What side effects can this medication cause?

Gemifloxacin may cause side effects. Tell your doctor if any of these symptoms are severe or do not go away:

• diarrhea
• stomach pain
• vomiting
• lightheadedness
• confusion
• restlessness
• nervousness
• change in ability to taste
• difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep

Some side effects can be serious. The following symptoms are uncommon, but if you experience any of them, or those mentioned in the SPECIAL PRECAUTIONS section, call your doctor immediately:

• hallucinations (seeing things or hearing voices that do not exist)
• depression
• abnormal fear
• thoughts of hurting yourself
• shaking hands that you cannot control
• seizures
• lower back pain

You should know that gemifloxacin has slowed the growth and damaged the joints of young laboratory animals. It is not known if gemifloxacin has these effects on children. Therefore, gemifloxacin should not be given to children younger than 18 years old. Talk to your child's doctor about the risks of giving gemifloxacin to your child.

Gemifloxacin may cause other side effects. Call your doctor if you have any unusual problems while taking this medication.

If you experience a serious side effect, you or your doctor may send a report to the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program online at http://www.fda.gov/MedWatch/report.htm or by phone 1-800-332-1088.