You may also contact the poison control center at Symptoms of overdose include severe drowsiness, dry mouth, difficulty urinating, headache, rapid heartbeat, confusion, impaired coordination, slow reflexes, seizures, or coma. To date, there are no known problems associated with the long-term use of hydroxyzine.
It is a safe and effective medication when used as directed. Last Updated: January This information is being provided as a community outreach effort of the College of Psychiatric and Neurologic Pharmacists. This information is for educational and informational purposes only and is not medical advice. This information contains a summary of important points and is not an exhaustive review of information about the medication. Always seek the advice of a physician or other qualified medical professional with any questions you may have regarding medications or medical conditions.
Never delay seeking professional medical advice or disregard medical professional advice as a result of any information provided herein. The College of Psychiatric and Neurologic Pharmacists disclaims any and all liability alleged as a result of the information provided herein.
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Table of Contents. Taking Vistaril. Dosage Guidelines. Medication Interactions. Side Effects. Possible Risks. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback!
Sign Up. What are your concerns? Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Related Articles. While some conditions only require a prescription length of several weeks, some patients have taken this medication for several years without experiencing any negative side effects.
Still, most doctors would recommend following up with patients who are taking Vistaril long-term. This is to ensure that the medication is still doing its job and that patients are not developing any negative effects from the drug. This is true when comparing hydroxyzine vs Xanax. Another benefit of Vistaril is that it is fast-acting. You can feel its effects once the compounds are absorbed into the gastrointestinal tract. If taken orally, the effects are usually felt within 15 to 30 minutes.
You can determine when you should take the medication based on when the effects will kick in. For example, if you are taking the medication for motion sickness, take it 30 minutes before you get on the car, plane or train.
The prescribed dosage for hydroxyzine is determined by factors, like your age, medication condition, and weight. Make sure that you take the hydroxyzine dosage as prescribed. Misuse can lead to overdose or unwanted side effects. Take the medication at the prescribed times as well for the best results possible. With that said, if you miss a dose, take it as soon as you remember. However, if it is near the time of your next dose, skip the missed dose, and just take the dose that is next up on the schedule.
Do not double your dose. Doubling your dose can be dangerous, and may cause an overdose. When used to treat anxiety, 50mg of hydroxyzine pam is prescribed to patients for around 12 weeks. The treatment is divided into three daily doses. In comparison to other alternatives like bromazepam, Atarax had the highest efficiency rating. Much like many other medications, hydroxyzine can cause some unwanted hydroxyzine side effects. Most of these Atarax side effects are rather mild and will subside with time.
This way, the symptoms will have a less intense effect on your wellbeing. Understanding what hydroxyzine side effects are normal will help you determine when to seek medical help. If you are concerned about Vistaril side effects, speak with your doctor immediately. You should seek medical attention if these Atarax side effects worsen or persist for an extended period of time. In most cases, you will find that the hydroxyzine side effects will slowly disappear with time. This is one of the many benefits offered by this medication.
Some people may respond negatively to this medication. It may be due to their environment or their genetics that they get a hydroxyzine high. You should highly consider switching to another alternative.
Some of the more serious Atarax side effects that have been reported include:. Stop taking the medication and seek medical attention immediately if you experience any of the more serious hydroxyzine side effects. You should also stop taking the medication if you start showing signs of an allergic reaction. This might include itching or hives. Continuing to take the medication may be dangerous and deadly. Although hydroxyzine is not addictive, some patients have tried larger doses to see if they get a bigger high or if they can enjoy a stronger euphoric sensation.
Although Vistaril is relatively safe, too large of a dose can result in an overdose and can be dangerous. If you or someone you know is experiencing a Vistaril overdose, call immediately. Fortunately, recovery is extremely likely if the individual survives the first 24 hours. Depending on the severity of the overdose, the affected individual may experience permanent or severe damage to the muscles and brain.
The damage will be even more pronounced if the overdose results in a cardiac or respiratory arrest or depression. This would be a psychological addiction since it is impossible to develop dependence or tolerance to the drug. If you are unsure of whether you or someone you know is addicted or not, take one of our addiction quizzes to find out. Calling is the best way to ensure that the affected individual gets immediate help.
To get the best response possible, have the following information ready before calling Now is not the time to be shy. If the individual was taking Atarax to get hydroxyzine high, let know. Once the affected individual is brought to a hospital, their vital signs will be carefully monitored.
This includes their pulse, their blood pressure, their body temperature and their breathing rate. Blood and urine tests, as well as chest x-rays and EKGs, will be performed. Many factors come into play to ensure that patients are safe and recovering from the incident, especially if the drug was taken to achieve a hydroxyzine high.
Before taking hydroxyzine, make sure to let your doctor know if you have any medical conditions or allergies. Atarax and Vistaril are not recommended for pregnant or breastfeeding women. The medication may affect the fetus. Also, it is not known whether the compounds in this medication will diffuse into breastmilk.
Seniors should also use extra caution if they are taking this medication. This is because the sedative effects of this medication tend to be more pronounced as an individual gets older. Hydroxyzine is known to interact with certain medications and substances. If you are taking any of those medications, make sure to speak with your doctor or pharmacist.
Based on your situation and circumstances, the doctor will either stop one of the medications or change you from one medication to another. Another solution is to change the way that you are taking each of the medications. If the hydroxyzine side effects and interactions are relatively minor, your doctor may leave everything as it is.
You never know what might potentially interact with the hydroxyzine. While this medication is safe on its own, it can be dangerous when combined with other substances. In these situations, you can still seek help from a recovery center, like Northpoint Washington. Or, perhaps, you simply have a personality that is prone to addiction.
If you believe that you are misusing hydroxyzine, we can help you learn how to identify triggers and build better habits. We offer therapies like mindfulness-based relapse prevention. While you might not be addicted or be susceptible to relapses, you can learn quite a lot from this type of therapy.
Therapies, like mindfulness-based relapse prevention, will teach you how to be more aware of your own mental state.
It will also explore your relationship with addiction. Up until the late s, hydroxyzine was a medication that was often used to treat alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
But the main reason it was used was because doctors really did not have any other options at that time. There were no major studies that had been done on other medications to show that they might be effective. In , a study was done that showed that Librium was a much better option to use for alcohol withdrawal.
Librium is a benzodiazepine. Since that time, benzos have been the top drug of choice for people recovering from alcoholism. In order to understand why hydroxyzine is not the best choice for alcohol withdrawal, it is important to understand why the symptoms occur.
It has to do with two important chemicals in the brain — GABA and glutamate. These chemicals have opposite effects in the brain; glutamate is excitable while GABA is calming. When you drink alcohol, the effects of GABA are enhanced while glutamate is suppressed. This results in the brain becoming quite sensitive to glutamate. When you stop drinking, the brain becomes over excited because it is no longer being suppressed and no GABA is blocking it.
Benzos fit the GABA receptors in the brain, which calms it down. But hydroxyzine does not, and so it cannot counteract the glutamate in your brain.
That makes it a poor choice for the treatment of alcohol withdrawal. It generally is not something that people take long-term unless they are taking it as an allergy medication. Even so, there are no known risks for the long-term use of hydroxyzine.
It is not physically addictive at all. Hydroxyzine is quite safe for most anyone to use, whether they take it regularly or not. But it may be contraindicated in certain situations. Anticholinergic side effects are common with both Vistaril and Xanax forms of arrhythmia. Drowsiness, or somnolence, is a side effect of both drugs. Drowsiness can affect daily productivity and should be weighed against the benefits of treatment.
Dry mouth also affects patients taking either Vistaril or Xanax. While there are remedies for dry mouth such as gum and mouth rinse, it may be very bothersome for some. Vistaril is known to cause QT prolongation and Torsade de Pointes forms of arrhythmia.
Vistaril should be avoided in patients with a known history of QT prolongation or risk factors such as pre-existing cardiac disease, electrolyte imbalances, and drug use.
The following list is not intended to be a comprehensive list of adverse events. Consult your healthcare provider for a complete list of potential side effects. Vistaril should be avoided with both long- and short-acting beta agonists, such as albuterol or formoterol. Beta agonists are linked to the incidence of QT prolongation and Torsade de Pointes, and concurrent use with Vistaril increases the risk of these adverse events.
Vistaril and Xanax combined with opioid agonists may greatly increase the risk of severe drowsiness and somnolence. Xanax combined with opioid agonists may lead to severe respiratory depression and hypotension low blood pressure. This can be life-threatening. Combined use with drugs such as codeine or hydrocodone can be dangerous and should be avoided.
Vistaril and Xanax should be used cautiously in patients on other antihistamines that may be sedating, such as diphenhydramine or chlorpheniramine. The additive drowsiness of these medications can cause harm to the patient. This is not intended to be a comprehensive list of interactions for Vistaril and Xanax.
Please consult your pharmacist or other healthcare professional for a complete list of interactions. It is unknown if Vistaril crosses into breast milk, and therefore should be avoided or used cautiously in nursing mothers. Concomitant use of Xanax with opioid agonists can cause life-threatening respiratory depression and hypotension. If it is determined that the combination cannot be avoided, patients must be advised on the adverse events. Patients should not drive or operate heavy machinery while on these medications.
Xanax is a controlled substance and could be habit-forming. The use of Xanax carries the risk of physical dependence and substance abuse, even after a relatively short-term treatment.
Your doctor may limit the amount of Xanax prescribed to reduce this risk. Withdrawal symptoms, including seizures, may occur with dose decrease or discontinuation of Xanax.
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