Betahistine: What is it and what is it for?

What is betahistine?

Betahistineis a medicine classified as an active ingredient, which belongs to the group of antivertiginous drugswith effect on brain neurons, to correct certain conditions that intervene in the motor balance of the body. (1)

What is betahistine for?

• Thanks to its mechanism of action, betahistine is an analogue of histamine that acts by improving thepatient’s circulation in theinner ear and therefore decreases pressure in this important organ that is one of those responsible for the sense of balance, providingrelief from inner ear disorder, dizziness and hearing loss.
• It is used to treat:
  • Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV). (2)
  • Ménière’s disease characterized by the symptomatic presence of vertigo, tinnitus and progressive hearing loss.

Dosage and routes of administration of betahistine

Betahistine comesas an 8 mg, 16 mg, and 24 mgtablet or tablet with betahistine hydrochloride. The administrationis oraland the dosage for information purposes may be as follows:

• Adults: The recommended dose for adults is 24 to 48 mg, divided into 2 to 3 doses a day according to the doctor’s diagnosis.

What products contain betahistine?

Some of the medicines that contain betahistine are:

• Hearts®
• Betaserc®

Hearts®

• Serc® is a pharmaceutically manufactured medication, which has betahistine as its active principle and which is presented in tablets.
• It is used in the treatment of of reducing episodes of vertigo .
• If you want to know more about this medicine, see What is serc and what is it for? .

Betaserc®

• Betaserc® is a synthetic drug that uses betahistine hydrochloride in a concentration of 24 mg as the active ingredient.
• It is used in the treatment of Ménière’s Syndrome .

Betahistine Side Effects

Clinical studies indicate that the use of betahistine in a certain patient population may cause some of the following adverse effects :

• Possible allergic reactions from contact with any component of the formula.
• headache.
• Vomiting and abdominal pain .
• Bloating and intestinal inflammation and nausea.
• Risks of angioneurotic edema.
• Urticaria, exanthema and itching.

Important: If any of these symptoms appear during treatment with betahistine or another not included in the list, please stop using it and consult your doctor .

Betahistine Contraindications and Warnings

The use of betahistine is contraindicated in the following circumstances:

• Hypersensitivity to any of the components of the formula of this drug.
• Patients with pheochromocytoma.
• During the pregnancy period.
• During breastfeeding .

You should know: Before starting treatment with this medicine, provide all the information about your health history to your doctor.

Avoid if you have:

• History of hypersensitivity to betahistine.
• History of peptic ulcer or bronchial asthma without medical supervision.

Warnings:

• Pharmacological products such as betahistine, must be administered with prescription or medical prescription.
• Avoid driving vehicles or operating precision machinery during treatment with this drug.
• Laboratory results do not indicate the danger of betahistine with other drugs, however, it should not be administered in combination with other drugs without proper medical supervision.
• Keep this product out of the reach of children.