Bisacodyl

What is Bisacodyl?

• Bisacodyl is an organic compound is a stimulant laxative used to treat constipation or bowel irregularity.

Bisacodyl skeletal

Bisacodyl ball-and-stick

What are the uses of this medicine?

• Bisacodyl is used for relief of occasional constipation and irregularity.
• This product generally produces bowel movement in 6 to 12 hours.
• Bisacodyl is often used for bowel cleansing before operations or colonoscopy.

How does this medicine work?

• Bisacodyl (bis ak’ oh dil) is a mild laxative that is available over-the-counter and is commonly used to treat mild constipation and bowel irregularity.
• Bisacodyl is believed to act by direct stimulation of intestinal peristalsis.
• Bisacodyl is a diphenylmethane derivative and is structurally similar to phenolphthalein.
• It is administered in an enteric coated form and is minimally absorbed, acting locally on the large intestine.

Who Should Not Use this medicine ?

• This medicine have no usage limitations.

Ask a doctor before use if you have:

• a sudden change in bowel habits that lasts more than 2 weeks.
• stomach pain, nausea or vomiting.

What drug interactions can this medicine cause?

• Tell your doctor and pharmacist what other prescription and nonprescription medications, vitamins, nutritional supplements, and herbal products you are taking or plan to take.

Be sure to mention the medications listed below:

• antacids
• If you are taking antacids, wait at least 1 hour before taking bisacodyl.

Is this medicine FDA approved?

• Bisacodyl has been in general use since the 1950s and is available in multiple forms including tablets of 5 mg, suppositories of 10 mg and as a liquid solution for oral use generically and under multiple trade names such as Dulcolax, Fleet’s enema, Correctal and Carter’s Little Pills.

How should this medicine be used?

Recommended dosage: Adults and children 12 years and over:

• Take 1 to 3 tablets in a single daily dose.

children 6 to under 12 years:

• Take 1 tablet in a single daily dose.

children under 6 years:

• Ask a doctor.

Administration:

• Bisacodyl comes as a tablet to take by mouth.
• It is usually taken the evening before a bowel movement is desired.
• Bisacodyl normally causes a bowel movement within 6 to 12 hours.
• Do not take bisacodyl more than once a day or for more than 1 week without talking to your doctor.
• Frequent or continued use of bisacodyl may make you dependent on laxatives and cause your bowels to lose their normal activity.
• If you do not have a regular bowel movement after taking bisacodyl, do not take any more medication and talk to your doctor.
• Swallow the tablets whole with a glass of water; do not split, chew, or crush them.
• Do not take bisacodyl within 1 hour after drinking or eating dairy products.
• If you are taking antacids, wait at least 1 hour before taking bisacodyl.

What are the dosage forms and brand names of this medicine?

This medicine is available in fallowing doasage form:

• As tablets of 5 mg, suppositories of 10 mg and as a liquid solution for oral use

This medicine is available in fallowing brand namesː

• Dulcolax/Durolax, Muxol, Fleet, Nourilax, Alophen, Correctol, and Carter's Little Pills

What side effects can this medication cause?

The most common side effects of this medicine include:

• abdominal pain
• bloating
• diarrhea
• faintness
• stomach discomfort

Bisacodyl may cause some serious side effects which may include:

• rectal bleeding

What special precautions should I follow?

• Bisacodyl has not been associated with serum enzyme elevations during therapy or with clinically apparent liver injury with jaundice.
• Do not use within 1 hour after taking an antacid or milk.
• Do not chew or crush tablet(s).
• When using this product you may have stomach discomfort, faintness and cramps.
• Ask a doctor if you have rectal bleeding or fail to have a bowel movement after use of a laxative. These could be signs of a serious condition.

What to do in case of emergency/overdose?

• In case of overdose, call the poison control helpline of your country. In the United States, call 1-800-222-1222.

• Overdose related information is also available online at poisonhelp.org/help.
• In the event that the victim has collapsed, had a seizure, has trouble breathing, or can't be awakened, immediately call emergency services. In the United States, call 911.

Can this medicine be used in pregnancy?

• Ask a health professional before use.

Can this medicine be used in children?

• Ask a doctor to use in children under 6 years.

What are the active and inactive ingredients in this medicine?

Active Ingredient:

• Bisacodyl

Inactive Ingredients:

• acacia, ammonium hydroxide, calcium carbonate, carnauba wax, colloidal anhydrous silica, corn starch, D&C yellow #10 aluminum lake, FD&C yellow #6 aluminum lake, hypromellose, iron oxide black, lactose anhydrous, magnesium stearate, methylparaben, polydextrose, polyethylene glycol, polyvinyl acetate phthalate, povidone, propylene glycol, propylparaben, shellac glaze, simethicone, sodium alginate, sodium benzoate, sodium bicarbonate, stearic acid, sucrose, talc, titanium dioxide, triacetin, triethyl citrate

Who manufactures and distributes this medicine?

Distributed By:

• Pharmacy Value Alliance, LLC
• East Lancaster Avenue,
• Wayne, PA

What should I know about storage and disposal of this medication?

• store at 25°C (77°F); excursions permitted between 15°-30°C (59°-86°F)
• avoid excessive humidity.

Antidiarrheal agents

Antidiarrheal agents include bulk forming agents, hydroscopic agents, bile acid resins, bismuth, inhibitors of intestinal motility, non-absorbed antibiotics and hormones. Bulk forming agents include methylcellulose; hydroscopic agents include pectin and kaolin; bile acid resins are cholestyramine, colestipol and colesevalam; inhibitors of intestinal motility include opioids such as diphenoxylate and loperamide. Antibiotics include rifamycin and rifaximin which are non-absorbed and are used for travelers' diarrhea. Hormones with antidiarrheal activity include octretide and somatostatin. Most antidiarrheal agents are active locally in the small intestine and colon and are largely not absorbed. Some, however, have been implicated in rare causes of liver injury (senna, cascara, cholestyramine). Telotristat is a relatively new agent that inhibits the synthesis of serotonin and is used specifically for the diarrhea of carcinoid syndrome.

• Cholestyramine
• Colesevelam
• Colestipol
• Crofelemer
• Difenoxin
• Diphenoxylate
• Kaolin
• Loperamide
• Methylcellulose
• Octreotide
• Pectin
• Rifamycin
• Rifaximin
• Somatostatin
• Telotristat

Antiemetics are a diverse group of medications that act at different points in the pathways that regulate nausea and vomiting. These include antihistamines, anticholinergic agents, phenothiazines, serotonin type 3 receptor blockers, centrally acting benzamides, cannabinoid receptor agonists, substance P antagonists and miscellaneous.

Anticholinergic Agents

• Hyoscyamine, Methscopolamine, Scopolamine

Antihistamines

• Cyclizine, Dimenhydrinate, Hydroxyzine, Meclizine, and Promethazine

Cannabinoid Receptor Agonists

• Dronabinol, Nabilone, Tetrahydrocannabinol
• Phenothiazines [See Antipsychotic Agents]
• Chlorpromazine, Prochlorperazine

Serotonin 5-HT3 Receptor Antagonists

• Alosetron, Dolasetron, Granisetron, Ondansetron, Palonosetron

Substance P/Neurokinin 1 Receptor Antagonists

• Aprepitant, Fosaprepitant, Rolapitant

Miscellaneous

• Dexamethasone, Metoclopramide, Trimethobenzamide

Acid peptic disease/antiulcer agents that include antacids, the histamine type 2 receptor blockers (H2 blockers), and the proton pump inhibitors (PPIs). These agents are some of the most commonly taken medications and are very well tolerated, most being available both by prescription and over-the-counter. While many of these drugs are approved for use in duodenal and gastric ulcer disease, their major use is for acid reflux and indigestion.

Histamine H2 Receptor Antagonists (H2 Blockers) Cimetidine, Famotidine, Nizatidine, Ranitidine

Proton Pump Inhibitors

• Dexlansoprazole, Esomeprazole, Lansoprazole, Omeprazole, Pantoprazole, Rabeprazole

Cathartics, laxatives or agents for constipation include bulk forming agents, osmotic agents, stool wetting agents, nonspecific stimulants, prokinetic agents and agents that increase fluid secretion. Many of these therapies are not systemically absorbed and none are considered particularly hepatotoxic. Naldemedine and naloxegol are opioid antagonists and are used to treat the constipation associated with opioid use.

• Bisacodyl
• Cascara Sagrada
• Castor Oil
• Docusate
• Fiber, Bran
• Lactulose
• Magnesium Sulfate
• Methylcellulose
• Naldemedine (Opioid Antagonist)
• Naloxegol (Opioid Antagonist)
• Plecanatide (for Chronic Idiopathic Constipation)
• Prucalopride (for Chronic Idiopathic Constipation)
• Senna

Inflammatory bowel disease encompasses several disorders, most commonly ulcerative colitis and Crohn colitis. Agents can be classified as 5-aminosalicyclic acid (5-ASA) based agents, immunosuppressive drugs, antitumor necrosis factor agents, corticosteroids, antibiotics and miscellaneous.

5-Aminosalicyclic Acid (5-ASA) Derivatives

• Balsalazide, Mesalamine, Olsalazine, Sulfasalazine

Immunosuppressive Agents

• Azathioprine, Mercaptopurine, Methotrexate

Tumor Necrosis Factor Antagonists

• Adalimumab, Certolizumab, Golimumab, Infliximab

Miscellaneous

• Metronidazole, Natalizumab, Vedolizumab

Irritable Bowel Syndrome Agents Antimuscarinics/Antispasmodics [See Anticholinergic agents

• Dicyclomine, Glycopyrrolate, Hyoscyamine, Methscopolamine

Prokinetic Agents - See Serotonin 5-ht4 receptor agonists Alosetron, Cisapride, Domperidone, Linaclotide, Lubiprostone, Metoclopramide, Plecanatide, Prucalopride, Tegaserod

Other

• Eluxadoline

• Dailymed label info on Bisacodyl
• FDA Bisacodyl

Bisacodyl Resources
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