https://pharmacopedia.wiki/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=BenzonatateBenzonatate - Revision history2026-05-28T06:48:53ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.46.0-betahttps://pharmacopedia.wiki/index.php?title=Benzonatate&diff=6497&oldid=prevMDElliottMD: home-claude punt-list stub, Top 300 #1222026-05-23T04:41:14Z<p>home-claude punt-list stub, Top 300 #122</p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>Benzonatate is a peripherally acting antitussive, structurally a polyglycol ester related to the local anesthetic tetracaine. It suppresses cough by anesthetizing stretch receptors in the airways, alveoli, and pleura, dampening the afferent arc of the cough reflex<ref name="tessalon-label">FDA Prescribing Information, Tessalon (benzonatate), Pfizer, current revision. https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2010/011210s022lbl.pdf</ref>. A central component has been proposed but is not well characterized. The capsules must be swallowed whole, never chewed or sucked; the released local anesthetic produces rapid oropharyngeal numbness, choking, and in pediatric ingestions, cardiac arrhythmia and death<ref name="tessalon-label" />.<br />
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{{MedTemplate<br />
| generic = Benzonatate<br />
| brand = Tessalon, Zonatuss<br />
| structure =<br />
| classes = [[:Category:Antitussives|Antitussive]]<br />
| uses = <vote slug="cough-symptomatic-use">Symptomatic relief of cough</vote><br />
| starting_dose = 100-200 mg PO TID (max 600 mg/d)<br />
| preparations = 100, 150, 200 mg liquid-filled capsules ("perles")<br />
| fda_max = 600 mg/d<br />
| pill_id =<br />
| routes = Oral (swallow whole)<br />
| onset = 15-20 minutes<br />
| duration = 3-8 hours<br />
| halflife = Not well characterized<ref name="tessalon-label" /><br />
| bioavailability = Not well characterized<ref name="tessalon-label" /><br />
| pregnancy = Limited human data; animal reproductive studies not conducted{{citation needed}}<br />
| legal = [[USLegal:Prescription only|Rx-only]] in US<br />
| mechanism = <vote slug="benzonatate-mech-claim">Benzonatate anesthetizes pulmonary and pleural stretch receptors, blocking the afferent arc of the cough reflex; a central antitussive component has been proposed but is not well characterized.</vote> Pediatric ingestion (capsule chewed or punctured) releases the free local anesthetic and causes seizures, cardiac arrhythmia, and death<ref name="tessalon-label" />.<br />
}}<br />
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== References ==<br />
<references /></div>MDElliottMD