# Trihexyphenidyl in Nigeria Trihexyphenidyl has 20 active NAFDAC registrations in our October 2026 copy of the register, from 20 registration holders; 7 further listings have lapsed. - Source: https://ogbogwu.com/drugs/trihexyphenidyl/ - Drug class: Anticholinergic antiparkinsonian agent (Mental Health) - Also known as: Benzhexol, Artane, Trihexyphenidyl hydrochloride - Prescription required: yes - Last updated: August 2026 ## 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. ## What is Trihexyphenidyl? 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. 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 active registrations from about twenty 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? - 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 Always follow a doctor's or pharmacist's instructions; this is general reference information. - 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: Dry mouth — very common and often the limiting factor; Blurred vision; Constipation; Difficulty passing urine; Dizziness and drowsiness. Serious (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 Do not take if: Narrow-angle glaucoma; Urinary retention or significant prostate enlargement; Bowel obstruction, or severely reduced gut motility; Myasthenia gravis; Known hypersensitivity to trihexyphenidyl. 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. ## Brands in Nigeria Well-known NAFDAC-registered brands: EGMP Benzhexol Tablets (Evergreen Morning Star Pharmaceutical Ind. Ltd, made in Nigeria); Tekaxol Tablets (Teka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd, made in India); Oxazol-5 Tablet (New Heights Pharmaceuticals Ltd, made in India); Axzol Tablets (Phinifarms Pharmaceutical Limited, made in India). Full searchable brand list: https://ogbogwu.com/drugs/trihexyphenidyl/brands/ ## How to verify it is genuine 1. Check the NAFDAC number on the pack — EGMP Benzhexol carries A11-100502 and Tekaxol carries A4-100439 in our copy of the register. 2. Other registered products include Oxazol-5 (A4-6110) and Axzol (B4-0153). 3. Confirm any brand with our NAFDAC checker — around twenty-one companies hold active registrations, so a genuine benzhexol should be findable in the register. 4. Almost all registered products are 5mg tablets. If you were prescribed a smaller dose, ask the pharmacist how to divide it accurately rather than guessing. 5. Buy from a registered pharmacy. Benzhexol is misused at high doses in some settings, which makes loose tablets sold outside pharmacies a category worth avoiding. Verify any NAFDAC number free (no login): https://ogbogwu.com/nafdac-checker/ ## FAQs ### 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. ## Sources - NAFDAC Greenbook (official register of approved products in Nigeria) - British National Formulary (BNF) - Nigerian Standard Treatment Guidelines (Federal Ministry of Health)