Asacol (5-aminosalicylic acid or mesalamine) belongs to the group of medications known as anti-inflammatories. It is used to treat mild to moderate ulcerative colitis and mild to moderate Crohn’s disease. Asacol (mesalamine) affects a substance in the body that causes inflammation, tissue damage, and diarrhea. Asacol is used to treat ulcerative colitis, proctitis, and proctosigmoiditis.

Manufacturer Information

Stop using Asacol and call your doctor at once if you have:

• Bloody or tarry stools, coughing up blood or vomit that looks like coffee grounds;
• Chest pain, shortness of breath;
• Fever, headache, skin rash;
• Little or no urinating;
• Nausea, upper stomach pain, itching, loss of appetite, dare urine, jaundice;
• Severe stomach pain, cramping, bloody diarrhea;
• Swelling, rapid weight gain

Common Asacol side effects may include:

• Diarrhea, constipation;
• Flu symptoms, runny nose;
• Headache, dizziness;
• Joint pain;
• Mild stomach discomfort, gas;
• Weakness

Stop using Asacol and call your doctor at once if you have severe stomach pain, cramping, fever, headache, and bloody diarrhea. To make sure Asacol is safe for you, tell your doctor if you have a history of allergy to sulfasalazine (Azulfidine), a stomach condition called pyloric stenosis, heart disease, kidney disease or liver disease. It is not known whether this medication will harm and unborn baby. Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant while using this medication. Mesalamine can pass into breast milk and may harm a nursing baby. Inform your doctor if you are breast-feeding a baby while using this medication. There are medications that interact with mesalamine such as antacids, digoxin, furosemide, lactulose, methotrexate, spironolactone, warfarin, etc.