# Furosemide in Nigeria

Furosemide has 9 active NAFDAC registrations in our October 2026 copy of the register, from 9 registration holders; 11 further listings have lapsed.

- Source: https://ogbogwu.com/drugs/furosemide/
- Drug class: Loop diuretic (Hypertension)
- Also known as: Frusemide, Lasix, Furosemide 40mg, Furosemide injection
- Prescription required: yes
- On the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines
- Last updated: October 2026

## Price in Nigeria

As of October 2026, Furosemide tablets sell for about ₦71 per tablet online in Nigeria (packs ₦1,450–₦6,050) at MedPlus. The online price is up 32% since August 2026. Open-market prices (e.g. Idumota, Ogbogwu) are often lower.

## What is Furosemide?

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.

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?

- 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

Always follow a doctor's or pharmacist's instructions; this is general reference information.

- 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: 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 (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

Do not take if: 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.

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.

## Brands in Nigeria

Well-known NAFDAC-registered brands: Lialife Tablet 40 mg (Value Life Pharmaceutical Limited, made in India); Philomide Injection 20 mg/2 mL (A-Nwaeze Pharmaceutical Company Ltd, made in China); Petamide Injection (Chupet Pharmaceutical Company Ltd, made in China); Hanbet Frusemide Injection (Hanbet Pharmaceuticals Limited, made in China).
Full searchable brand list: https://ogbogwu.com/drugs/furosemide/brands/

## How to verify it is genuine

1. Check 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.
2. Petamide injection is registered as 04-9122 and Hanbet Frusemide injection as A4-7588.
3. Furosemide 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.
4. Watch 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.
5. Buy 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.

Verify any NAFDAC number free (no login): https://ogbogwu.com/nafdac-checker/

## FAQs

### Is furosemide the same as Lasix?

Yes — Lasix is the original brand name for furosemide, and many people still say Lasix the way they say Panadol for paracetamol. Most furosemide sold in Nigeria today is generic, made in India or China, and any registered 40mg furosemide tablet contains the same active medicine. What matters is that the pack carries a NAFDAC number you can verify, not whether the brand name is famous.

### Can I use furosemide to lose weight?

No — and this misuse is common enough to say plainly: furosemide removes water, not fat. The kilograms lost return as soon as you drink, and the price of forcing it is dehydration, dizziness, kidney strain and potassium loss that can disturb your heart rhythm. Athletes should also know it is on the WADA prohibited list as a masking agent. If weight is the goal, furosemide is the wrong tool every time.

### Why do I urinate so much after taking it?

That is the medicine working — furosemide's entire job is to make the kidneys pass out extra salt and water. The effect starts within an hour of a tablet and lasts roughly four to six hours, which is why the dose belongs in the morning. If you find you are urinating heavily through the night, the timing (or the dose) needs adjusting with your doctor, not enduring.

### Does furosemide damage the kidneys?

Used correctly it is a kidney-prescribed medicine, not a kidney poison — nephrologists themselves prescribe it in kidney disease. Harm comes from misuse: taking it dehydrated, combining it daily with NSAID painkillers like diclofenac, or pushing doses without monitoring. The practical protection is simple — take the prescribed dose, keep review appointments, and have electrolytes and kidney function checked periodically on long-term use.

### My legs are swollen — can I just buy furosemide?

Swollen legs are a symptom with many causes — heart failure, kidney disease, liver disease, a blood clot, medicines like amlodipine, or simple long sitting — and furosemide only treats some of them while masking the clue. A one-sided swollen leg especially needs a doctor the same week, because a clot is dangerous. Get the cause named first; if furosemide is the answer, it works best prescribed with the condition it serves.

## Sources

- NAFDAC Greenbook (official register of approved products in Nigeria)
- WHO Model List of Essential Medicines
- British National Formulary (BNF)
- Nigerian Standard Treatment Guidelines (Federal Ministry of Health)