Promethazine Important Warning
July 16, 2008 – 4:52 pm
Advices:
Promethazine, Phenergan is used in relieving allergy symptoms, including hives and nasal congestionprevent and control pain and nausea during and after surgery. It is also used to help produce light sleep, and for the prevention of motion sickness. Promethazine is a phenothiazine antihistamine. It works by blocking the sights where histamine acts.
Promethazine may cause breathing to slow or stop, and may cause death in children. Promethazine should not be given to babies or children who are younger than 2 years old and should be given with caution to children who are 2 years of age or older. Combination products containing promethazine and codeine should not be given to children younger than 16 years old. Promethazine should not routinely be used to treat vomiting in children; it should only be used in specific cases when a doctor decides that it is needed. Tell your child’s doctor if your child has any condition that affects his/her breathing such as lung disease, asthma, or sleep apnea (stops breathing for short periods of time during sleep). Tell your doctor or pharmacist about all the medications your child is taking, especially barbiturates such as phenobarbital (Luminal), medications for anxiety, narcotic medications for pain, sedatives, sleeping pills, and tranquilizers. Call your child’s doctor immediately and get emergency medical treatment if your child has difficulty breathing, wheezes, slows or pauses in breathing, or stops breathing.
Talk to your doctor about the risks of giving promethazine to your child.