Medication

Thorazine

Generic name:

Pharmacist-reviewed drug information from the RxWiki encyclopedia.

Overview

Thorazine is a prescription medication used to treat certain psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia. Thorazine can also be used to treat nausea and vomiting. Thorazine belongs to a group of medications called antipsychotics. These work by changing the activity of certain natural substances in the brain.

Thorazine is available as a tablet and is usually taken several times a day and will depend on what is Thorazine being used for. 

Thorazine is also available as an injection that is given directly into a muscle (IM) by a healthcare professional.

Common side effects of Thorazine include dry mouth, nausea, constipation, and low blood pressure. This medication may also cause dizziness and drowsiness. Do not drive or operate heavy machinery until you know how you this medication affects you.

What is it used for?

Thorazine is a prescription medication used to treat many conditions including:

  • Schizophrenia
  • Restlessness before surgery
  • Manic type of Manic depressive illness
  • Behavioral disorders in children
  • Acute intermittent porphyria (caused by a lack of a certain enzyme that can cause stomach pain and neurologic symptoms)
  • Nausea/vomiting
  • Hiccups
  • Psychotic disorders
  • Tetanus (adjunct)

This medication may be prescribed for other uses. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.

Warnings

Elderly patients with dementia-related psychosis treated with atypical antipsychotic drugs are at an increased risk of death compared with placebo. Although the causes of death in clinical trials were varied, most of the deaths appeared to be either cardiovascular (eg, heart failure, sudden death) or infectious (eg, pneumonia) in nature. Observational studies suggest that, similar to atypical antipsychotic drugs, treatment with conventional antipsychotic drugs may increase mortality. It is unclear from these studies to what extent the mortality findings may be attributed to the antipsychotic drug as opposed to patient characteristics. Chlorpromazine hydrochloride is not approved for the treatment of patients with dementia-related psychosis.

Side effects

Serious side effects have been reported with Thorazine. See "Thorazine Precautions" section.

Common side effects of Thorazine include:

  • dry mouth
  • nausea
  • constipation
  • low blood pressure
  • drowsiness
  • dizziness
  • abnormal movements
  • fast heart rate

This is not a complete list of Thorazine side effects. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.

Tell your doctor if you have any side effect that bothers you or that does not go away.

Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to the FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.

All information on this site is provided “as-is” for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice or treatment. You should consult with a medical professional if you have any questions about your health.