Advice For Patients: Pholcodine

Pholcodine-containing cough and cold medicines are being withdrawn from sale as a precaution and will no longer be available from pharmacies
If you are taking a cough medicine (including tablets and syrups), check the packaging, label or Patient Information Leaflet to see if pholcodine is a listed ingredient – if it is, and you have any questions, you can talk to your pharmacist who can suggest a different medicine suitable for you
There is evidence that using pholcodine-containing medicines leads to an increased risk of the very rare event of an allergic reaction (anaphylaxis) in patients who receive general anaesthesia involving neuromuscular blocking agents (NMBAs) during surgery
Tell your anaesthetist before you have surgery if you have taken pholcodine, particularly in the past 12 months, or think you may have taken a pholcodine-containing product
There is no increased risk of allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis, with other allergens following pholcodine use and the absolute risk in patients who have used pholcodine is very small, but patients should talk to a pharmacist, their GP or their surgical team if they have any questions

Published: Mar 16, 2023

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