• Basic Info
• Top Questions
• Clinical Info
• Interactions

What is promethazine oral?
Promethazine oral is an antihistamine. It blocks the effects of the naturally occurring chemical histamine in your body. Promethazine oral is used to treat allergy symptoms such as itching, runny nose, sneezing, itchy or watery eyes, hives, and itchy skin rashes. Promethazine oral also prevents motion sickness, and treats nausea and vomiting or pain after surgery. It is also used as a sedative or sleep aid. Promethazine oral may also be used for other purposes not listed in this medication guide.

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What is the price of this medication and similar alternatives?

This pricing information is subject to change at the sole discretion of DS Pharmacy. For the most current and up-to-date pricing information, please visit drugstore.com.

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What are the possible side effects of promethazine oral?

Get emergency medical help if you have any of these signs of an allergic reaction: hives; difficulty breathing; swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat.

Stop using promethazine oral and call your doctor at once if you have any of these serious side effects:

• twitching, or uncontrollable movements of your eyes, lips, tongue, face, arms, or legs;

• shallow breathing, weak pulse;

• hallucinations (seeing or hearing things);

• nausea, stomach pain, low fever, loss of appetite, dark urine, clay-colored stools, jaundice (yellowing of the skin or eyes); or

• fever, muscle stiffness, confusion, fast or uneven heartbeat, sweating, fainting.

Less serious side effects may include:

• dizziness, drowsiness, sleepiness, or confusion;

• blurred vision, dry mouth;

• ringing in your ears;

• mild nausea or vomiting; or

• increased sensitivity to sunlight.

This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur. Tell your doctor about any unusual or bothersome side effect.

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How should I take promethazine oral?
Take this medication exactly as it was prescribed for you. Do not take the medication in larger amounts, or take it for longer than recommended by your doctor. Follow the directions on your prescription label. Take each dose with a full glass of water. You can take promethazine oral with or without food. To be sure you get the correct dose of promethazine oral syrup, measure the liquid with a marked measuring spoon or medicine cup, not with a regular table spoon. If you do not have a dose-measuring device, ask your pharmacist for one..

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What is the most important information I should know about promethazine oral?
Call your doctor immediately if you experience twitching or uncontrollable movements of your eyes, lips, tongue, face, arms, or legs. These could be early signs of dangerous side effects. Promethazine oral should not be given to a child younger than 2 years old. Promethazine oral can cause severe breathing problems or death in a child younger than 2. Carefully follow your doctor's instructions when giving this medicine to a child of any age. Seek emergency medical attention if you think you have used too much of this medicine. Overdose symptoms may include severe drowsiness, dizziness, dry mouth, large pupils, flushing, nausea, vomiting, shallow breathing, and fainting.

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What happens if I miss a dose?
Take the missed dose as soon as you remember. If it is almost time for your next dose, skip the missed dose and take the medicine at the next regularly scheduled time. Do not take extra medicine to make up the missed dose.

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What other drugs will affect promethazine oral?
Many drugs can interact with promethazine. Below is just a partial list. Tell your doctor if you are using: sedatives or anxiety medicines such as alprazolam (Xanax), diazepam (Valium), chlordiazepoxide (Librium), temazepam (Restoril), or triazolam (Halcion); antidepressants such as amitriptyline (Elavil), doxepin (Sinequan), nortriptyline (Pamelor), fluoxetine (Prozac), sertraline (Zoloft), or paroxetine (Paxil); narcotic pain medicines such as meperidine (Demerol), morphine (MS Contin, MSIR), propoxyphene (Darvon, Darvocet), hydrocodone (Lortab, Vicodin), oxycodone (Percocet, Percodan), fentanyl (Duragesic), codeine (Fiorinal, Fioricet, Tylenol #3);

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Can I take this if I am pregnant or trying to get pregnant or if I am breastfeeding?

Promethazine has been assigned to pregnancy category C by the FDA. Several retrospective studies have suggested that there is no increased risk of congenital malformations in humans with the use of promethazine in pregnancy. Promethazine has been shown to impair neonatal platelet aggregation when given during labor. There are no controlled data in human pregnancy. Promethazine is only recommended for use during pregnancy when benefit outweighs risk.

There are no data on the excretion of promethazine into human milk. The manufacturer recommends that due to the potential for serious adverse reactions in nursing infants, a decision should be made to discontinue nursing or discontinue the drug, taking into account the importance of the drug to the mother.

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Who should NOT use this medication?

• Pediatric patients <2 years of age. (See Boxed Warning.)
• Concomitant administration of large doses of other CNS depressants. (See Specific Drugs under Interactions.)
• Comatose patients.
• Known hypersensitivity or idiosyncrasy to promethazine or other phenothiazines.
• Treatment of lower respiratory symptoms (e.g., asthma).
• Some manufacturers state that promethazine also is contraindicated in patients with bone marrow depression, angle-closure glaucoma, prostatic hypertrophy, stenosing peptic ulcer, pyloroduodenal obstruction, or bladder neck obstruction; others state that the drug be used with caution in these patients.

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What happens if I overdose?
Seek emergency medical attention if you think you have used too much of this medicine. Overdose symptoms include severe drowsiness, dizziness, dry mouth, large pupils, flushing, nausea, vomiting, shallow breathing, and fainting.

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What should I discuss with my doctor before taking promethazine oral?
Promethazine oral should not be given to a child younger than 2 years old. Promethazine oral can cause severe breathing problems or death in a child younger than 2. Carefully follow your doctor's instructions when giving this medicine to a child of any age. Do not use promethazine oral if you have asthma or other lung disease. Before taking promethazine oral, tell your doctor if you are allergic to any drugs, or if you have: epilepsy or another seizure disorder; sleep apnea (breathing stops during sleep);

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Can I stop taking the medication if I feel better?
As a general rule, you should always take your medications exactly as prescribed and do not change the dosage or stop taking the medication without first discussing it with your healthcare provider.

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I am on so many medications; do I have to take them all?
This is called polypharmacy—many different medications being used at the same time by one person. Sometimes, being on multiple medications is acceptable and appropriate but at other times it may be problematic. If you are receiving your medications from multiple physicians you need to ensure that they all know what medications you are taking. The best way to do this is to make a list of all the medications you are currently using, including all nutritional supplements, homeopathic remedies, vitamins and over-the-counter drugs (if possible, also include all the diseases you have been diagnosed with). Give a copy to every doctor who takes care of you so they have it on file, this way they can avoid duplicating medications and perhaps even try to consolidate some. After every doctor's visit remember to update the list accordingly. Also, as much as you possibly can, try to use the same pharmacy to fill all your prescriptions, this way any potential drug interactions can be caught and averted.

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Where can I get more information?
More Information

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