Overdose can cause severe muscle weakness, cold and clammy skin, pinpoint pupils, very slow breathing, extreme drowsiness, or coma. Avoid driving or hazardous activity until you know how this medicine will affect you. Dizziness or drowsiness can cause falls, accidents, or severe injuries. Get emergency medical help if you have signs of an allergic reaction: hives; difficult breathing; swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat. Opioid medicine can slow or stop your breathing, and death may occur.
A person caring for you should seek emergency medical attention if you have slow breathing with long pauses, blue colored lips, or if you are hard to wake up. Seek medical attention right away if you have symptoms of serotonin syndrome, such as: agitation, hallucinations, fever, sweating, shivering, fast heart rate, muscle stiffness, twitching, loss of coordination, nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea.
Serious side effects may be more likely in older adults and those who are overweight, malnourished, or debilitated. Long-term use of opioid medication may affect fertility ability to have children in men or women. It is not known whether opioid effects on fertility are permanent. This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may have breathing problems or withdrawal symptoms if you start or stop taking certain other medicines.
Tell your doctor if you also use an antibiotic, antifungal medication, heart or blood pressure medication, seizure medication, or medicine to treat HIV or hepatitis C. Opioid medication can interact with many other drugs and cause dangerous side effects or death.
Be sure your doctor knows if you also use:. This list is not complete. Other drugs may affect codeine, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal products. Not all possible interactions are listed here. Remember, keep this and all other medicines out of the reach of children, never share your medicines with others, and use this medication only for the indication prescribed.
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You are here Home » codeine. Top of the page. Codeine Sulfate slide 2 of 5, Codeine Sulfate,. Codeine Sulfate slide 3 of 5, Codeine Sulfate,.
Codeine Sulfate slide 4 of 5, Codeine Sulfate,. Codeine Sulfate slide 5 of 5, Codeine Sulfate,. What is the most important information I should know about codeine?
What is codeine? Codeine is an opioid medication used to treat mild to moderately severe pain. Codeine may also be used for purposes not listed in this medication guide. What should I discuss with my healthcare provider before taking codeine?
You should not use this medicine if you are allergic to it, or if you have:. If you often forget doses, it may help to set an alarm to remind you. You could also ask your pharmacist for advice on other ways to remember your medicine. If you need to take codeine for a long time your body can become tolerant to it. This isn't usually a problem but you could get unpleasant withdrawal symptoms if you stop taking it suddenly.
If you want to stop taking codeine, talk to your doctor first. Your dose can be reduced gradually so you don't get unpleasant withdrawal symptoms. If you stop taking it suddenly it can cause unpleasant withdrawal symptoms such as:. If you have been taking codeine for more than a few weeks do not stop taking it without speaking to your doctor first. It's important not to take more than your prescribed dose, even if you think it's not enough to relieve your pain. Speak to your doctor first, if you think you need a different dose.
If you've taken an accidental overdose you may feel very sleepy, sick or dizzy. You may also find it difficult to breathe. In serious cases you can become unconscious and may need emergency treatment in hospital. The amount of codeine that can lead to an overdose varies from person to person. Take the codeine box or leaflet inside the packet plus any remaining medicine with you. If you've been prescribed codeine, it's particularly important that you:. It's safe to take codeine with paracetamol , ibuprofen or aspirin aspirin is suitable for most people aged 16 years and over.
Some painkillers that you can buy without a prescription from pharmacies contain codeine. They include co-codamol , ibuprofen and codeine such as Nurofen Plus and Solpadeine. Do not take painkillers that you buy with codeine in alongside prescribed codeine. You'll be more likely to get side effects. Like all medicines, codeine can cause side effects in some people - but many people have no side effects or only minor ones.
The higher the dose of codeine the more chance that you will get side effects. Common side effects happen in more than 1 in people. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist if the side effects bother you or don't go away:. Serious side effects happen in less than 1 in people. Call a doctor straight away if you:. In rare cases, it's possible to have a serious allergic reaction anaphylaxis to codeine. These are not all the side effects of codeine. For a full list see the leaflet inside your medicine packet.
In early pregnancy, it's been linked to problems in the unborn baby. If you take codeine at the end of pregnancy there's a risk that your newborn baby may get withdrawal symptoms or be born addicted to codeine.
However, it's important to treat pain in pregnancy. For some pregnant women with severe pain, codeine might be the best option. Your doctor is the best person to help you decide what's right for you and your baby. Codeine isn't usually recommended if you're breastfeeding. Small amounts of codeine pass into breast milk and can cause breathing problems in the baby. Speak to your doctor as they may be able to recommend a different painkiller.
Some medicines and codeine interfere with each other and increase the chances of you having side effects. It's not possible to say that complementary medicines and herbal remedies are safe to take with codeine. They're not tested in the same way as pharmacy and prescription medicines. They're generally not tested for the effect they have on other medicines.
Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you're taking any other medicines, including herbal medicines, vitamins or supplements. It works in the central nervous system and the brain to block pain signals to the rest of the body. It also reduces the anxiety and stress caused by pain. When codeine blocks the pain, there are other unwanted effects - for example slow or shallow breathing.
It also slows down digestion, which is why codeine can cause constipation. A codeine injection into a vein gives the quickest pain relief. It works almost straight away. Codeine tablets, liquid and cough syrup all work in 30 to 60 minutes, but they wear off after a few hours. Yes, codeine is addictive. For this reason, your dose will be reviewed to make sure you are only taking the amount you need to control your pain, or diarrhoea. Your treatment plan may include details of how and when you will stop taking codeine.
If you need to take it for a long time your body can become tolerant to it. That means you need higher doses to control your pain over time. Some people can become more sensitive to pain hyperalgesia. If this happens, your doctor will reduce your dose gradually to help these symptoms.
Speak to your doctor if you are worried about tolerance, hyperalgesia or becoming addicted. If you're addicted to codeine, you may want to take it more often or feel agitated if you delay taking a dose for any reason. And if you stop taking codeine suddenly you may suffer from withdrawal symptoms. Drinking alcohol while you're on codeine may make you feel more sleepy or increase the risk of serious side effects. It's best to stop drinking alcohol during the first few days of treatment until you see how codeine affects you.
If you feel sleepy with codeine, stop drinking alcohol while you're taking it. Children aged 12 to 18 years can take codeine for pain or diarrhoea - but only if other medicines haven't worked. Use the lowest dose that works for no more than 3 days. If they still have symptoms after 3 days see a doctor. Codeine shouldn't be given to children aged 12 to 18 years if they have breathing problems or if they have had their tonsils or adenoids removed because of obstructive sleep apnoea. If you're taking codeine for a short time and at normal doses, there's no firm evidence that it can reduce fertility.
However if you've been taking it for a long time and you're concerned about your fertility, or you're trying to get pregnant, speak to a pharmacist or your doctor. The type of painkiller that's best depends on what type of pain you have. If codeine doesn't get rid of your pain or becomes less effective, talk to your doctor. Codeine is a controlled medicine. This means there are extra rules on how it's prescribed and dispensed to make sure it's not given to the wrong person or misused.
However, this doesn't affect you as a patient. The rules only apply to the pharmacy that dispenses it. When you first take codeine, you'll probably feel sleepy for a few days. But the sleepiness will wear off as your body gets used to the medicine. You might notice you're less alert. In this case, you might choose to have less than perfect pain relief as a trade-off.
Do not drive a car or ride a bike if codeine makes you sleepy during the daytime, gives you blurred vision or makes you feel dizzy, clumsy or unable to concentrate or make decisions.
This may be more likely when you first start taking codeine but could happen at any time - for example when starting another medicine. It's an offence to drive a car if your ability to drive safely is affected.
It's your responsibility to decide if it's safe to drive. If you're in any doubt, do not drive. Even if your ability to drive is not affected, the police have the right to request a saliva sample to check how much codeine is in your body.
UK has more information on the law on drugs and driving. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist if you're unsure whether it's safe for you to drive while taking codeine. Codeine doesn't affect any type of contraception, including the combined pill or emergency contraception. But, if you are taking codeine because you have severe diarrhoea for more than 24 hours, your contraceptive pills may not protect you from pregnancy.
Look on the pill packet to find out what to do. If you take recreational drugs, such as cannabis, cocaine and heroin while you're taking codeine, you're more likely to get the serious side effects of codeine including breathing difficulties, heart problems, seizures and even go into a coma.
Some recreational drugs, such as cannabis, will also increase codeine side effects such as sleepiness and dizziness. Taking heroin while you're on prescribed codeine is especially dangerous.
You're more likely to get all the side effects of codeine, including addiction. Tell your doctor if you think you may take recreational drugs while you're on codeine. Page last reviewed: 27 November Next review due: 27 November Codeine On this page About codeine Key facts Who can and can't take codeine How and when to take it Taking codeine with other painkillers Side effects How to cope with side effects Pregnancy and breastfeeding Cautions with other medicines Common questions.
About codeine Codeine is a painkiller. Help us improve our website Can you answer a quick question about your visit today? Codeine works by stopping pain signals from travelling along the nerves to the brain. The most common side effects of codeine are constipation, feeling sick nausea and feeling sleepy.
It's possible to become addicted to codeine, but your doctor will explain how to reduce the risks of becoming addicted.
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