Promethazine Hcl
Brand names: Promethazine Hcl, Promethegan
At a glance
- Medicare prescriptions, 2024
- 831,533
- Medicare drug cost
- $8.5M
- Average cost per prescription
- $10.27
- Clinicians who prescribed it
- 31,324
Where it is prescribed
List the prescribers in any state, county, city or ZIP code →
What it is used for
Promethazine HCl Suppositories, USP are useful for: Perennial and seasonal allergic rhinitis. Vasomotor rhinitis. Allergic conjunctivitis due to inhalant allergens and foods. Mild, uncomplicated allergic skin manifestations of urticaria and angioedema. Amelioration of allergic reactions to blood or plasma. Dermographism. Anaphylactic reactions, as adjunctive therapy to epinephrine and other standard measures, after the acute manifestations have been controlled. Preoperative, postoperative, or obstetric sedation. Prevention and control of nausea and vomiting associated with certain types of anesthesia and surgery. Therapy adjunctive to meperidine or other analgesics for control of postoperative pain. Sedation in both children and adults, as well as relief of apprehension and production of light sleep from which the patient can be easily aroused. Active and prophylactic treatment of motion sickness. Antiemetic therapy in postoperative patients.
From the FDA-approved prescribing information (label dated November 2023). Full labels on DailyMed (opens in a new tab)
Boxed warning
WARNINGS WARNING: PROMETHAZINE HCL SUPPOSITORIES SHOULD NOT BE USED IN PEDIATRIC PATIENTS LESS THAN 2 YEARS OF AGE BECAUSE OF THE POTENTIAL FOR FATAL RESPIRATORY DEPRESSION. POSTMARKETING CASES OF RESPIRATORY DEPRESSION, INCLUDING FATALITIES, HAVE BEEN REPORTED WITH USE OF PROMETHAZINE HCL SUPPOSITORIES IN PEDIATRIC PATIENTS LESS THAN 2 YEARS OF AGE. A WIDE RANGE OF WEIGHT-BASED DOSES OF PROMETHAZINE HCl SUPPOSITORIES HAVE RESULTED IN RESPIRATORY DEPRESSION IN THESE PATIENTS. CAUTION SHOULD BE EXERCISED WHEN ADMINISTERING PROMETHAZINE HCL TO PEDIATRIC PATIENTS 2 YEARS OF AGE AND OLDER. IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT THE LOWEST EFFECTIVE DOSE OF PROMETHAZINE HCL BE USED IN PEDIATRIC PATIENTS 2 YEARS OF AGE AND OLDER AND CONCOMITANT ADMINISTRATION OF OTHER DRUGS WITH RESPIRATORY DEPRESSANT EFFECTS BE AVOIDED.
The FDA’s strongest warning on a label. It doesn’t mean the drug is unsafe for most people; talk to your doctor or pharmacist before stopping or changing any medicine.
Who prescribes it
- Family Medicine 30.9%
- Nurse Practitioners 20.3%
- Internal Medicine 18.5%
- Physician Assistants 7.5%
- Gastroenterology 3.5%
- Neurology 2.5%
- Hematology & Oncology 1.9%
- Pain Medicine 1.9%
- Orthopedic Surgery 1.7%
- General Practice 1.1%
- Emergency Medicine 1.1%
- General Surgery 0.7%
All prescribers, by place, name or specialty →
Share of Medicare prescriptions written by each specialty. Select one to list its prescribers.
Trend, 2019–2024
Medicare prescriptions fell 13% from 2019 to 2024.
Biggest change by state since 2019
- Kentucky +6%
- New Jersey +6%
- Utah −0%
- Minnesota −3%
- Alabama −4%
- Maine (smallest change) −38%
- California (smallest change) −28%
From CMS’s yearly state and national Part D summaries, which count every prescriber, including those CMS leaves out of its per-clinician data (fewer than 11 prescriptions). That is why these totals are higher than the count at the top of this page. Prescriptions include refills.
What it looks like
Pills from 4 makers on file. The same medicine can look different depending on who made it, so check the imprint (the letters and numbers on the pill) with your pharmacist if a refill looks different.
Amneal Pharmaceuticals LLC
| Strength | Looks like | Imprint |
|---|---|---|
| 6.25 mg / 5 mg phenylephrine hydrochloride / 10 mg codeine phosphate | yellow syrup | |
Cosette Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
| Strength | Looks like | Imprint |
|---|---|---|
| 12.5 mg | white bullet suppository | |
| 25 mg | white bullet suppository | |
Direct_rx
| Strength | Looks like | Imprint |
|---|---|---|
| 12.5 mg | white round tablet, 6 mm, scored to split in 2 | ZC 01 |
Pd-Rx Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
| Strength | Looks like | Imprint |
|---|---|---|
| 25 mg | white bullet suppository | |
Source: DailyMed (U.S. National Library of Medicine), from each maker’s FDA drug listing. A few makers are shown, not every one. Never take a pill you can’t identify; ask a pharmacist.
Industry payments about this drug
No industry payments to clinicians named this drug in 2025.
Recalls and shortages
Not on the FDA drug shortage list.
No FDA-reported recalls since 2020.
Sources: CMS Medicare Part D Prescribers by Provider and Drug (2024; prescriptions include refills, and CMS hides counts under 11 per prescriber); U.S. Food and Drug Administration, openFDA (drug labels, NDC directory, enforcement reports, drug shortages); CMS Open Payments 2025; ClinicalTrials.gov. General information only, not medical advice; not yet reviewed by our medical reviewer.