What kind of medication is promethazine?
Promethazine is one of the medications from the group of phenothiazines, which is known to function as an antihistamine. A doctor might prescribe it when it is necessary to treat nausea, vomiting and similar symptoms that are usually present before or after the surgery and in cases of motion sickness or similar conditions. Besides this, due to its antihistaminic features, it can also be used in the treatment of some allergies and non-allergic symptoms. It can also be used as a kind of a mild sedative. Forms in which it can be found are tablet, syrup and rectal suppository, although it can also be used in injectable form.
What side effects can be expected when using promethazine and how frequent and serious are they?
When talking about the possible side effects, which certainly exist with this medicine as well, it is important to bear in mind that the use of promethazine should be carefully considered in cases of people who suffer from sleep apnea, epilepsy, glaucoma, enlarged prostate, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and any liver disease. Pregnant and lactating women, those who undergo chemotherapy or have any kind of allergy or heart problem should inform their doctor about it in advance, because promethazine might bring more harm than good in such cases, which is why its use should be reconsidered. As for the medications that should not be combined with it, among them are anticholinergics, MAOIs, antipsychotics, antidepressants, muscle relaxants, narcotics. The same goes for epinephrine and alcohol, because these combinations might induce very serious complications and side effects.
As for the most common side effects, they include dry mouth, constipation, dizziness and blurred vision, but it is also not excluded that fatigue, nervousness, lack of coordination and insomnia occur. However, none of these problems is too serious, but it does not mean that such side effects do not exist. On the contrary, the list of such effects is rather long. Some of them are high fever, irregular heart rhythm, tachycardia, confusion, stiffness in the muscles and sweating, but those that are particularly worrying are hallucinations, involuntary movements of the muscles, signs of jaundice and increased susceptibility to bleeding or bruising. Even though people generally do tolerate well this medication, it is highly recommended to gather as much information as possible about possible consequences, in order to recognize them in time and to act appropriately.
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