Furosemide — many Nigerian packs still use the older British spelling, frusemide — is a loop diuretic, a 'water tablet'. It acts on the loop of Henle in the kidney to make the body pass out large amounts of salt and water in the urine, quickly. A 40mg tablet taken in the morning can produce several extra litres of urine before mid-afternoon, which is exactly what is wanted when fluid has built up where it should not be: in the legs, the abdomen, or the lungs.
In the NAFDAC register
20 registered products
from 19 registration holders
What it costs online
about ₦1,300
≈₦47 per tablet (tablet/capsule)
Sampled from 2 listings across MedPlus · August 2026
Full price breakdown →Brands of Furosemide in Nigeria
Comes as
- Solution for injection20 mg/2 mL· 5 makers
- Tablet40 mg· 5 makers
Those 20 products from 19 registration holders include combination products and older listings; below are the most common brands.
- 20mg/2mL · Solution for injection · B4-3868
| Brand Name | Manufacturer | Strength | Form | NAFDAC Reg. No. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lialife Tablet 40 mg | Value Life Pharmaceutical Limited | 40mg | Tablet | B4-0180 |
| Philomide Injection 20 mg/2 mL | A-Nwaeze Pharmaceutical Company Ltd | 20mg/2mL | Solution for injection | B4-3868 |
| Petamide Injection | Chupet Pharmaceutical Company Ltd | 20mg/2mL | Solution for injection | 04-9122 |
| Hanbet Frusemide Injection | Hanbet Pharmaceuticals Limited | 20mg/2mL | Solution for injection | A4-7588 |
Furosemide Price in Nigeria
As of August 2026, Furosemide sells for about ₦1,300 online in Nigeria (₦1,200–₦1,400) across MedPlus. Open-market prices (e.g. Idumota, Ogbogwu) are often lower.
Online retail (sampled)
₦1,200 – ₦1,400median ₦1,300
2 listings across MedPlus — brands and pack sizes vary · August 2026.
tablets: about ₦47 per tablet (₦43–₦50), from the 2 listings that state a pack size.
First tracked August 2026.
How to Verify Your Furosemide is Genuine
- 1Check the NAFDAC registration number on the pack — Lialife 40mg tablets carry B4-0180 and Philomide injection carries B4-3868 in our copy of the register.
- 2Petamide injection is registered as 04-9122 and Hanbet Frusemide injection as A4-7588.
- 3Furosemide brands lapse and change often — half of the register's furosemide entries are lapsed or inactive — so run the exact number on your pack through our NAFDAC checker before paying.
- 4Watch the spelling on the carton: both 'furosemide' and 'frusemide' are legitimate names for the same medicine, so the spelling alone tells you nothing about authenticity.
- 5Buy from a registered pharmacy, and be suspicious of loose tablets sold outside a labelled pack — a heart-failure medicine is a bad place to gamble.
Where to Buy
Buying Furosemide by the carton
Cartons are bought at Nigeria's four open drug markets. Each guide names the sellers there you can contact, and how to buy safely:
No shop we list has Furosemide on its confirmed product list yet — the market guides still tell you where the trade happens and how to buy there safely.
Wherever you buy, buy only from licensed pharmacies and verified distributors — not roadside vendors — and verify the pack's NAFDAC registration before you pay. Buying Furosemide in bulk or for resale? See how to buy medicines in bulk in Nigeria safely.
Need Furosemide in bulk, or can't find it near you?
Tell us what you need and we'll connect you with a verified, NAFDAC-registered source.
What is Furosemide?
It is one of the oldest and most important emergency medicines in any Nigerian hospital — the injection is what buys breathing room, literally, for a patient brought in gasping with fluid on the lungs from heart failure. The tablet is the maintenance workhorse for the same patients at home. It is on the WHO essential medicines list, and the register shows a market served mostly by imported generics from India and China; the original brand Lasix is a name older Nigerians still use for any furosemide tablet, the way Panadol stands in for paracetamol.
One honest note about the register: furosemide's field churns. In our copy of the NAFDAC register, half of all furosemide registrations are lapsed or inactive — brands come and go quickly at this price point. That makes checking the specific pack in your hand against the register more useful than assuming a familiar-sounding name is current.
What is Furosemide used for?
In Nigeria, Furosemide is commonly used for:
- Oedema (fluid swelling) caused by heart failure — the commonest reason it is prescribed long-term
- Acute pulmonary oedema — fluid on the lungs — as an emergency injection
- Fluid overload in chronic kidney disease and nephrotic syndrome
- Ascites (fluid in the abdomen) from liver cirrhosis, usually alongside spironolactone
- Hypertension, mainly where kidney impairment makes other diuretics ineffective
- Sometimes to force urine output in specific hospital situations, under close monitoring
Dosage
IMPORTANT
Always follow your doctor's or pharmacist's instructions. The information below is for general reference only.
Adults
For swelling, a common starting dose is 40mg once daily, taken in the morning; the doctor may settle anywhere between 20mg and 80mg daily depending on response, and much higher doses are used in kidney failure under supervision. Take it in the morning — a dose taken at night trades sleep for trips to the toilet. The injection (typically 20–40mg slowly into a vein) is for hospital and emergency use.
Children
Children are dosed by body weight, typically 1–2mg per kg per dose, and only for genuine medical reasons — heart problems, kidney disease — decided by a paediatrician. A child on furosemide is a hospital-supervised child.
Elderly
Older adults are more prone to the dehydration, dizziness and salt imbalances furosemide can cause, and often need smaller doses. Standing up slowly matters; a fall caused by a blood-pressure dip is a real furosemide injury in the elderly.
Furosemide treats the fluid, not the underlying disease — stopping it because the swelling has gone usually brings the swelling back. It is NOT a slimming tablet: using it to lose weight or 'dry out' for appearance sheds water, not fat, and flirts with dehydration, kidney injury and dangerous potassium loss. Anyone on long-term furosemide should have their electrolytes (especially potassium) checked periodically.
Side Effects
Common side effects
- •Passing large amounts of urine for several hours after a dose — the intended effect, but disruptive if mistimed
- •Dizziness or light-headedness, especially on standing up
- •Thirst and mild dehydration
- •Muscle cramps — often a sign potassium is running low
- •Raised uric acid, which can trigger gout in people prone to it
Serious side effects — seek medical help immediately
- Severe dehydration and low blood pressure — confusion, fainting, very dark or scanty urine
- Dangerously low potassium or sodium — weakness, palpitations, irregular heartbeat, especially risky for anyone also taking digoxin
- Hearing damage or ringing in the ears, mainly with rapid high-dose injections
- Worsening kidney function when over-diuresed
- Severe skin reactions — rare
When to see a doctor
See a doctor promptly for fainting, palpitations or an irregular heartbeat, marked weakness or muscle cramps, ringing in the ears, or if urine output drops sharply despite taking the tablet — each of those is the medicine telling you the dose or the electrolytes need review.
Warnings & Precautions
Do not take Furosemide if you have:
- Anuria — when the kidneys are producing no urine at all, a diuretic has nothing to work on
- Severe dehydration or severe electrolyte depletion until corrected
- Known allergy to furosemide; caution with severe sulfonamide allergy, which can rarely cross-react
Drug interactions
- •Digoxin — low potassium from furosemide makes digoxin toxicity much more likely; this combination needs monitoring
- •NSAID painkillers (ibuprofen, diclofenac) — blunt furosemide's effect and add kidney strain, a common and underestimated Nigerian combination
- •Aminoglycoside antibiotics (gentamicin) — the risk of hearing damage adds up
- •Other blood-pressure medicines — the effects stack; the first days of a combination can drop pressure hard
- •Lithium — furosemide raises lithium levels toward toxicity
Pregnancy & Breastfeeding
Furosemide is used in pregnancy only for genuine medical indications under specialist care — it is not for the routine ankle swelling of normal pregnancy, which it can actually make riskier by reducing blood volume. It passes into breast milk in small amounts and can reduce milk supply.
Related Resources for Furosemide
Guides, articles, and tools related to Furosemide and other hypertension medicines in Nigeria.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sources
- •NAFDAC Greenbook — the official database of all products registered with Nigeria's National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control. Brand-level NAFDAC numbers for Furosemide on this page were cross-referenced against the Greenbook.
- •WHO Model List of Essential Medicines — Furosemide is included in the WHO's list of essential medicines, meaning it is considered essential for basic healthcare needs.
- •British National Formulary (BNF) dosing and interaction guidance for Furosemide.
- •Nigerian Standard Treatment Guidelines (Federal Ministry of Health).
Daily puzzle: Meddle — pair five brands with their medicines. New game at midnight.