Dextromethorphan - Adverse Effects

Adverse Effects

Side-effects of dextromethorphan use can include:

At normal doses:

• Sudden infant death syndrome
• body rash/itching (see below)
• nausea
• drowsiness
• dizziness
• Closed-eye hallucination
• Difficulty breathing

At dosages 12.5 to 75 times the recommended therapeutic dose:

• hallucinations
• dissociation
• vomiting
• blurred vision and/or double vision
• bloodshot eyes
• dilated pupils
• sweating
• fever
• bruxia
• hypertension
• shallow respiration
• diarrhea
• urinary retention
• muscle spasms

Dextromethorphan can also cause other gastrointestinal disturbances. Dextromethorphan had been thought to cause Olney's Lesions when administered intravenously; however, this was later proven inconclusive, due to lack of research on humans. Tests were performed on rats, giving them 50 mg and up every day up to a month. Neurotoxic changes, including vacuolation, have been observed in posterior cingulate and retrosplenial cortices of rats administered other NMDA antagonists such as PCP, but not with dextromethorphan. In many documented cases, dextromethorphan has produced psychological dependence in people who used it recreationally. However, it does not produce physical addiction, according to the WHO Committee on Drug Dependence.