Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.
Quick facts
- How it is given
- oral
- Type
- human prescription drug
- RxNorm ID
- 995258
We do not publish dosing. How much of this medicine to take, how often, and for how long depends on your age, weight, kidney and liver function, other conditions and other medicines. That is a decision for the person who prescribes or dispenses it. Follow the directions on your own pack and ask your pharmacist if anything is unclear.
What it is used to treat
INDICATIONS AND USAGE For symptomatic relief of anxiety and tension associated with psychoneurosis and as an adjunct in organic disease states in which anxiety is manifested. Useful in the management of pruritus due to allergic conditions such as chronic urticaria and atopic and contact dermatoses and in histamine-mediated pruritus. As a sedative when used as a premedication and following general anesthesia, hydroxyzine may potentiate meperidine and barbiturates, so their use in pre-anesthetic adjunctive therapy should be modified on an individual basis. Atropine and other belladonna alkaloids are not affected by the drug. Hydroxyzine is not known to interfere with the action of digitalis in any way and it may be used concurrently with this agent. The effectiveness of hydroxyzine as an antianxiety agent for long term use, that is more than 4 months, has not been assessed by systematic clinical studies. The physician should reassess periodically the usefulness of the drug for the individual patient.
About this medicine
DESCRIPTION Hydroxyzine hydrochloride, USP has the chemical name of (±)-2-[2-[4-( p -Chloro-α-phenylbenzyl)-1-piperazinyl]ethoxy]ethanol dihydrochloride. Molecular Formula: C 21 H 27 ClN 2 O 2 · 2HCl Molecular Weight: 447.83 Hydroxyzine hydrochloride, USP occurs as a white, odorless powder which is very soluble in water. Each tablet for oral administration contains 10 mg, 25 mg, or 50 mg hydroxyzine hydrochloride, USP. Inactive ingredients include anhydrous lactose, colloidal silicon dioxide, crospovidone, hypromellose, magnesium stearate, microcrystalline cellulose, polyethylene glycol, polysorbate and titanium dioxide. stucture
Who should not take it
CONTRAINDICATIONS Oral hydroxyzine hydrochloride is contraindicated in patients with known hypersensitivity to hydroxyzine hydrochloride products, and in patients with known hypersensitivity to cetirizine hydrochloride or levocetirizine hydrochloride. Hydroxyzine is contraindicated in patients with a prolonged QT interval. Hydroxyzine, when administered to the pregnant mouse, rat, and rabbit induced fetal abnormalities in the rat and mouse at doses substantially above the human therapeutic range. Clinical data in human beings are inadequate to establish safety in early pregnancy. Until such data are available, hydroxyzine is contraindicated in early pregnancy. Hydroxyzine is contraindicated for patients who have shown a previous hypersensitivity to any component of this medication.
Warnings
WARNINGS Nursing Mothers It is not known whether this drug is excreted in human milk. Since many drugs are so excreted, hydroxyzine should not be given to nursing mothers.
Reported side effects
ADVERSE REACTIONS Skin and Appendages: Oral hydroxyzine hydrochloride is associated with Acute Generalized Exanthematous Pustulosis (AGEP) and fixed drug eruptions in post marketing reports. Side effects reported with the administration of hydroxyzine hydrochloride are usually mild and transitory in nature. Anticholinergic : Dry mouth. Central Nervous System : Drowsiness is usually transitory and may disappear in a few days of continued therapy or upon reduction of dose. Involuntary motor activity including rare instances of tremor and convulsions have been reported, usually with doses considerably higher than those recommended. Clinically significant respiratory depression has not been reported at recommended doses. In post-marketing experience, the following additional undesirable effects have been reported: Cardiac System: QT prolongation, Torsade de Pointes. Body as a Whole: Allergic reaction. Nervous System : Headache. Psychiatric : Hallucination. Skin and Appendages : Pruritus, rash, urticaria.
If too much is taken
OVERDOSAGE The most common manifestation of hydroxyzine overdosage is hypersedation. Other reported signs and symptoms were convulsions, stupor, nausea and vomiting. As in the management of overdosage with any drug, it should be borne in mind that multiple agents may have been taken. If vomiting has not occurred spontaneously, it should be induced. Immediate gastric lavage is also recommended. General supportive care, including frequent monitoring of the vital signs and close observation of the patient, is indicated. Hypotension, though unlikely, may be controlled with intravenous fluids and levarterenol or metaraminol. Do not use epinephrine as hydroxyzine counteracts its pressor action. Hydroxyzine overdose may cause QT prolongation and Torsade de Pointes. ECG monitoring is recommended in cases of hydroxyzine overdose. There is no specific antidote. It is doubtful that hemodialysis would be of any value in the treatment of overdosage with hydroxyzine. However, if other agents such as barbiturates have been ingested concomitantly, hemodialysis may be indicated. There is no practical method to quantitate hydroxyzine in body fluids or tissue after its ingestion or administration.
Before you take anything new
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This page is built from the openFDA record of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's approved labelling for this product, effective 31 December 2024. Label text has been shortened and reformatted for readability; safety wording has not been altered in meaning. FDA labelling describes products approved in the United States — brand names, strengths, formulations and approved uses may differ in your country. Always read the leaflet that comes with your own pack. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the FDA. Retrieved 2026-07-30.