How many brands of Trihexyphenidyl are registered with NAFDAC?

Our copy of the NAFDAC Green Book lists 27 Trihexyphenidyl products, held by 27 registration holders. That count includes combination products and listings that are no longer active, so check the status of any individual pack in the Green Book before relying on it. You can see the full list, with registration numbers, on our Trihexyphenidyl brands page.

Is Trihexyphenidyl made in Nigeria?

Of the 21 active Trihexyphenidyl registrations whose factory country our Green Book copy records, 1 is made in Nigeria and 20 are imported. The main sources outside Nigeria are India (20). Where a product is made is recorded separately from who holds its registration, and the two are often different companies.

Why was I given benzhexol with my mental health medicine?

Because antipsychotic medicines such as haloperidol and chlorpromazine can cause movement side effects — tremor, muscle stiffness, restlessness, and sometimes sudden painful spasms of the neck or jaw — and benzhexol relieves them. It is not treating your mental health condition; it is treating the side effects of the drug that is. In Nigeria the two are often dispensed together automatically, which is convenient but worth questioning: not everyone needs it, and it is not meant to be taken forever without review.

Is benzhexol the same as trihexyphenidyl?

Yes — benzhexol is the older British name and trihexyphenidyl is the international one, for the same medicine. Almost every product registered in Nigeria uses 'benzhexol' on the pack, which is why searching for trihexyphenidyl can turn up nothing while the shelf is full of it. Artane is the original brand name, used mainly abroad.

Do I need to take benzhexol forever?

Often not, and this is worth raising with your psychiatrist. Movement side effects are commonest in the first weeks of antipsychotic treatment and frequently settle, so a benzhexol course started then can sometimes be tapered off later. Long-term anticholinergic use carries real costs — dry mouth, constipation, urinary problems, and in older people memory impairment and confusion. If a dose reduction or a change of antipsychotic would remove the need, that is usually the better answer than a second permanent tablet.

Can benzhexol treat the involuntary movements I have had for years?

Probably not, and it may make them worse. Late-onset involuntary movements of the face, tongue and limbs after long antipsychotic use are called tardive dyskinesia, and it is a different problem from the early stiffness and tremor benzhexol helps. Anticholinergics do not treat tardive dyskinesia and can aggravate it. If new involuntary movements have appeared after months or years of treatment, that needs a psychiatrist's assessment, not more benzhexol.

Is benzhexol addictive?

It is not addictive in the way opioids are, but it is misused. At doses above the therapeutic range it can produce euphoria, and at higher doses hallucinations, and there are documented patterns of misuse in several countries including within Nigeria. It also has a withdrawal syndrome after long use, so it should not be stopped abruptly. Both facts argue for it being prescribed deliberately and reviewed, rather than added automatically and continued indefinitely.

How much is benzhexol in Nigeria?

It is one of the cheapest prescription medicines on the market — an old off-patent drug with around twenty-one companies holding active registrations, nearly all of them 5mg tablets. Check the price section of this page for current sampled figures. Because it is so cheap and so routinely dispensed, cost is rarely the issue; whether it is still needed usually is.

Trihexyphenidyl in Nigeria: 21 NAFDAC-Registered Brands, Dosage & Uses

Trihexyphenidyl — known throughout Nigeria as benzhexol, and abroad as Artane — is an anticholinergic that restores the balance between two chemical signals in the brain's movement circuits. When dopamine activity falls, acetylcholine activity becomes relatively dominant, and the result is tremor, muscle stiffness and slowness. Blocking some of that acetylcholine signal restores the balance and the movements ease.

In the NAFDAC register

27 registered products

from 27 registration holders

In force21 active · 6 lapsed

Where made1 in Nigeria · 20 imported

India20

Nigeria1

See all 27 registered brands →

What it costs online

Price varies — check with a pharmacy. This drug has not yet appeared in our fortnightly sampling of Nigerian online pharmacies.

Brands of Trihexyphenidyl in Nigeria

Comes as

Tablet5 mg· 21 makers

Those 27 products from 27 registration holders include combination products and older listings; below are the most common brands.

EGMP Benzhexol Tablets
Evergreen Morning Star Pharmaceutical Ind. Ltd
5mg · Tablet · A11-100502
Tekaxol Tablets
Teka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd
5mg · Tablet · A4-100439
Oxazol-5 Tablet
New Heights Pharmaceuticals Ltd
5mg · Tablet · A4-6110
Axzol Tablets
Phinifarms Pharmaceutical Limited
5mg · Tablet · B4-0153

Brand Name	Manufacturer	Strength	Form	NAFDAC Reg. No.
EGMP Benzhexol Tablets	Evergreen Morning Star Pharmaceutical Ind. Ltd	5mg	Tablet	A11-100502
Tekaxol Tablets	Teka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd	5mg	Tablet	A4-100439
Oxazol-5 Tablet	New Heights Pharmaceuticals Ltd	5mg	Tablet	A4-6110
Axzol Tablets	Phinifarms Pharmaceutical Limited	5mg	Tablet	B4-0153

See all 27 registered Trihexyphenidyl brands

Trihexyphenidyl Price in Nigeria

Trihexyphenidyl prices in Nigeria vary by brand, strength, and where you buy it. Confirm the current price with a licensed pharmacy, and always check the product is NAFDAC-registered before you pay.

We show a price here once it appears in our monthly sampling of Nigerian online pharmacies (MedPlus, HealthPlus), or when we have a reliable market figure. For now, confirm the current price directly with a licensed pharmacy.

How to Verify Your Trihexyphenidyl is Genuine

1Check the NAFDAC number on the pack — EGMP Benzhexol carries A11-100502 and Tekaxol carries A4-100439 in our copy of the register.
2Other registered products include Oxazol-5 (A4-6110) and Axzol (B4-0153).
3Confirm any brand with our NAFDAC checker — around twenty-one companies hold active registrations, so a genuine benzhexol should be findable in the register.
4Almost all registered products are 5mg tablets. If you were prescribed a smaller dose, ask the pharmacist how to divide it accurately rather than guessing.
5Buy from a registered pharmacy. Benzhexol is misused at high doses in some settings, which makes loose tablets sold outside pharmacies a category worth avoiding.

Use our NAFDAC Checker tool

Where to Buy

Buying Trihexyphenidyl by the carton

Cartons are bought at Nigeria's four open drug markets. Each guide names the sellers there you can contact, and how to buy safely:

No shop we list has Trihexyphenidyl on its confirmed product list yet — the market guides still tell you where the trade happens and how to buy there safely.

Wherever you buy, buy only from licensed pharmacies and verified distributors — not roadside vendors — and verify the pack's NAFDAC registration before you pay. Buying Trihexyphenidyl in bulk or for resale? See how to buy medicines in bulk in Nigeria safely.

Need Trihexyphenidyl in bulk, or can't find it near you?

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What is Trihexyphenidyl?

It was developed for Parkinson's disease, but that is not mostly what it does here. In Nigerian practice, benzhexol is overwhelmingly prescribed alongside antipsychotic medicines such as haloperidol and chlorpromazine, to control the movement side effects those drugs cause. That pairing is so routine that the two are often dispensed together as a matter of course.

Our copy of the NAFDAC register shows around twenty-one active registrations from about twenty-one companies — a completely flat field, every company holding a single 5mg tablet, most of them plainly named Benzhexol. It is cheap and widely available. It is also more habit-forming than its reputation suggests: at higher doses it produces euphoria and hallucinations, and it is misused in some settings, which is a reason it should be prescribed deliberately rather than reflexively.

What is Trihexyphenidyl used for?

In Nigeria, Trihexyphenidyl is commonly used for:

Movement side effects of antipsychotic medicines — tremor, stiffness, restlessness — its dominant use in Nigeria
Acute dystonic reactions: sudden painful spasms of the neck, jaw, tongue or eyes, often within days of starting an antipsychotic
Drug-induced parkinsonism
Parkinson's disease, as an adjunct where tremor dominates, usually in younger patients
Not effective for tardive dyskinesia — the late-onset involuntary movements — which it can make worse

Dosage

IMPORTANT

Always follow your doctor's or pharmacist's instructions. The information below is for general reference only.

Adults

Treatment starts low, typically 1mg on the first day, increasing gradually to a usual range of 5mg to 15mg daily in divided doses depending on response and tolerance. It is taken with or after food. Where it is given to prevent dystonia at the start of antipsychotic treatment, the course is often intended to be short — the movement side effects frequently settle after the first weeks — and it should be reviewed rather than simply continued for years.

Children

Trihexyphenidyl is used in children only under specialist supervision, most often for dystonia, and dosed by weight. Children are more sensitive to its effects on the brain.

Elderly

Older adults tolerate anticholinergics poorly. Confusion, memory impairment, constipation, urinary retention and falls are all more likely, and the cumulative anticholinergic burden of several such medicines together is a recognised contributor to cognitive decline. Where an older person needs treatment for drug-induced parkinsonism, reducing or changing the antipsychotic is usually the better answer.

Do not stop benzhexol suddenly after long use — the movement symptoms it was suppressing can rebound sharply, and there is a withdrawal syndrome of its own. If it is to be stopped, it is tapered. The more important question is whether it should be prescribed indefinitely at all: taking a second drug permanently to manage the side effects of the first is worth reviewing with a psychiatrist, because a change of antipsychotic or a dose reduction sometimes removes the need entirely.

Side Effects

Common side effects

•Dry mouth — very common and often the limiting factor
•Blurred vision
•Constipation
•Difficulty passing urine
•Dizziness and drowsiness

Serious side effects — seek medical help immediately

Confusion, memory impairment, agitation or hallucinations, particularly in older adults
Acute angle-closure glaucoma — sudden eye pain with blurred vision and halos around lights
Complete urinary retention, more likely in men with prostate enlargement
Heat stroke — anticholinergics reduce sweating, which matters in Nigerian heat
Rapid heartbeat
Misuse and dependence at higher doses, with euphoria and hallucinations

When to see a doctor

Seek urgent care for sudden eye pain with blurred vision or halos, for an inability to pass urine, and for confusion or hallucinations that are new. In hot weather, seek help for a high body temperature with hot dry skin and no sweating. Report worsening or new involuntary movements, since those may be tardive dyskinesia, which benzhexol does not treat and can aggravate.

Warnings & Precautions

Do not take Trihexyphenidyl if you have:

Narrow-angle glaucoma
Urinary retention or significant prostate enlargement
Bowel obstruction, or severely reduced gut motility
Myasthenia gravis
Known hypersensitivity to trihexyphenidyl

Drug interactions

•Other anticholinergic medicines — including promethazine, amitriptyline and some antipsychotics — the effects add up, and the total burden is what causes confusion and retention
•Alcohol and sedatives — additive drowsiness
•Metoclopramide — its effect on the gut is opposed by anticholinergics
•Levodopa — dose adjustments may be needed in Parkinson's disease
•Medicines that raise body temperature or reduce sweating — combined heat risk

Pregnancy & Breastfeeding

Safety in pregnancy is not well established and trihexyphenidyl is used only where clearly necessary. It may reduce milk production and passes into breast milk. Anyone taking it alongside an antipsychotic and planning a pregnancy should review the whole regimen with a psychiatrist rather than stopping either drug alone.

Related Resources for Trihexyphenidyl

Guides, articles, and tools related to Trihexyphenidyl and other mental health medicines in Nigeria.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources

•NAFDAC Greenbook — the official database of all products registered with Nigeria's National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control. Brand-level NAFDAC numbers for Trihexyphenidyl on this page were cross-referenced against the Greenbook.
•British National Formulary (BNF) dosing and interaction guidance for Trihexyphenidyl.
•Nigerian Standard Treatment Guidelines (Federal Ministry of Health).

Last updated: 11 August 2026

Daily puzzle: Meddle — pair five brands with their medicines. New game at midnight.

Trihexyphenidyl