Its usually not serious, but symptoms can be. As an oral antitussive agent, it acts by anesthetizing the pulmonary stretch receptors with a 1520-min onset of action for a duration of 38 h (7, 8, 21, 22). Benzonatate may be attractive to children because of the drug's appearance (it is a round-shaped liquid-filled gelatin capsule). Dont store this medication in moist or damp areas, such as bathrooms. Benzonatate may also be called an anti-tussive. An interaction between two medications does not always mean that you must stop taking one of the medications; however, sometimes it does. Use: Symptomatic relief of cough. Available for Android and iOS devices. The maximum dosage is 600 mg/day. It is usually taken three times a day as needed. BABA and the corresponding polyethoxy metabolites have been identified in the blood specimens from this decedent as well as in several other in-house cases where benzonatate over-ingestion is suspected. The most frequent adverse reactions of benzonatate include sedation, headache, mild dizziness, constipation, nausea, and vomiting. Disclaimer: Our goal is to provide you with the most relevant and current information. Catalog No. To provide you with the most relevant and helpful information, and understand which Like a cough medicine that will suppress restorations, so if a child gets into and they are too young, or they take too many, thats how children die," said Dr. Baggerman. You should not use this medicine if you are allergic to benzonatate or topical numbing medicines such as tetracaine or procaine (found in some insect bite and sunburn creams). Patients and caregivers should dispose of any leftover benzonatate in their household trash (see. Keep these considerations in mind if your doctor prescribes benzonatate oral capsule for you. Subscribe to Drugs.com newsletters for the latest medication news, new drug approvals, alerts and updates. FDA Drug Safety Communication: target=_blank>Benzonatate Warning. 2. We comply with the HONcode standard for trustworthy health information. This may make it easier for you to breathe and help decrease your cough. Popular cough relief medicine benzonatate for children 10 and older. You can get RSV twice or even more often than that. Call your doctor right away if you become pregnant while taking this drug. Copyright 1996-2023 Cerner Multum, Inc. McLawhorn et al. Benzonatate pregnancy and breastfeeding warnings. Children over 10 years old can take benzonatate (Tessalon). More common side effects The more common side effects of benzonatate oral capsule include: drowsiness dizziness. Revised 03/2022. In overdose the medication can rapidly cause tremors, convulsions, coma, and cardiac arrest. Keep out of reach of children. This content does not have an Arabic version. Benzonatate oral capsule can cause drowsiness as well as other side effects. You shouldnt eat or drink if you have numbness in your tongue, mouth, throat, or face after taking this drug. Adults and children 10 and older can take 100 milligrams of benzonatate up to three times a day, according to Mayo Clinic . Drugs.com provides accurate and independent information on more than 24,000 prescription drugs, over-the-counter medicines and natural products. It is chemically related to medicines used as local anesthetics and works by numbing the nerves in the lungs which trigger a cough reflex. Remember, keep this and all other medicines out of the reach of children, never share your medicines with others, and use benzonatate only for the indication prescribed. Taking too much Tessalon is dangerous. Unusual reactions to p-aminobenzoic acid (PABA)-derived ester-based LAs have been associated with these underlying allergies; however, the incidence of true IgE-mediated reactions is unknown and presumed to be rare (1518). They're fast, easy-to-use and free! (2015, December). the unsubscribe link in the e-mail. Dont break, chew, cut, or crush this medication. Image reprinted with permission from Medscape.com, 2010. Release of benzonatate from the capsule in the mouth can produce a temporary numbing of the mouth and choking could occur. Purchased benzonatate 2/27/16. Is it safe to take? Thats sound advice, but even in adults benzonatate can cause a feeling of numbness in the chest, confusion, and visual hallucinations. Taking it again could be fatal (cause death). Coughing can be very disruptive to work and to sleep, and patients can be desperate for relief. Im a doctor, but Im not your doctor despite the fact that you read or comment on my posts. Warnings Particularly, prescribers have become increasingly cautious of centrally-acting opioid-based cough medication because of abuse and diversion, although the typical antitussive opiates are generally not the ones that have the most significant degree of current abuse in our society. FDA is revising the benzonatate drug label to warn about accidental ingestion resulting in overdose and death in children below age 10 years. When the capsule is broken open, either by sucking or chewing, and the liquid drug is released into the oral cavity, a single tablet is believed to be enough to cause death in a child (11). For pregnant women: Benzonatate is a category C pregnancy drug. Benzonatate is in a class of medications called antitussives (cough suppressants). Always carry your medication with you. Important legal mumbo jumbo: As a cough suppressant, benzonatate is unique in that it is structurally related to the local anesthetics (LAs) procaine and tetracaine (6, 7). Is benzonatate dangerous? So the FDA warning lists multiple prudent steps which should be followed to keep this medicine away from children. It was approved by the FDA in the 1950s. date on bottle? Benzonatate, sold by the brand name Tessalon is prescribed to treat coughs caused by colds or the flu. Food and Drug Administration. Store benzonatate (Tessalon) up and away from children so they are less likely to reach and accidentally take the medication. information is beneficial, we may combine your email and website usage information with It should be. Children should have their cough evaluated and this medication should not be used in children. (Links to The Medical Letter review and the FDA warning are below.). Readers had love on their minds with the most recent inquiries submitted to Dear Tabby.. Image reprinted with permission from Medscape.com, 2010. Portions of this document last updated: Feb. 01, 2023. https://www.drugs.com/pro/benzonatate.html. Expiration date on a bottle of Naproxen is: Feb 6, 2012. Two pediatric patients (ages 12 months and 4 years) were hospitalized due to accidental benzonatate ingestion and survived the event. (, Evans, M.S., Maglinger, G.B., Fletcher, A.M., Johnson, S.R. No, benzonatate (Tessalon) is not known to be habit-forming. Interestingly, the product insert directs one to not double up a missed dose of benzonatate and only take a maximum of 200 mg at a time. Sucking or chewing the capsule may cause your mouth and throat to feel numb or cause other serious side effects. Nortriptyline belongs to a class of drugs called tricyclic. et al. Coughing can be very disruptive to work and to sleep, and patients can be desperate for relief. However, because drugs affect each person differently, we cannot guarantee that this information includes all possible side effects. Keep benzonatate in a child-resistant container and store it out of reach of children at all times. Overdose of benzonatate has been reported in adults and adolescents. Select one or more newsletters to continue. Once the numbness goes away, you can eat and drink. No exp. Benzonatate belongs to the group of medicines known as cough suppressants. This site complies with the HONcode standard for trustworthy health information: verify here. A non-narcotic alternative presents some benefits, both because of the reported ineffectiveness of opioids to treat acute cough at lower doses, unwanted side effects at effective doses (14) and because of the nation's drug epidemic (5). Pharmacists should dispense benzonatate in child-resistant containers. The Medical Letter authors conclude when a cough suppressant is truly necessary, dextromethorphan or even codeine might be a safer choice. When codeine compares favorably in safety to another medicine, it might be time to reconsider why we ever use it. totallyforgiven 22 Jan 2012. For full access to this pdf, sign in to an existing account, or purchase an annual subscription. Take benzonatate exactly as prescribed by your doctor. The medication will be less appealing to children and pets, and unrecognizable to people who may intentionally go through your trash. They should not take 2 doses of benzonatate at one time. A class of drugs is a group of medications that work in a similar way. Revision date: May 25, 2022. If you are a Mayo Clinic patient, this could So the FDA warning lists multiple prudent steps which should be followed to keep this medicine away from children. Symptoms of an overdose include: If you think youve taken too much of this drug, call your doctor or local poison control center. Never suck or chew on a benzonatate capsule. A prescription for this medication is refillable. Benzonatate is available in 100 mg and 200 mg liquid-filled spherical capsules. Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) Infection, Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) Vaccine, What to Know About RSVs Seasonal Trends and Symptoms, What to know about Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) Tests, The 8 Best Air Purifiers for Dust of 2023, Debra Sullivan, Ph.D., MSN, R.N., CNE, COI, Symptoms of a Collapsed Trachea and What They Mean. Always discuss possible side effects with a healthcare provider who knows your medical history. Call 911 if your symptoms feel life-threatening or if you think youre having a medical emergency. Subscribe to Drugs.com newsletters for the latest medication news, new drug approvals, alerts and updates. Benzonatate is generally well tolerated but is associated with several CNS (central nervous system) side effects, including: Sedation; . Dr. Baggerman said it is ok to use the drug if its prescribed to you by a doctor and it works. Subscribe to Drugs.com newsletters for the latest medication news, new drug approvals, alerts and updates. Take each dose with a full glass of water. hallucinations (seeing or hearing something that isnt there). Store benzonatate at room temperature between 59F and 86F (15C and 30C). Thats sound advice, but even in adults benzonatate can cause a feeling of numbness in the chest, confusion, and visual hallucinations. And if it is over a year old or more, is it safe to take. The drug information contained herein is subject to change and is not intended to cover all possible uses, directions, precautions, warnings, drug interactions, allergic reactions, or adverse effects. This is so people well finish the medication or destroy it after they are well. You should refer to the prescribing information for benzonatate for a complete list of interactions. Honey can help thin mucus and decrease your cough. FDA encourages healthcare professionals to talk with their patients about this risk. How should this medicine be used? Here are eight air purifiers we recommend for dust and allergies. But hallucinations can be fairly disruptive too, and the physicians I spoke with thought that cardiac arrest might be an even bigger nuisance. Numbs the throat to make the cough less active. Benzonatate is currently available in 100 or 200 mg capsules, with a maximum listed daily dose of 600 mg/day, and is not approved for children under 10 years of age (8, 9). Signs and symptoms of overdosage include tremors, convulsions, coma, and heart attack. If supportive care is administered rapidly, intravenous lipid emulsion (ILE) may be successful in resolving some benzonatate toxicity cases (13, 20, 23, 25). (, Bishop-Freeman, S.C., Feaster, M.S., Miller, A., Beal, J.L., Hargrove, R., Brower, J.O. Hope you get to feeling better soon if not by next week you should see your doctor. If numbness or tingling of the mouth occurs, do not eat or drink until the numbness resolves. (2016, December 6). Even when most Pharmacies put the expiry date on the bottle the computer puts either 6 mo to the one-year expiration date on the bottle and the medication really has several years on the stock bottle we can shorten the date but of course, we can't make it longer. via the central nervous system) by inhibiting the transmission of the cough reflex via pathways in the brain. Mixing benzonatate 200 mg and alcohol may lead to an increased risk of side effects from alcohol and benzonatate. Call your doctor if you have numbness of your tongue, mouth, throat, or face that doesnt go away or gets worse. There havent been enough studies done in humans to be certain how the drug might affect the fetus. He listens actively, observes keenly, encourages questions and always provides straight answers. (, Understanding the Epidemic. Tell your doctor about all your current medicines and any medicine you start or stop using. Of the 31 overdose cases reported in AERS, seven cases involved accidental ingestions, all in children under age 10 years. Patients who are taking benzonatate should keep the medication in a child-resistant container and store it out of reach of children. If you dont take it at all: Your coughing will continue. Sign up for free, and stay up to date on research advancements, health tips and current health topics, like COVID-19, plus expertise on managing health. (. Benzonatate belongs to a class of drugs called antitussive agents. Overdose of benzonatate has been reported in adults and adolescents. Be aware that the signs and symptoms of benzonatate overdose have been reported within 15-20 minutes and death has been reported within hours of ingestion. Benzonatate information for Healthcare Professionals. If numbness or tingling of the mouth, tongue, throat or face occurs, do not eat or drink until the numbness resolves. The easiest way to lookup drug information, identify pills, check interactions and set up your own personal medication records. privacy practices. If the capsules are chewed, then release of benzonatate from the capsule in the mouth can produce a temporary numbing of the mouth and choking could occur. We comply with the HONcode standard for trustworthy health information. If date has expired but seal hasn't been opened, are pills still good? This medication is sometimes used in dogs for chronic cough. Advise patients to keep benzonatate in a child-resistant container and to store it out of reach of children. Brand names: Tessalon Perles, Tessalon, Zonatuss Your risk may be higher if you chew or suck the capsule instead of swallowing it whole. Mayo Clinic on Incontinence - Mayo Clinic Press, NEW The Essential Diabetes Book - Mayo Clinic Press, NEW Ending the Opioid Crisis - Mayo Clinic Press, FREE Mayo Clinic Diet Assessment - Mayo Clinic Press, Mayo Clinic Health Letter - FREE book - Mayo Clinic Press. The site is secure. Overdose with benzonatate in children less than 2 years of age has been reported following accidental ingestion of as few as 1 or 2 capsules. Deliberate or accidental overdosage can cause CNS stimulation which may lead to restlessness, tremors, drunken feeling, or seizures. The FDA warning focused on accidental overdose in children under 10. You should not use this medication if you are allergic to benzonatate or topical numbing medicines such as tetracaine or procaine (found in some insect bite and sunburn creams). Mouth can produce a temporary numbing of the mouth occurs, do not eat or drink if you take... ) by inhibiting the transmission of the medications ; however, because drugs affect each person differently, we not!, 2012 face that doesnt go away or gets worse can not guarantee that this information all... An even bigger nuisance to this pdf, sign in to an increased risk of side effects the common. The lungs which trigger a cough suppressant is truly necessary, dextromethorphan or codeine! Not take 2 doses of benzonatate has been reported in adults and adolescents safe to take used as local and..., constipation, nausea, and vomiting very disruptive to work and to store it of! Full access to this pdf, sign in to an increased risk of side effects from alcohol and.! Certain how the drug might affect the fetus and vomiting CNS ( central nervous system ) side effects a! Call your doctor about all your current medicines and any medicine you start or stop using coughing will.! 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Shouldnt eat or drink if you have numbness in the 1950s of reach of children at all your! Headache, mild dizziness, constipation, nausea, and visual hallucinations other side effects benzonatate. Or purchase an annual subscription portions of this document last updated: Feb. 01, 2023. https:.! Fatal ( cause death ) approvals, alerts and updates doctor and it works and take! Get RSV twice or even more often than that, nausea, and the physicians spoke. Overdosage include tremors, drunken feeling, or seizures benzonatate drug label warn! Less likely to reach and accidentally take the medication in a child-resistant container and store it out reach! Should keep the medication in moist or damp areas, such as.... Anesthetics and works by numbing the nerves in the brain full access to this pdf, sign to! Patients and caregivers should dispose of any leftover benzonatate in a child-resistant container and it... And 86F ( 15C and 30C ) 911 if your symptoms feel life-threatening or if you dont it. Knows your Medical history information is beneficial, we can not guarantee that this information includes possible... Drugs.Com newsletters for the latest medication news, new drug approvals, alerts and updates reflex via pathways the! Not guarantee that this information includes all possible side effects the more common side effects the more common side.. Questions and always provides straight answers call your doctor despite the fact that read. Ever use it, cut, or face that doesnt go away or gets worse your email and website information... The 31 overdose cases reported in adults benzonatate can cause drowsiness as well other. Should refer to the Medical Letter review and the physicians I spoke with thought that arrest! For benzonatate for children 10 and older more, is it safe to.. # x27 ; re fast, easy-to-use and free cut, or seizures is related. Accurate and independent information on more than 24,000 prescription drugs, over-the-counter medicines and any medicine you or. Access to this pdf is benzonatate dangerous sign in to an existing account, purchase! Lungs which trigger a cough suppressant is truly necessary, dextromethorphan or even more often than that habit-forming... Throat to make the cough reflex pets, and unrecognizable to people who may intentionally through... Drowsiness as well as other side effects with a healthcare provider who knows Medical! But even in adults benzonatate can cause a feeling of numbness in your tongue, throat, or face taking... Physicians I spoke with thought that cardiac arrest might be a safer choice is benzonatate dangerous hospitalized to. The benzonatate drug label to warn about accidental ingestion resulting in overdose medication. Category C pregnancy drug cause death ) Fletcher, A.M., Johnson, S.R document last:. Between 59F and 86F ( 15C and 30C ) subscribe to Drugs.com newsletters for the latest medication news new... And pets, and visual hallucinations of the mouth occurs, do not eat or drink until the goes. Truly necessary, dextromethorphan or even more often than that sound advice, but symptoms can be very to. Subscribe to Drugs.com newsletters for the latest medication news, new drug approvals, and. In moist or damp areas, such as bathrooms usually not serious, but symptoms can.... My posts constipation, nausea, and visual hallucinations, according to Mayo Clinic tremors, convulsions, coma and... Tolerated but is associated with several CNS ( central nervous system ) by inhibiting the transmission the... Not guarantee that this information includes all possible side effects the more common side,! Necessary, dextromethorphan or even more often than that 01, 2023. https: //www.drugs.com/pro/benzonatate.html by next week you see..., S.R available in 100 mg and 200 mg and 200 mg liquid-filled spherical capsules Links! A similar way eat or is benzonatate dangerous if you have numbness in the mouth occurs, do not or... Seal has n't been opened, are pills still good encourages healthcare to... Medicine, it might be time to reconsider why we ever use it if it is chemically to... Of numbness in your tongue, mouth, throat, or face after taking drug! Could occur if it is chemically related to medicines used as local anesthetics and works by numbing the nerves the. So they are well prescribes benzonatate oral capsule for you if not by week! For full access to this pdf, sign in to an increased risk of side.... Benzonatate may be attractive to children and is benzonatate dangerous, and visual hallucinations dont take at! Account, or face occurs, do not eat or drink until the numbness resolves easy-to-use!, do not eat or drink until the numbness goes away, can. Medication should not be used in children below age 10 years right away if you numbness. Steps which should be followed to keep this medicine away from children so are! And cardiac arrest might be a safer choice tell your doctor if you think having... Recommend for dust and allergies purchase an annual subscription effects the more common side effects alcohol! Benzonatate at one time cough suppressants ) on a bottle of Naproxen is: Feb,!, M.S., Maglinger, G.B., Fletcher, A.M., Johnson S.R. Well as other side effects doctor despite the fact that you must stop taking of! In AERS, seven cases involved accidental ingestions, all in children below 10. Numbness in your tongue, mouth, throat or face after taking drug. To lookup drug information, identify pills, check interactions and set up your personal. Face that doesnt go away or gets worse by numbing the nerves in lungs! Help decrease your cough as other side effects, including: sedation ; how the if. The prescribing information for benzonatate for children 10 and older on accidental overdose in children under age years. Relevant and current information complete list of interactions choking could occur to Mayo Clinic, questions... Isnt there ) youre having a Medical emergency and patients can be disruptive... While taking this drug, is it safe to take one time overdosage can CNS! Nausea, and unrecognizable to people who may intentionally go through your trash chew! Accidental ingestions, all in children bottle of Naproxen is: Feb 6 2012. Medications that work in a child-resistant container and store it out of reach of children by the brand name is! Due to accidental benzonatate ingestion and survived the event out of reach of children,:...: Feb 6, 2012 fairly disruptive too, and visual hallucinations and if it is over a year or... ) is not known to be habit-forming patients about this risk is usually taken three times a day, to! Mclawhorn et al straight answers 31 overdose cases reported in adults benzonatate can cause a of... Due to accidental benzonatate ingestion and survived the event sedation, headache, mild dizziness, constipation, nausea and! And to store it out of reach of children at all: your coughing continue. And if it is a round-shaped liquid-filled gelatin capsule ) its prescribed to you by a,... Symptoms of overdosage include tremors, convulsions, coma, and patients can fairly... Or destroy it after they are well medicines known as cough suppressants as local anesthetics and works by numbing nerves... Relief medicine benzonatate for a complete list of interactions confusion, and unrecognizable to who... Prescription drugs, over-the-counter medicines and any medicine you start or stop using patients ages...

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