Anticholinergic (Oral Route, Parenteral Route, Rectal Route, Transdermal Route)

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Side Effects

Along with its needed effects, a medicine may cause some unwanted effects. Although not all of these side effects may occur, if they do occur they may need medical attention.

Check with your doctor as soon as possible if any of the following side effects occur:

Rare
  • Confusion (especially in the elderly)
  • Dizziness, lightheadedness (continuing), or fainting
  • Eye pain
  • Skin rash or hives
Incidence not known
  • Cough
  • Difficulty swallowing
  • Fast irregular, pounding, or racing heartbeat or pulse
  • Fever
  • Hives or welts
  • Hoarseness
  • Irritation
  • Itching skin
  • Joint pain, stiffness, or swelling
  • Puffiness or swelling of the eyelids or around the eyes, face, lips, or tongue
  • Redness of skin
  • Shortness of breath
  • Skin rash
  • Tightness in chest
  • Troubled breathing or swallowing
  • Wheezing
Symptoms of overdose
  • Blurred vision (continuing) or changes in near vision
  • Clumsiness or unsteadiness
  • Confusion
  • Convulsions (seizures)
  • Difficulty in breathing, muscle weakness (severe), or tiredness (severe)
  • Dizziness
  • Drowsiness (severe)
  • Dryness of mouth, nose, or throat (severe)
  • Fast heartbeat
  • Fever
  • Hallucinations (seeing, hearing, or feeling things that are not there)
  • Slurred speech
  • Unusual excitement, nervousness, restlessness, or irritability
  • Unusual warmth, dryness, and flushing of skin

Some side effects may occur that usually do not need medical attention. These side effects may go away during treatment as your body adjusts to the medicine. Also, your health care professional may be able to tell you about ways to prevent or reduce some of these side effects. Check with your health care professional if any of the following side effects continue or are bothersome or if you have any questions about them:

More common
  • Constipation (less common with hyoscyamine)
  • Decreased sweating
  • Dryness of mouth, nose, throat, or skin
Less common or rare
  • Bloated feeling
  • Blurred vision
  • Decreased flow of breast milk
  • Difficult urination
  • Difficulty in swallowing
  • Drowsiness (more common with high doses of any of these medicines and with usual doses of scopolamine when given by mouth or by injection)
  • False sense of well-being (for scopolamine only)
  • Headache
  • Increased sensitivity of eyes to light
  • Lightheadedness (with injection)
  • Loss of memory
  • Nausea or vomiting
  • Redness or other signs of irritation at place of injection
  • Trouble in sleeping (for scopolamine only)
  • Unusual tiredness or weakness
Incidence not known
  • Decreased interest in sexual intercourse
  • Inability to have or keep an erection
  • Loss in sexual ability, desire, drive, or performance
  • Loss of taste

After you stop using scopolamine, your body may need time to adjust. The length of time this takes depends on the amount of scopolamine you were using and how long you used it. During this period of time check with your doctor if you notice any of the following side effects:

  • Anxiety
  • Irritability
  • Nightmares
  • Trouble in sleeping

For patients using the transdermal disk of scopolamine:

While using the disk or even after removing it, your eyes may become more sensitive to light than usual. You may also notice the pupil in one eye is larger than the other. Check with your doctor if this side effect continues or is bothersome.

Other side effects not listed may also occur in some patients. If you notice any other effects, check with your healthcare professional.

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

Precautions

DR602315

Portions of this document last updated:

Nov. 1, 2009

Source: Drug Information provided by: Micromedex

Copyright © 2009 Thomson Healthcare Inc. All rights reserved. Information is for End User's use only and may not be sold, redistributed or otherwise used for commercial purposes.


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