Health Centres - Buscopan (hyoscine butylbromide)
How does it work?
Buscopan tablets contain the active ingredient hyoscine-N-butylbromide, which is a type of medicine called an antispasmodic. It is used to relieve colicky abdominal pain that is caused by painful spasms in the muscles of the gastrointestinal (GI) or genitourinary (GU) tract.
Hyoscine works by relaxing the muscle that is found in the walls of the stomach, intestines and bile duct (gastrointestinal tract) and the reproductive organs and urinary tract (genitourinary tract). This type of muscle is called smooth muscle or involuntary muscle. It normally contracts and relaxes in response to natural body chemicals called neurotransmitters. The contractions are caused by a neurotransmitter called acetylcholine. These contractions are not under our concious control and we are not normally aware of them. However, if the muscles go into spasm this can cause pain.
Hyoscine stops the spasms in the smooth muscle by preventing acetylcholine from acting on the muscle. It does this by blocking the receptors on the muscle cells that the acetylcholine would normally act on. (These are called muscarinic or cholinergic receptors.)
By preventing acetylcholine from acting on the muscle in the GI and GU tracts, hyoscine reduces the muscle contractions. This allows the muscle to relax and reduces the painful spasms and cramps.
What is it used for?
- Spasms of the stomach, intestines or bile duct (gastrointestinal tract), including those associated with irritable bowel syndrome .
- Spasms of the reproductive or urinary systems (genitourinary tract), for example period pain cramps.
Warning!
- This medicine may cause blurred vision and so may affect your ability to drive or operate machinary safely. If affected do not drive or operate machinary.
- You should consult your doctor immediately if you experience any of the following while using this medicine: red and painful eye, possibly with headache, loss of vision or blurred vision, or seeing haloes around lights. These symptoms may be caused by an increase in pressure inside the eyeball and require urgent investigation by your doctor.
Use with caution in
- Elderly people.
- Fast heart rate (tachycardia).
-
Heart failure.
-
Thyrotoxicosis.
- People susceptible to blockage of the urinary tract and difficulty passing urine, for example men with an enlarged prostate gland.
- People susceptible to blockage of the intestines.
- Fever (pyrexia).
-
Abnormal muscle weakness .
- Abnormally large or dilated large intestine (megacolon).
-
Closed angle glaucoma.
- Hereditary blood disorders known as porphyrias.
- Rare hereditary problems of fructose intolerance, glucose-galactose malabsorption or sucrase-isomaltase insufficiency (Buscopan tablets contain sucrose).
- Buscopan tablets are not recommended for children under six years of age.
This medicine should not be used if you are allergic to one or any of its ingredients. Please inform your doctor or pharmacist if you have previously experienced such an allergy.
Pregnancy and breastfeeding
Certain medicines should not be used during pregnancy or breastfeeding. However, other medicines may be safely used in pregnancy or breastfeeding providing the benefits to the mother outweigh the risks to the unborn baby. Always inform your doctor if you are pregnant or planning a pregnancy, before using any medicine.
- This medicine should be used with caution during pregnancy, and only if the expected benefit to the mother is greater than the possible risk to the foetus, particularly in the first trimester. Seek medical advice from your doctor.
- It is not known if this medicine passes into breast milk. It should be used with caution in nursing mothers, and only if the benefits to the mother outweigh any risks to the nursing infant. Discuss this with your doctor.
Side effects
Medicines and their possible side effects can affect individual people in different ways. The following are some of the side effects that are known to be associated with this medicine. Because a side effect is stated here, it does not mean that all people using this medicine will experience that or any side effect.
- Dry mouth.
- Blurred vision.
- Reduced ability to sweat.
- Increase in heart rate (tachycardia).
- Constipation.
- Difficulty in passing urine (urinary retention).
- Allergic skin reactions.
The side effects listed above may not include all of the side effects reported by the drug's manufacturer.
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