sodium selenite pentahydrate at a glance
Medicine class
Mineral supplement and source of selenium.
Licensed use
Proven selenium deficiency that cannot be corrected from food sources.
Available routes
Oral solution, or injection into a vein or muscle by a healthcare professional.
Monitoring
Blood or serum selenium is checked to assess response and avoid excess.
What is sodium selenite pentahydrate used for?
The selected products are licensed for:
Treating proven selenium deficiency when dietary sources cannot correct it.
Providing oral replacement or clinician-administered parenteral replacement, depending on the clinical situation.
How does sodium selenite pentahydrate work?
It supplies selenium for incorporation into selenoproteins. These include enzymes involved in antioxidant defence, redox control and thyroid-hormone metabolism, helping restore selenium-dependent functions impaired by deficiency.
sodium selenite pentahydrate preparations and strengths
Oral solution
Route: Oral
Strengths: 50 micrograms/mL, 100 micrograms, 500 micrograms
Injection
Route: Parenteral
Strengths: 50 micrograms/mL, 100 micrograms, 500 micrograms
How to take sodium selenite pentahydrate
Use the prescribed formulation exactly as directed. Measure the oral liquid with the supplied device, hold it in the mouth for about 30–60 seconds, then swallow. Opened containers are single-use; discard unused liquid. Injectable preparations are given into a vein or muscle by a healthcare professional.
Do not take the oral solution at the same time as vitamin C or other reducing substances.
Do not use oral liquid that is cloudy or in a damaged container.
Injection preparations must be checked for compatibility before mixing with infusion solutions.
sodium selenite pentahydrate side effects
Common or expected effects
- No common adverse effects are established for the oral solution when used as directed.
- Local pain has been reported after injection into a muscle; its frequency is unknown.
Get urgent medical advice
- Excess selenium may cause garlic-smelling breath, tiredness, nausea, diarrhoea or abdominal pain.
- Prolonged excess may cause abnormal hair or nail growth and peripheral nerve symptoms such as tingling or numbness.
sodium selenite pentahydrate in pregnancy
Human pregnancy data are limited. The product information does not expect harm when sodium selenite is used for proven deficiency, but treatment should be discussed with the prescriber or midwife and unnecessary selenium supplements avoided.
sodium selenite pentahydrate while breastfeeding
Selenium passes into breast milk. Replacement that corrects maternal deficiency is not expected to harm the breastfed infant, but the prescriber should know that the patient is breastfeeding, especially if the infant was premature or unwell.
sodium selenite pentahydrate interactions
The principal documented issue is a physical and chemical incompatibility rather than a conventional metabolic interaction.
Vitamin C and other reducing substances
They can convert selenite into insoluble elemental selenium, reducing availability. Do not take the oral solution simultaneously or mix them with injectable preparations.
Common questions about sodium selenite pentahydrate
Answers are fully visible for fast scanning and source review.
What is sodium selenite pentahydrate used for?
It replaces selenium in people with proven deficiency that cannot be corrected adequately through food.
Why are blood tests needed?
They confirm deficiency and show whether selenium levels are responding without becoming excessive.
Sources
These sources were used to prepare and review this medicine page.
Prepared and reviewed by the iatroX editorial team.