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What Causes Hallucinations While On Benzonatate And Levofloxacin?
Question: My 85 year old mother-in-law is being treated with Benzonate and Levfloxacin. She has COPD and has bronchontis. She is seeing spider webs and hallucinating. She saw the Dr. today but just called
me with these side effects. She is aware of this. Could these drugs cause this??? Does she
need to go to the emergency room
me with these side effects. She is aware of this. Could these drugs cause this??? Does she
need to go to the emergency room
Brief Answer:
Information
Detailed Answer:
Hello Ms. XXXXXXX
Hallucinations are listed as rare side effects of both benzonatate and levofloxacin. She should stop taking the benzonatate for sure (this is the cough suppressant) and I recommend that you call her doctor tonight (you will either get her doctor or the doctor on call for him/her) and tell them about this. They will likely prescribe a different antibiotic and cough suppressant. Azithromycin is another antibiotic that can be used for bronchitis, as can Augmenten. As a cough suppressant, the benzonatate can be replaced with guaifenesin with codeine.
I don't think she needs to go in to the ER, but I do think these meds should be stopped and replaced if necessary (if she has not recovered from the bronchitis). Sometimes if a person has started to recover from an infection and has not taken the entire course of antibiotic, it is ok to stop the antibiotic early if it is giving significant side effects. However if she is still sick, then a different antibiotic needs to be substituted.
I don't think it is possible to tell whether her symptoms are from the benzonatate or levofloxacin in this situation as they both are suspect.
I hope this helps. I expect she will recover from this in the next day after these medications leave her system.
Information
Detailed Answer:
Hello Ms. XXXXXXX
Hallucinations are listed as rare side effects of both benzonatate and levofloxacin. She should stop taking the benzonatate for sure (this is the cough suppressant) and I recommend that you call her doctor tonight (you will either get her doctor or the doctor on call for him/her) and tell them about this. They will likely prescribe a different antibiotic and cough suppressant. Azithromycin is another antibiotic that can be used for bronchitis, as can Augmenten. As a cough suppressant, the benzonatate can be replaced with guaifenesin with codeine.
I don't think she needs to go in to the ER, but I do think these meds should be stopped and replaced if necessary (if she has not recovered from the bronchitis). Sometimes if a person has started to recover from an infection and has not taken the entire course of antibiotic, it is ok to stop the antibiotic early if it is giving significant side effects. However if she is still sick, then a different antibiotic needs to be substituted.
I don't think it is possible to tell whether her symptoms are from the benzonatate or levofloxacin in this situation as they both are suspect.
I hope this helps. I expect she will recover from this in the next day after these medications leave her system.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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