Atarax is a medication with the active ingredient hydroxyzine. It is also known by other names like Vistaril. Atarax is mainly used to treat anxiety, nausea, and itching caused by allergies. It helps to calm the brain and has a mild sedative effect.
The Atarax price is approximately £0.29 – £0.52 per pill. Depending on the size of the pack and the number of tablets inside (60 or 360 mg).
Generic Name: Hydroxyzine
Brand Names: Vistaril, Atarax
Drug Class: Antihistamine
Hydroxyzine blocks H1 receptors in your body—these are the receptors that histamine latches onto during allergic reactions. Block the receptors, stop the allergic symptoms. Simple enough.
It also has sedative properties because it affects your central nervous system. This is why people feel drowsy on it, and why doctors sometimes use it for anxiety rather than just allergies.
Doctors commonly prescribe hydroxyzine for:
The antihistamine bit handles the itching; the sedative bit handles the anxiety.
Routes: You can take it orally (tablets or syrup) or get it as an intramuscular injection. The injection is usually reserved for hospital settings or when someone can’t take oral medication.
Standard Dosage: Adults typically get 25 to 100 mg daily, depending on what’s being treated and how severe it is. Children’s doses are calculated based on body weight and the specific condition—your doctor will work this out.
Adjustments: Elderly patients or people with liver or kidney problems usually need lower doses. Doctors typically adjust in small increments to minimise side effects, which makes sense but means it takes longer to find the right dose.
Absorption: Hydroxyzine gets absorbed rapidly from your gut after you swallow it.
Metabolism: Your liver breaks it down into cetirizine—yes, the same cetirizine that’s in common allergy tablets like Zyrtec. Cetirizine is a less potent H1 antagonist, which is why it doesn’t make you as drowsy.
Half-life: About 20 to 25 hours in healthy adults. This is quite long, actually—means you don’t need to dose it multiple times a day for most uses.
Excretion: The metabolites leave your body primarily through urine. A smaller amount exits via faeces.
Most people experience:
The drowsiness can be pretty significant—don’t drive or operate machinery until you know how it affects you. I know everyone says this, but with hydroxyzine it’s genuinely a problem.
Less common but more concerning reactions include:
These need immediate medical attention. Stop taking it and contact your doctor straight away.
Hydroxyzine can cause allergic reactions—which is ironic for an antihistamine, but there you go. Anaphylaxis is rare but possible. Signs include difficulty breathing, severe rash, swelling of face or throat. This requires emergency treatment.
Hydroxyzine doesn’t play well with other central nervous system depressants:
Combining these increases sedation significantly and can lead to respiratory depression in severe cases. Tell your doctor about everything you’re taking, including over-the-counter sleep aids.
Pregnancy: Category C in the old classification system. Animal studies showed problems, human data is limited. Use it during pregnancy only if benefits outweigh risks—and honestly, there are usually safer alternatives for anxiety or itching during pregnancy.
Breastfeeding: It probably passes into breast milk. You need to decide whether to stop breastfeeding or stop the medication, depending on how necessary it is for you. Discuss this with your doctor—they should help you weigh the options.
Children: Safety and efficacy haven’t been established for infants under 6 months. For older children, it’s generally considered safe but dosing needs to be precise.
Elderly: Start at the lower end of the dosing range. Older patients are more susceptible to side effects, particularly sedation and confusion. Falls are a real concern—the drowsiness can throw off balance in people who are already unsteady.
Liver Function: If you’re on hydroxyzine long-term, your doctor should check liver function tests periodically. The liver does all the metabolising, so it’s worth keeping an eye on.
Renal Function: Monitoring kidney function is recommended because that’s how the drug leaves your body. If your kidneys aren’t working properly, the medication can accumulate and cause problems.
Most people don’t need extensive monitoring for short-term use—this is mainly for people taking it for months.
Doctors sometimes prescribe hydroxyzine off-label as a sleep aid, particularly for people with:
Typical sleep dosing ranges from 25 to 50 mg taken 30 minutes to an hour before bed. Some people need more, some need less.
The advantage over prescription sleep medications: it’s not habit-forming. You don’t develop tolerance or dependence the way you do with benzodiazepines or Z-drugs (zolpidem, zopiclone).
The disadvantage: the drowsiness carries over into the next day for some people. You might wake up feeling groggy or “hungover” from it. This seems to be dose-dependent and varies person to person—some people feel fine, others feel like rubbish until mid-morning.
There’s not extensive research on long-term use for sleep specifically, but it’s been around for decades and doctors have enough clinical experience with it to feel reasonably comfortable prescribing it this way.
Storage: Keep hydroxyzine at room temperature, away from light and moisture. Don’t store it in the bathroom—the humidity degrades medication over time.
Keep it out of reach of children and pets. The sedative effects could be dangerous if a child accidentally takes it.
Handling for Healthcare Providers: Follow standard safety protocols to prevent accidental ingestion or contact. Nothing special beyond normal pharmaceutical handling procedures.
Unused or Expired Medication: Dispose of it according to local regulations. Generally, don’t flush medications down the toilet unless specifically instructed—environmental concerns and all that.
Pharmacy Take-Back Programmes: Many pharmacies run take-back programmes for safe medication disposal. Check with your local pharmacy; it’s easier than trying to work out local regulations yourself.
This information doesn’t replace medical advice from your doctor—if you have questions about whether hydroxyzine is right for you, or if you’re experiencing side effects, contact your healthcare provider. Also, if you’re taking it for sleep and it’s not working or you’re getting significant next-day drowsiness, mention this at your next appointment. There might be better options.
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