Atropine Side Effects

Medically reviewed by Drugs.com. Last updated on Oct 20, 2024.

Applies to atropine: intramuscular solution.

Precautions

Your doctor will check your progress closely while you or your child are receiving this medicine. This will allow your doctor to see if the medicine is working properly and to decide if you should continue to receive it. Blood and urine tests may be needed to check for unwanted effects.

This medicine may cause heart problems. Check with your doctor right away if you or your child have chest pain or discomfort, dizziness, fainting, fast, slow, or irregular heartbeat, lightheadedness, or pounding or rapid pulse.

This medicine may make you sweat less, which can cause your body temperature to rise. Be careful when you exercise and during hot weather. You could overheat or get heat stroke. Check with your doctor right away if you or your child have dizziness, fast, shallow breathing, fast, weak heartbeat, headache, muscle cramps, pale, clammy skin, thirst, or extremely high fever or body temperature.

This medicine may cause eye problems, including acute glaucoma. Check with your doctor right away if you or your child have blindness, blurred vision, decreased vision, eye pain, headache, nausea or vomiting, or tearing. Your doctor may want you to have your eyes checked by an ophthalmologist (eye doctor).

This medicine may cause urinary retention (trouble passing urine or not fully emptying the bladder). Check with your doctor right away if you or your child have decreased in urine volume, decreased in frequency of urination, difficulty in passing urine, or painful urination.

Check with your doctor right away if you or your child have constipation, nausea, vomiting, or stomach pain. These may be symptoms of a serious stomach or bowel problem (eg, blockage).

This medicine may cause lung or breathing problems. Tell your doctor right away if you have an increase or thickening of mucous from the lungs.

This medicine may cause serious allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis, which can be life-threatening and require immediate medical attention. Check with your doctor right away if you or your child have cough, difficulty swallowing, dizziness, fast heartbeat, hives, itching, puffiness or swelling of the eyelids or around the eyes, face, lips, or tongue, skin rash, tightness in the chest, trouble breathing, or unusual tiredness or weakness.

Do not take other medicines unless they have been discussed with your doctor. This includes prescription or nonprescription (over-the-counter [OTC]) medicines and herbal or vitamin supplements.

Serious side effects of atropine

Along with its needed effects, atropine may cause some unwanted effects. Although not all of these side effects may occur, if they do occur they may need medical attention.

Check with your doctor immediately if any of the following side effects occur while taking atropine:

Other side effects of atropine

Some side effects of atropine may occur that usually do not need medical attention. These side effects may go away during treatment as your body adjusts to the medicine. Also, your health care professional may be able to tell you about ways to prevent or reduce some of these side effects.

Check with your health care professional if any of the following side effects continue or are bothersome or if you have any questions about them:

For healthcare professionals

Applies to atropine: compounding powder, injectable solution, intramuscular solution, intravenous solution, oral tablet.

General adverse events

Although individual reactions vary greatly, systemic doses are likely to produce the following effects:

0.5 mg: Slight dryness of the nose and mouth, bradycardia

1 mg: Greater dryness of nose and mouth with thirst; slowing, then acceleration of the heart; slight mydriasis

2 mg: Very dry mouth, tachycardia with palpitations, mydriasis, slight blurring of near vision

5 mg: Increase in the above symptoms plus disturbance of speech, difficulty swallowing, headache, hot, dry skin, restlessness with asthenia

10 mg and over: Above symptoms to extreme degrees, plus ataxia, excitement, disorientation, hallucinations, delirium, and coma

65 mg: May be fatal^[Ref]

Cardiovascular

• Common (1% to 10%): Tachycardia (arrhythmias, transient exacerbation of bradycardia)
• Very rare (less than 0.01%): Atrial arrhythmias, ventricular fibrillation, angina, hypertensive crisis
• Frequency not reported: Bradycardia, slowing then acceleration of heart, palpitations, circulatory collapse, blood pressure declines, sinus tachycardia, supraventricular tachycardia, junctional tachycardia, ventricular tachycardia, ventricular flutter, ventricular fibrillation, atrial arrhythmia, atrial fibrillation, atrial ectopic beats, ventricular premature contractions, bigeminal beats, trigeminal beats, nodal extrasystole, supraventricular extrasystole, asystole, cardiac syncope, prolongation of sinus node recovery time, cardiac dilation, left ventricular failure, myocardial infarction, intermittent nodal rhythm (no P wave), prolonged P wave, shortened PR segment, R on T phenomenon, shortened RT duration, widening and flattening of QRS complex, prolonged QT interval, flattening of T wave, repolarization abnormalities, altered ST-T waves, retrograde conduction, transient AV dissociation, increased blood pressure, labile blood pressure, weak or impalpable peripheral pulses, paradoxical atrioventricular block^[Ref]

Nervous system

• Very common (10% or more): Loss of taste
• Common (1% to 10%): Incoordination
• Uncommon (0.1% to 1%): Seizure, drowsiness
• Frequency not reported: Disturbance of speech, headache, asthenia, ataxia, coma, dizziness, tremor, locomotor difficulties, medullary paralysis, neurological abnormalities, lethargy, somnolence, syncope, runs of alpha waves on EEG, alpha waves (EEG) blocked upon opening eyes, seizures (generally tonic-clonic), abnormal movements, stupor, amnesia, diminished tendon reflexes, hyperreflexia, opisthotonos, Babinski's reflex/Chaddock's reflex, hypertonia, dysmetria, muscle clonus, sensation of intoxication, difficulty concentrating, vertigo, dysarthria, loss of taste, giddiness, staggering^[Ref]

Ocular

• Very common (10% or more): Visual disturbances (mydriasis, inhibition of accommodation, blurred vision, photophobia)
• Frequency not reported: Blurring of near vision, pupils poorly reactive to light, decreased contrast sensitivity, decreased visual acuity, cycloplegia, strabismus, heterophoria, cyclophoria, acute angle closure glaucoma, conjunctivitis, keratoconjunctivitis sicca, blindness, tearing, dry eyes/dry conjunctiva, irritated eyes, crusting of eyelids, blepharitis, increase in photic stimulation on EEG, increase in intraocular pressure^[Ref]

Gastrointestinal

• Very common (10% or more): Dryness of mouth (difficulty swallowing and talking, thirst), parasympathetic inhibition of gastrointestinal tract (constipation and reflux), inhibition of gastric secretion, nausea, vomiting, bloated feeling
• Frequency not reported: Abdominal distension, abdominal pain, paralytic ileus, decreased bowel sounds, delayed gastric emptying, decreased food absorption, dysphagia, retrosternal pain due to gastric reflux^[Ref]

Dermatologic

• Very common (10% or more): Anhidrosis, urticaria, rash
• Common (1% to 10%): Flushing
• Frequency not reported: Dry skin, hot skin, scarlatiniform rash, skin rashes, exfoliation, dry mucus membranes, warm skin, maculopapular rash, erythematous rash, sweating/moist skin, cold skin, cyanosed skin, salivation^[Ref]

Psychiatric

• Common (1% to 10%): Excitement, confusion, hallucinations
• Uncommon (0.1% to 1%): Psychotic reactions
• Frequency not reported: Restlessness, disorientation, delirium, loss of libido, delirium, depression, manic behavior, irritability, agitation, insomnia, agitation, paranoia, anxiety, mental disorders, mania, withdrawn behavior, behavior changes, nervousness^[Ref]

Other

• Common (1% to 10%): Hyperthermia
• Frequency not reported: Death, fever, heat intolerance, impairment of temperature regulation (especially in a hot environment), fatigue, hyperpyrexia, chest pain, weakness, feeling hot, signs of drowsiness on EEG^[Ref]

Genitourinary

• Common (1% to 10%): Inhibition of parasympathetic control of the urinary bladder, urinary retention
• Frequency not reported: Urinary hesitancy, impotency, difficulty in micturition, urine urgency, distended urinary bladder, bed wetting^[Ref]

Hypersensitivity

• Rare (less than 0.1%): Allergic reactions
• Very rare (less than 0.01%): Anaphylaxis
• Frequency not reported: Hypersensitivity^[Ref]

Respiratory

• Frequency not reported: Dryness of nose, respiratory failure, tachypnea, slow respirations, shallow respirations, inspiratory stridor, laryngitis, laryngospasm, pulmonary edema, subcostal recession, reduced bronchial secretions, formation of bronchial plugs^[Ref]

Metabolic

• Frequency not reported: Thirst, excessive thirst, dehydration, hyponatremia, hypokalemia, hypoglycemia, hyperglycemia^[Ref]

Musculoskeletal

• Frequency not reported: Muscle twitching^[Ref]

Local

• Frequency not reported: Pain at injection site, local swelling, injection site reaction, redness or other signs of irritation at the injection site^[Ref]

Hematologic

• Frequency not reported: Leukocytosis, elevated hemoglobin, elevated erythrocytes, low hemoglobin^[Ref]

Renal

• Frequency not reported: Elevated BUN^[Ref]

See also:

Further information

Atropine side effects can vary depending on the individual. Always consult your healthcare provider to ensure the information displayed on this page applies to your personal circumstances.

Note: Medication side effects may be underreported. If you are experiencing side effects that are not listed, submit a report to the FDA by following this guide.

Medical Disclaimer