medicines A–Z — Colchicine: who can and cannot take colchicine · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “you have a blood condition; you have kidney problems or are having dialysis; you have a condition that affects your digestive system, such as a stomach ulcer, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis or coeliac disease; you have liver or heart problems”
  6. NHS medicines A–Z — Colchicine: taking colchicine with other medicines, food and drink · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “statins …; some types of antibiotic, such as erythromycin and clarithromycin; some types of heart medicine, such as verapamil, diltiazem and digoxin; ritonavir; cimetidine; ciclosporin … Do not drink grapefruit juice”
  7. HealthHub (Pharmaceutical Society of Singapore / MOH) — Colchicine: what is this medication for (leaflet reviewed 25 March 2025) · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “Colchicine is used for the treatment and prevention of gout flares. Gout is a condition that can cause pain and swelling in the joints. Gout happens when there is too much uric acid in the blood.”
  8. HealthHub — Colchicine: how should I take or use this medication · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “Take this medication once you get the symptoms of a gout flare … Colchicine can be taken with or after food. Do not take more doses than what your doctor recommends.”
  9. HealthHub — Colchicine: what are some common side effects of this medication · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “Stomach pain or cramp; Loose stools or diarrhoea … Nausea or vomiting … Take the medication with or after food to reduce nausea”
  10. HealthHub — Colchicine: what precautions should I take · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “You have a history of Liver condition; Kidney condition; Blood disorder; You are pregnant, planning to become pregnant, or breastfeeding”
  11. HealthHub — Colchicine: what food or medication should I avoid · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “Avoid taking grapefruit or grapefruit juice while you are taking Colchicine as grapefruit may interact with Colchicine and increase the risk of side-effects.”
  12. US label for colchicine tablets 0.6 mg (Proficient Rx, effective 2025-07-01) via openFDA drug/label.json, Dosage and Administration · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “The maximum recommended dose for prophylaxis of gout flares is 1.2 mg/day. … The maximum recommended dose for treatment of gout flares is 1.8 mg over a 1-hour period. … FMF in adults is 1.2 mg to 2.4 mg daily.”
Report a correction View as JSON

Updated 2026-08-29. Every line above traces to a numbered source. Kozen-X is not a medical device and does not give medical advice. It lists what published sources have written down — nothing more. A pair not listed is unrecorded, not cleared. Before you start, stop or re-time anything, talk to your doctor or pharmacist.