haloperidol at a glance
Medicine class
First-generation butyrophenone antipsychotic and dopamine D2 receptor blocker.
Available forms
Oral solutions and short-acting injections administered by healthcare professionals.
Important safety issue
Can cause movement disorders and affect cardiac rhythm, especially in susceptible people or with interacting medicines.
What is haloperidol used for?
Licences differ by formulation. Main licensed uses include:
Schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder.
Moderate to severe mania and acute agitation associated with psychosis or bipolar I disorder.
Delirium after non-medicine measures have failed, with particular caution in frail older people.
Severe tic disorders, including Tourette's syndrome, and chorea associated with Huntington's disease when other approaches are unsuitable.
Persistent aggression or psychotic symptoms in selected people with dementia when non-medicine measures have failed and there is a risk of harm; this does not apply to every injectable product.
Selected paediatric uses, subject to product-specific ages and prior-treatment requirements.
Selected injection products: prevention or treatment of postoperative nausea and vomiting when alternatives are ineffective or not tolerated.
How does haloperidol work?
Haloperidol blocks dopamine D2 receptors. Reduced dopamine signalling can lessen hallucinations and delusions, while effects in motor pathways can cause stiffness, restlessness, tremor and other movement symptoms. It can also raise prolactin.
haloperidol preparations and strengths
Oral solution
Route: Oral
Strengths: 200 micrograms/mL, 1 mg/mL, 2 mg/mL, 5 mg/5 mL, 10 mg/5 mL
How to take haloperidol
Follow the product label and prescriber's instructions because oral solutions differ considerably in concentration. Measure liquid with the supplied device, not a household spoon. Halkid may be mixed only with water and should be taken immediately after mixing. Injections are administered into a muscle by healthcare professionals.
Check the medicine name, concentration and required volume whenever an oral solution is supplied.
Ask a pharmacist to demonstrate the oral syringe if its markings are unclear.
Do not drive or operate machinery until you know how haloperidol affects alertness; alcohol may worsen sedation.
haloperidol side effects
Common or expected effects
- Restlessness, stiffness, tremor, slowed or involuntary movements.
- Sleepiness, dizziness, headache, difficulty sleeping or agitation.
- Low blood pressure, including dizziness on standing.
- Dry mouth, increased saliva, constipation, nausea or vomiting.
- Weight change, sexual dysfunction, menstrual changes or milk secretion related to increased prolactin.
Get urgent medical advice
- High temperature, severe stiffness and altered consciousness.
- Fainting, palpitations or an irregular heartbeat.
- Persistent involuntary movements, particularly of the face or tongue.
- Severe muscle spasms or difficulty swallowing or breathing.
- Seizure, severe allergic reaction, blood-clot symptoms or marked muscle pain with dark urine.
haloperidol in pregnancy
Haloperidol can be used during pregnancy when a specialist considers it appropriate; do not stop it abruptly without review. Available human evidence does not show a clear increase in malformations, but exposure near delivery can cause newborn movement, breathing, feeding or withdrawal-type symptoms.
haloperidol while breastfeeding
Oral haloperidol may be used cautiously after individual assessment. For a full-term, healthy infant, monitor for unusual sleepiness, irritability, movement symptoms, feeding difficulty, poor weight gain and developmental progress.
haloperidol interactions
Check all prescribed, over-the-counter and herbal products. Important examples include:
Medicines that prolong the QT interval
Some antiarrhythmics, antibiotics, antidepressants, antipsychotics and methadone can increase the risk of dangerous cardiac rhythms; listed combinations are contraindicated.
CYP3A4 or CYP2D6 inhibitors
Azole antifungals, fluoxetine, paroxetine or ritonavir may increase haloperidol exposure and adverse effects, including QT prolongation.
CYP3A4 inducers
Carbamazepine, phenytoin, phenobarbital, rifampicin and St John's wort may reduce haloperidol exposure and effectiveness.
Common questions about haloperidol
Answers are fully visible for fast scanning and source review.
Can haloperidol be used for delirium?
Selected oral and injectable products are licensed for acute delirium after non-medicine measures have failed. Frail older people require especially careful cardiac and neurological assessment.
Is haloperidol licensed for children?
Certain oral solutions have restricted licences for specified ages and conditions. The selected short-acting injections are not established for people under 18.
Sources
These sources were used to prepare and review this medicine page.
Prepared and reviewed by the iatroX editorial team.