Carisoprodol precautions

List of precautions
Potentially hazardous tasks Drug dependence/withdrawal/abuse Additive effects Idiosyncratic reactions Allergic reactions Usage in pregnancy/lactation Usage in children Seizure disorders Patients with compromised liver/kidney function

Potentially hazardous tasks
Patients should be warned that Carisoprodol may have sedative properties and may impair the mental and/or physical abilities required for the performance of potentially hazardous tasks such as driving a motor vehicle or operating machinery. Return to top

Drug dependence/withdrawal/abuse
In postmarketing experience, cases of drug abuse, dependence and withdrawal have been reported. Carisoprodol should be used with caution in addiction-prone individuals. Return to top

Additive effects
Since the effects of Carisoprodol and alcohol or Carisoprodol and other CNS depressants or psychotropic drugs may be additive, appropriate caution should be exercised with patients who take more than one of these agents simultaneously. Concomitant use of Carisoprodol and meprobamate is not recommended. Return to top

Idiosyncratic reactions
On very rare occasions, the first dose of Carisoprodol has been followed by idiosyncratic symptoms appearing within minutes or hours. Symptoms reported include: extreme weakness, transient quadriplegia, dizziness, ataxia, temporary loss of vision, diplopia, mydriasis, dysarthria, agitation, euphoria, confusion, and disorientation. Symptoms usually subside over the course of the next several hours. Supportive and symptomatic therapy, including hospitalization, may be necessary. Return to top

Allergic reactions
Occasionally, within the period of the first to fourth dose of Carisoprodol allergic reactions have occurred in patients who have had no previous contact with the drug. Skin rash, erythema multiforme, pruritus, eosinophilia, and fixed drug eruption have been reported with Carisoprodol with cross reaction to meprobamate. Severe reactions have been manifested by asthmatic episodes, fever, weakness, dizziness, angioneurotic edema, smarting eyes, hypotension, and anaphylactoid shock. In case of allergic or idiosyncratic reactions to Carisoprodol, discontinue the drug and initiate appropriate symptomatic therapy, which may include epinephrine, antihistamines, and in severe cases corticosteroids. Return to top

Usage in pregnancy/lactation
The safety of this drug in pregnancy or lactation has not been established. Therefore, use of this drug in pregnancy, in nursing mothers, or in women of childbearing potential requires that the potential benefits of the drug be weighed against the potential hazards to mother and child. Carisoprodol is present in breast milk of lactating mothers at concentrations two to four times that of maternal plasma. This factor should be taken into account when use of the drug is contemplated in breast-feeding patients. Return to top

Usage in children
The efficacy and safety of Carisoprodol in patients under 12 years of age has not been determined. Return to top

Seizure disorders
There have been rare reports of seizures in postmarketing surveillance in temporal association with Carisoprodol. These events have involved patients with and without previous medical histories of seizures and have occurred during therapeutic use, with overdose and during withdrawal from prolonged use. The role of Carisoprodol in the causality of these seizures has not been established. Return to top

Patients with compromised liver/kidney function
Carisoprodol is metabolized in the liver and excreted by the kidney; to avoid its excess accumulation, caution should be exercised in administration to patients with compromised liver or kidney function. Return to top