Prescription medication · Phenothiazine Antiemetic
prochlorperazine
Also sold as Compazine. This medicine can help control severe nausea and vomiting.
Data updated 2026-05-15
- 26,613
- FDA reportsModerately reported
- 1
- Recall record
What the data shows
prochlorperazine (Compazine) is a prescription Phenothiazine Antiemetic, reported at a middle-of-the-pack volume (26,613 FDA reports).
Reporting volume reflects how widely a drug is used and studied, not how dangerous it is, a FAERS report documents a temporal association, never proof of cause.
prochlorperazine (Compazine) is a prescription Phenothiazine Antiemetic. This medicine can help control severe nausea and vomiting.
Prochlorperazine is a medicine that can help control severe nausea and vomiting. It can also treat schizophrenia and anxiety for a short time.
Verify with FDA → · CMS NADAC pricing →
Drug Pricing (NADAC)
Generic Price
$0.19/unit
Generic Available
Yes (21 manufacturers)
Pricing data from NADAC (CMS), effective December 18, 2024. Compare all drug costs →
What it does
This medicine can help control severe nausea and vomiting.
Common side effects
Drowsiness, Dizziness, Missed menstrual periods
Key warnings
This medicine can cause serious side effects, including Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome (NMS).
The sections below are summarized in plain English from prochlorperazine's FDA-approved prescribing information. They describe what the official label says, and are not personal medical advice.
How It Works
Prochlorperazine belongs to a class of drugs called phenothiazines. It works by affecting the balance of certain chemicals in your brain. This can help reduce nausea, vomiting, and the symptoms of schizophrenia and anxiety.
How to Take It
Take this medicine exactly as your doctor tells you. For nausea and vomiting, you may take one 5mg or 10mg tablet 3 or 4 times a day. Do not take more than 40mg per day unless your doctor tells you to. For anxiety, the usual dose is 5mg, 3 or 4 times daily, but do not take more than 20mg per day or take it for longer than 12 weeks.
This is a plain-language summary of prochlorperazine's FDA labeling, not individualized dosing advice. Ask a pharmacist or prescriber before changing how you take this medication.
Pregnancy & Breastfeeding
Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known if this medicine will harm your unborn baby. Talk to your doctor about the risks and benefits of taking this medicine while pregnant or breastfeeding.
This is a plain-language summary of prochlorperazine's FDA labeling, not individualized advice. Ask a pharmacist or prescriber about pregnancy or breastfeeding on this medication.
Missed Dose
If you miss a dose, take it as soon as you remember. If it is almost time for your next dose, skip the missed dose and continue with your regular schedule.
This is a plain-language summary of prochlorperazine's FDA labeling, not individualized advice. Ask a pharmacist or prescriber what to do about your specific missed dose.
Storage
Store at room temperature away from moisture and heat.
Side Effects (from patient reports)
Based on 26,613 FDA adverse event reports.
Most-reported reactions
Adverse reactions in FAERS for prochlorperazine, by number of reports
- Feeling sick to your stomach
Feeling sick to your stomach
3,262 reports
- Feeling very tired
Feeling very tired
2,706 reports
- Loose, watery stools
Loose, watery stools
2,321 reports
- Throwing up
Throwing up
1,843 reports
- Fever with low white blood cell count
Fever with low white blood cell count
1,832 reports
- Death
Death
1,703 reports
- Weakness 1,254
Weakness
1,254 reports
- Lung infection 1,149
Lung infection
1,149 reports
- Difficulty breathing 1,101
Difficulty breathing
1,101 reports
- Fever 1,022
Fever
1,022 reports
What this shows Bars show how often each reaction was reported, not how likely it is to happen, a report records a temporal association, never proof that the drug caused it.
Reports over time
Adverse-event reports filed for prochlorperazine each year to the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS).
Year-to-year volume tracks usage, prescribing, and scrutiny, not a change in per-patient risk. Source: FDA FAERS.
Where prochlorperazine sits
prochlorperazine has more FDA adverse-event reports than 61% of the drugs FAERS tracks. A high position reflects how widely a drug is used and watched, not how dangerous it is.
Percentile across all drugs PlainMeds tracks by FAERS report volume. The dot is prochlorperazine; the line is the median (50th percentile).
FDA Adverse Event Report Analysis
Detailed analysis of 26,613 reports from the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS). Reports span 1999–2025.
Total Reports
26,613
Reports Mentioning Death
3,717
14.0% of reports — not proof of cause
Hospitalization Reports
11,376
Top Indication
Product Used For Unknown Indication
Gender Distribution
Age Distribution
Most Reported Adverse Reactions (FAERS)
| # | Reaction | Reports |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | NAUSEA | 3,261 |
| 2 | FATIGUE | 2,706 |
| 3 | DIARRHOEA | 2,321 |
| 4 | VOMITING | 1,842 |
| 5 | FEBRILE NEUTROPENIA | 1,832 |
| 6 | DEATH | 1,705 |
| 8 | ASTHENIA | 1,254 |
| 9 | PNEUMONIA | 1,149 |
| 10 | DYSPNOEA | 1,101 |
| 11 | PYREXIA | 1,021 |
| 12 | DECREASED APPETITE | 1,013 |
| 13 | PAIN | 1,010 |
| 14 | HEADACHE | 973 |
| 15 | DIZZINESS | 962 |
| 16 | CONSTIPATION | 920 |
Reactions in Death Reports
Reactions in Hospitalization Reports
Source: FDA FAERS (Adverse Event Reporting System) FDA FAERS (Adverse Event Reporting System) Reports are voluntary and do not establish causation
Serious Warnings
This medicine can cause serious side effects, including Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome (NMS). NMS can cause high fever, muscle stiffness, confusion, and changes in breathing, heart rate, and blood pressure. Tell your doctor right away if you have any of these symptoms. Long-term use or high doses may cause tardive dyskinesia, a condition with uncontrollable muscle movements that may not go away.
Common Questions
Can children take this medicine?
Can I drink alcohol while taking this medicine?
What should I do if I experience muscle stiffness or spasms?
How long does it take for this medicine to start working?
Can I drive while taking this medicine?
What if I have a sore throat or signs of infection?
Can I take this for other types of anxiety?
What should I do if I feel restless or agitated after taking this medicine?
Is it okay to take this medication long term?
What do the tablets look like?
What are the common side effects of prochlorperazine?
What drug class is prochlorperazine?
Is prochlorperazine safe during pregnancy?
Has prochlorperazine been recalled?
Active Recalls
CGMP Deviations
Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Inc., USA
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What the FDA Data Shows for prochlorperazine
The FDA label for prochlorperazine (sold under brand names such as Compazine) classifies it as a prescription-only medication in the Phenothiazine Antiemetic class. This medicine can help control severe nausea and vomiting. Official labeling lists 6 commonly reported side effects, including Drowsiness, Dizziness, Missed menstrual periods.
Post-market surveillance from the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) captures real-world experience. For this drug, FAERS contains 26,613 voluntary reports. Interaction data is drawn directly from FDA-approved prescribing information. NADAC pricing from CMS shows a generic unit cost of $0.19.
Report counts do not establish causation, a FAERS entry documents a temporal association, not proof that the drug produced the outcome. Widely prescribed medications naturally accumulate more reports than niche therapies, so raw totals must be interpreted alongside total exposure. Shortage status, recall history (currently 1 recall record on file), and patent information further shape supply and switching decisions. This page summarizes public FDA data for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, always consult a licensed healthcare provider before starting, stopping, or changing any medication.
Data Sources
Drug labeling: FDA Drug Labels (SPL/DailyMed). Adverse events: FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS). Pricing: CMS National Average Drug Acquisition Cost (NADAC).
FAERS reports are voluntary and do not establish causation. Drug interactions are derived from FDA labeling and clinical references. Always consult a healthcare professional before making medication decisions.
Last updated: January 22, 2025
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
Data currency: FDA FAERS adverse-event reports through 2025, CMS NADAC acquisition-cost pricing effective December 2024, compiled and last refreshed May 2026. See our methodology for per-source dates and refresh cadence. Spot a figure that looks wrong? Report a correction.
All federal data sources used on this page
- FDA Orange Book - approved drug products with therapeutic equivalence. accessdata.fda.gov/cder/ob
- FDA DailyMed - NIH-hosted drug labeling for FDA-approved meds. dailymed.nlm.nih.gov
- FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) - post-marketing safety surveillance. fda.gov/drugs/faers
- NLM RxNorm - standardized clinical drug nomenclature. nlm.nih.gov/research/umls/rxnorm
- CMS Medicare Part B Drug Average Sales Price Files - federal drug pricing data. cms.gov/medicare/part-b-drugs/asp
- FDA Drug Shortages Database - current and resolved drug shortage tracking. accessdata.fda.gov/drugshortages