FDA encourages healthcare professionals to talk with their patients about this risk. Benzonatate relieves cough by acting directly on the lungs and the breathing passages. Seek urgent medical advice if you have difficulty breathing, your throat swells, or have any other signs of an allergic reaction. Learn why this happens, how to recognize the symptoms, and how to help prevent it. 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. The symptoms of a collapsed trachea include breathing problems, chronic cough, hoarseness, difficulty swallowing, respiratory infections, and more. Potentially life-threatening local anesthesia may occur if the capsules are opened or chewed instead of being swallowed. It is taken three times a day with food. Do not give to children aged less than 10. Acute cough caused by a viral upper respiratory infection (URI) and other etiologies is a common diagnosis made by health care providers. It is not to be used for chronic cough that occurs with smoking, asthma, or emphysema or when there is an unusually large amount of mucus or phlegm with the cough. Do not use two doses at one time. It is usually taken three times a day as needed. Adverse reactions to benzonatate include nausea, dizziness, headache, sedation, somnolence and, in some cases, numbness of the tongue. Evans et al. Can be taken up to three times daily. It is not to be used for chronic cough that occurs with smoking, asthma, or emphysema or when there is an unusually large amount of mucus or phlegm with the cough. Hope you get to feeling better soon if not by next week you should see your doctor. A recently published report describes the case of a 37-year-old female patient who . You can also get it through contact with, Healthline has strict sourcing guidelines and relies on peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical associations. Call your doctor if you have numbness of your tongue, mouth, throat, or face that doesnt go away or gets worse. Other drugs that have the same active ingredients (e.g. You should always consult your doctor or other healthcare professional before taking any medication. In certain circumstances may be used to provide oropharyngeal anesthesia for conscious intubation. Accidental overdosage of as few as 1 or 2 capsules has been reported in children < 2 years of age. All accidental ingestions reported to FDA to date occurred in children less than 10 years of age (see Data Summarybelow). Benzonatate relieves cough by acting directly on the lungs and the breathing passages. Taking it again could be fatal (cause death). Related symptoms may also occur due to unintended local anesthetic effect in the esophageal cavity. You may need to decide whether to stop breastfeeding or stop taking this medication. Comments: This drug should be swallowed whole. (2016, December 6). Catalog No. The lack of detectable parent compound in other decedents supports rapid hydrolysis, a common trait of ester-based LAs. pug? LFTs require periodic surveillance. Advise patients to keep benzonatate in a child-resistant container and to store it out of reach of children. It comes with risks if you dont take it as prescribed. Store benzonatate at room temperature between 59F and 86F (15C and 30C). These drugs are often used to treat similar conditions. Prices for benzonatate (Tessalon) start at just $ 7.00 with a GoodRx coupon. Take the medication out of its original container and mix it with an undesirable substance, such as used coffee grounds or kitty litter. Prescribe only the amount of benzonatate that a patient needs for relief of their cough. Not every pharmacy stocks this drug. If you miss a dose of benzonatate, skip that dose and take the next dose at the next scheduled time. Drug information provided by: IBM Micromedex. And if it is over a year old or more, is it safe to take. Adults and children 10 and older can take 100 milligrams of benzonatate up to three times a day, according to Mayo Clinic . 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. Always speak with your healthcare provider about possible interactions with all prescription drugs, vitamins, herbs and supplements, and over-the-counter drugs that you are taking. Use: Symptomatic relief of cough, Children older than 10 years: While this drug appears to be a desirable alternative for the previously described reasons, understanding the pharmacokinetics, potential for toxicity, and analytical detectability in a forensic setting is crucial to determining its impact on public health and safety. You'll soon start receiving the latest Mayo Clinic health information you requested in your inbox. Serious side effects and their symptoms can include the following: Disclaimer: Our goal is to provide you with the most relevant and current information. The most common side effects of Benzonatate include: drowsiness, dizziness, headache, The effects last for 3 to 8 hours. Try searching for what you seek or ask your own question. Give Light and the People Will Find Their Own Way. Benzonatate (also known as Tessalon Perles) is an oral antitussive (cough suppressant), which works by numbing tissues and stress receptors responsible for the cough reflex. Keep this drug away from young children. Always consult your healthcare provider to ensure the information displayed on this page applies to your personal circumstances. Some of these side effects may result from chewing or. Benzonatate oral capsule can cause drowsiness as well as other side effects. This drug should be used only if the potential benefit justifies the potential risk to the fetus. If you miss a dose, do not double up the next dose, just go back to your regular dosing schedule. Pharmaceutical preparations are a heterogenous mixture of polyethoxy analog compounds where n averages 89 with a range as large as 317 (7, 10). Keep it in your carry-on bag. Benzonatate also comes as an oral perle (smaller capsule). FDA Drug Safety Communication: death resulting from overdose after accidental ingestion of Tessalon (benzonatate) by children under 10 years of age. Call your doctor right away if you have serious side effects. information highlighted below and resubmit the form. All rights reserved. Still looking for answers? If theyre more severe or dont go away, talk to your doctor or pharmacist. Our experts continually monitor the health and wellness space, and we update our articles when new information becomes available. More common side effects The more common side effects of benzonatate oral capsule include: drowsiness dizziness. Available for Android and iOS devices. Sucking or chewing the capsule may cause your mouth and throat to feel numb or cause other serious side effects. 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., Miller, A., Hensel, E.M., Winecker, R.E. Overdose of benzonatate has been reported in adults and adolescents. Once the numbness goes away, you can eat and drink. Benzonatate (Tessalon Perles) was approved in 1958 as a peripherally-acting antitussive for its ability to inhibit cough before its mechanism of action was completely understood. Data sources include IBM Watson Micromedex (updated 5 Feb 2023), Cerner Multum (updated 22 Feb 2023), ASHP (updated 12 Feb 2023) and others. Last updated on May 26, 2022. Benzonatate is in a class of medications called antitussives (cough suppressants). Nortriptyline belongs to a class of drugs called tricyclic. It furthers the University's objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide, This PDF is available to Subscribers Only. If your symptoms are severe, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room right away. Deaths in children have been reported within hours of the accidental ingestion. So the FDA warning lists multiple prudent steps which should be followed to keep this medicine away from children. FDA is revising the benzonatate drug label to warn about accidental ingestion resulting in overdose and death in children below age 10 years. You can get RSV twice or even more often than that. It does not smell nor look bad and it has been in a dark cabinet. Important legal mumbo jumbo: A couple months past the expiration date would be ok, but anything longer than that and it has probably lost its power to do anything, to me, it would not be worth the risk in taking it and it possible making you sick too! When filling your prescription, be sure to call ahead to make sure your pharmacy carries it. If you do not understand your doctor's orders, ask your doctor or . Symptoms include stuffy nose, coughing, sore throat, fever. This may make it easier for you to breathe and help decrease your cough. Store at room temperature away from moisture, heat, and light. Dr. Baggerman said it is ok to use the drug if its prescribed to you by a doctor and it works. Its usually not serious, but symptoms can be. He said this drug should not be used for kids under the age of ten and, if they get ahold of it, to call poison control immediately. It starts working about 1520 minutes after you swallow it. Benzonatate may be attractive to children because of the drug's appearance (it is a round-shaped liquid-filled gelatin capsule). Leaving a comment on a post is a wonderful way to enter into a discussion with other readers, but I will not respond to comments (just because of time constraints). Medically reviewed by Philip Thornton, DipPharm. Question posted by sharon369 on 26 Jan 2017, Last updated on 5 January 2022 by SDeering, Is it still safe to take benzonatate 100 mg capsules purchased on 5/04/16. 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). Image reprinted with permission from Medscape.com, 2010. An overdose of benzonatate can be fatal to a child. However, because it causes side effects such as constipation, sedation, and nausea, interactions may be likely with: Avoid drinking alcohol or taking illegal or recreational drugs while taking benzonatate. Medicines that interact with benzonatate may either decrease its effect, affect how long it works for, increase side effects, or have less of an effect when taken with benzonatate. Answered by Dr. JD in 9 mins 13 years ago Dr. JD 15+ years of experience 820 satisfied customers A study done by the FDA. This can help make sure you stay safe while you take this drug. Keep it as close to 77F (25C) as you can. Benzonatate, sold by the brand name Tessalon is prescribed to treat coughs caused by colds or the flu. Death can occur from the misuse of cough and cold medicines in very young children. Taken in overdose, benzonatate can rapidly cause seizures, cardiac arrhythmias and death. have demonstrated the inability of the BABA metabolite to block voltage-gated sodium currents at 100 M, and other mechanisms may be at work; however, this metabolite will be the best candidate for detection of benzonatate exposure (7, 21). Benzonatate works by numbing the throat and lungs, making the cough reflex less active. A study done by the FDA found from 2010 to 2018, reports of pediatric poisonings involving the drug increased each year. +0. https://www.drugs.com/pro/benzonatate.html. Benzonatate comes in the form of a capsule and a perle (smaller capsule) you take by mouth. This is why it is so dangerous to combine alcohol and certain classes of medication like opioids and benzodiazepines, which themselves cause significant respiratory depression. It may also act on the cough center in the brain. The FDA product labeling reports that benzonatate has a molecular weight of 603.7 g/mol with a side chain of nine ethoxy units. Generic name: benzonatate [ben-ZOE-na-tate] 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. It acts peripherally on stretch receptors in the lower respiratory tract to suppress the cough reflex. Benzonatate is a cough suppressant available by prescription as a generic medication or under the brand Tessalon. How to tell if the drug is working: You shouldnt cough as much. The safety and effectiveness of benzonatate in children below the age of 10 years have not been established. For children: This medication hasnt been studied and shouldnt be used in children younger than 10 years old. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. It appeared as a late-eluting compound after trazodone in the base screen and was quantitated by a reference laboratory using traditional HPLC methodology. Stop taking benzonatate and get emergency medical help if you have signs of an allergic reaction: hives; difficult breathing; swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat. Coughing can be very disruptive to work and to sleep, and patients can be desperate for relief. This medication is sometimes used in dogs for chronic cough. Human studies comparing therapeutic concentrations versus the concentrations seen in postmortem casework are required to confidently resolve cases where history and scene evidence may not support over-ingestion of benzonatate. Use: Symptomatic relief of cough. This switch has been partially attributed to allergies associated with their particular metabolites. Ask your doctor before using opioid medication, a sleeping pill, a muscle relaxer, or medicine for anxiety or seizures. 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To work and to sleep, and more as a generic medication under! Has a molecular weight of 603.7 g/mol with a GoodRx coupon becomes available becomes available E.M.. Stop breastfeeding or stop taking this medication hasnt been studied and shouldnt used! Children younger than 10 years 1 or 2 capsules has been reported within hours of the is benzonatate dangerous ingestion directly the! Their patients about this risk capsule can cause drowsiness as well as other side the... Have difficulty breathing, your throat swells, or medicine for anxiety or seizures urgent advice... Be sure to call ahead to make sure you stay safe while you take this drug should used... Effects the more common side effects of benzonatate that a patient needs relief! The base screen and was quantitated by a reference laboratory using traditional HPLC methodology receiving latest! Other signs of an allergic reaction by the FDA found from 2010 to 2018 reports! 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