It’s one thing knowing about a particular drug treatment by listening to the experiences of others and quite another when you yourself decide to venture out and learn of its existence, nature, performance and downsides yourself through reading and online research. That’s exactly what has been done here in a bid to fully give a response to the question posed above of: What is hydroxyzine and how does it really work? Join this path of discovery and gain invaluable knowledge about this efficacious drug treatment.
Explaining how hydroxyzine really works
Succinctly put,hydroxyzinefallsunder a category of drug medications called antihistamines, 1st Generation; Antihistamines, Piperazine Derivatives; Antiemetic Agents.
Hydroxyzineis the Generic Name for the drug medicationand Vistaril is the Brand Name.
Hydroxyzine medication is used for treating short-term conditions of nervousness and tension which take place when certain mental and mood disorders occur such as anxiety and dementia.
Additionally, the drug medication can also be used for the treatment of withdrawal symptoms such as agitation or anxiety found in alcoholics.
Other uses also include helping to reduce nausea and anxiety before and after surgery and also during childbirth. It’s also known to help some narcotic pain killers such as meperidine to function better.
Hydroxyzine, as mentioned earlier, is member to a class of medications known as antihistamines. It works by impacting certain substances such as acetylcholine and serotonin in the body or by directly working on some parts of the brain.
It’s also medically known that the drug can also block the making of a naturalsubstancethat your bodyproduces when anallergic responsetakes place.
Hydroxyzine dosages
Forms and potency of adult doses
5mg
25 mg
50 mg
25 mg
50 mg
100 mg
Syrup/oral suspension
10 mg/5mL
Injectable solution
25 mg/5mL
50mg/5mL
Dosage Considerations – For specific conditions, doses should be given as follows:
Anxiety
For the symptomatic easing of anxiety associated with psychoneurosis in organic disease condtions:
Adults, 50-100 mg orally taken as divided every 6 hours or 50-100 mg, intramuscularly (IM) delivered as divided every 4-6 hours.
Children younger than 6 years: 50 mg/day orally as divided every 6 hours
Children 6 years of age and above: 50-100 mg/day orally as divided every 6 hours
Geriatric: 50-100 mg orally taken as divided every 6 hours or 50-100 mg IM as divided every 4-6 hours
Dosing considerations
The continuation of therapyafter 4 months has not been assessed; there is a need to periodically reassess the need for therapy.
Dosages for managing plruritus caused bychronic hives(urticarial),contact dermatoses, and histamine-mediated pruritus
Adults 25 mg oral/intramuscular (IM) as divided every 6-8 hours
Children younger than 6 years: 50 mg/day orally taken as divided every 6 hours
Children 6 years of age and over: 50-100 mg/day orally taken as divided every 6 hours
Geriatric: 25 mg oral/IM ev4r4y 6-8 hours; increased to 25 mg evry 6-8 hours
Preoperative Sedation
Adult: 50-100 mg orally taken or 25-100 mg intramuscularly (IM)
Pediatric: 0.6 mg/kg orally, or 0.5-1.1 mg/kg IM
Dosing considerations
If treatment is started with IM, following doses can be administered orally
Dose modification
Renal Impairment
For doses greater than 50 mL/min: no dose adjustment is necessary
50 mL/min or more: Administer 50% of normal dose
Hepatic Impairment
Change the dosing interval to every 24 hours for patients with biliary cirrhosis
Geriatric
For those of advanced age with reduced drug clearance and under a greater risk of confusion, dry mouth, constipation, and otheranticholinergiceffects andtoxicity;begin the dose at the low end of the doserangeand monitor progress closely.
Side effects connected with using Hydroxyzine
The following are side effects that are normally associated with taking this drug medication which can include:
Dry mouth
Drowsiness which is often temporary and can disappear in several days provided the therapy continues or when the dosage is reduced.
Involuntary motor activity such as tremorsor convulsions which are usually treated with doses much higher than those recommended.
Other side effects also known as post marketing side effects can include:
Itching
Allergic reactions
Hallucinations
Hives
Needless to say, the above side effects are not exhaustive and others may suddenly pop up in time. You should check with your physician for more information on side effects.
Does Hydroxyzine interaction with other drugs?
If you have been instructed by your doctor to take this drugmedication,it’s quite possible that your doctor or pharmacist may already know that there may be possible drug interactions involved and they may actually be monitoring your for their occurrence.
This is the reason why you shouldn’t begin, end, or alter the dosage of any medicine you’ve been given without first checking with your doctor, health care provider or pharmacist first.
In so far as severe interactions are concerned, there are none when you take hydroxyzine.
Serious interactions from taking hydroxyzine include the following:
ziprasidone
isocarboxazid
tranylcypromine
procainamide
sodium oxybate
quinidine
isocarboxazid
iloperidone
eluxadoline
droperidol
It’s medically known that hydroxyzine has moderate interactions with a minimum of 207 different drugs which are too many to enumerate them here.
Hydroxyzine has mild interactions with the following medications:
Siberian ginseng
brimonidine
It must be stressed here again that the above list is not an exhaustive one for all possible interactions or adverse effects when taking hydroxyzine.
It’s therefore becomes essential for you to inform your doctor or pharmacist about all the products that you are taking.
You should keep a list of all the medications you take and you should freely share the information with your doctor and pharmacist.
You should also ask your healthcare professional, doctor or pharmacist for more medical advice and if you have any questions, concerns or a need for more information you should not hesitate to ask them.
Contraindications when using hydroxyzine
What does the word contraindication mean in medical parlance? Simply put, it refers to a specific situation in which a drug, procedure, or surgery should not be used because it may be harmful to the person.
When we apply it to taking hydroxyzine, it simply means that hydroxyzine shouldn’t be taken because it may do harm to the person taking it. We will apply this principle to known groups
Nursing mothers
When these people take hydroxyzine, it may cause CNS depression which causes drowsiness so they should avoid driving vehicles or operating heavy machinery such as a tractor.
Elderly patients
With these people, over-sedation can result in more confusion so it would be wise to begin with a low dose while monitoring the progress of patients.
Pregnancy and Lactation
For those involved, hydroxyzine has been found to be contraindicated during early pregnancy but data is scarce in pinpointing the actual adverse effect the drug has on human pregnancy and perhaps the lack of data might indicate that the drug poses no real threat to pregnant women.
It’s equally unclear if hydroxyzine has any adverse effect on breast milk but those who breastfeed are strongly cautioned to use the drug while they are breastfeeding
Bottom line
We are confident that this article has also fulfilled what it set out to do, which was to clearly identify what the drug medication hydroxyzine is and what it actually does in its task of providing an effective solution to specific conditions. With the information provided you are now able to clearly identify all the different aspects of this drug medication beginning with what it is, how it works, its side effects, indications right down to its contraindications.
