Atarax 25 mg

Atarax reduces activity in the central nervous system. It also acts as an antihistamine that reduces the natural chemical histamine in the body. Histamine can produce symptoms of sneezing and runny nose, or hives on the skin.
Atarax is used as a sedative to treat anxiety and tension. It is also used together with other medications given for anesthesia. Hydroxyzine may also be used to control nausea and vomiting.

Atarax is unrelated chemically to the phenothiazines, reserpine, meprobamate, or the benzodiazepines.
Atarax is not a cortical depressant, but its action may be due to a suppression of activity in certain key regions of the subcortical area of the central nervous system. Primary skeletal muscle relaxation has been demonstrated experimentally. Bronchodilator activity, and anti- histaminic and analgesic effects have been demonstrated experimentally and confirmed clinically. An antiemetic effect, both by the apomorphine test and the veriloid test, has been demonstrated. Pharmacological and clinical studies indicate that hydroxyzine in therapeutic dosage does not increase gastric secretion or acidity and in most cases has mild antisecretory activity. Hydroxyzine is rapidly absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract and Atarax's clinical effects are usually noted within 15 to 30 minutes after oral administration.

Contraindications:
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 it.

Side effects:

• Drowsiness.
• Dry mouth.
• Dizziness.
• Muscle weakness.
• Headache.
• Confusion.
• Difficulty passing urine (urinary retention).
• Blurred vision.
• Constipation.
• Nausea and vomiting.
• Difficulty sleeping (insomnia).
• Increased heart rate (tachycardia).
• Tremor.

Some of the side effects listed above may not be listed in the information leaflet provided by the manufacturer of Atarax. However, they have been reported with the Ucerax brand of hydroxyzine, which contains the same dose of hydroxyzine.