Colchicine is a medicine for treating inflammation and pain. It works by reducing the inflammation caused by the crystals of uric acid that build up in your joints when you have gout. This also helps to reduce pain.
It can be used to:
- treat gout
- prevent gout from coming back when you first start on long-term medicines like allopurinol
- prevent symptoms of familial Mediterranean fever (FMF), an inherited inflammatory condition
Colchicine is available on prescription. It comes as tablets.
Key facts
- Colchicine starts to work after around 30 minutes to 2 hours, but it may take a day or two for your pain to start to get better.
- It's important to stick to your prescribed dose. Taking even a little bit more can be very serious.
- Avoid grapefruit and grapefruit juice while taking colchicine. It can increase the amount of colchicine in your body.
- Taking colchicine with or after food may be easier on your stomach.
- Drinking too much alcohol can increase the level of uric acid in your blood. This could make your gout worse.