Atarax or Vistaril are considered hydroxyzine, which are medications that help with allergy treatment, nausea, and anxiety. Currently, Medscape says that if you’re going to use cannabis, you need to be cautious when combining this with hydroxyzine. That’s because it may cause some side effects including drowsiness that’s severe, dizziness, and also higher blood pressure and heart rate. This can trigger panic attacks, anxiety, and hyperventilation. If you want to use both, it’s best to just taper the use of the latter. 

What Hydroxyzine is 

This is an antihistamine that’s usually sold under the name Vistaril, Atarax, and other kinds of names. This is a first generation anticholinergic and sedative product, and also works as an antihistamine. You usually have this in tablet or liquid form, and topical is something that you put onto the skin, or through an injection that’s intramuscular. 

Hydroxyzine is something that fits in the piperazine class which is basically a compound that includes a ring that’s got six members, with two of the various nitrogen atoms that are at different positions. 

How this works 

Hydroxyzine is something that’s commonly used for hives, itching, and allergies, especially if you have contract dermatitis. Other types of uses include it being anti-anxiety, also anti-emetic to help with vomiting and nausea, especially if you’ve got motion sickness. 

This also is a mild sedative, so it can be like a tranquilizer, so it can help with anxiety management, and also other distress, especially those with neurosis. 

Hydroxyzine is good because it is potent, and it works directly onto the H1 receptors, working as an inverse agonist, which means that it stops the histamines in the body, relieving inflammation and itching. It also is a weak kind of antagonize of the serotonin receptors, and other adrenergic receptors. 

Benefits and drawbacks 

Right now, cannabis seems to work synergistic with some drugs that are kind of sedatives, including benzos, barbiturates, opioids, and also some forms of antidepressants. 

Right now, cannabinoids are great for modulating the system, and also reducing information, which can help with inflammatory cytokines, dampening them, especially if you have an immune response. It also can help reduce emetic effects, so if you feel nausea, this can help with that. It also can be used to taper off hydroxyzine if you dose this correctly. 

However, there are some risks that go into this. It can increase your blood pressure, but it also may case hypotension, or low blood pressure. Anxiety is very common in this, and it can cause hyperventilating or hallucinations, especially in cases that are rare. 

It does make your mouth dry. 

You also may find that you’re tried, and you want to sleep a whole lot. You may notice as well that your coordination, balance, and dizziness is very common after taking this, along with confusion. There are also other side effects that can happen with this, since it can mess up the GI tract, making you constipated, cause tinnitus, which is the ringing inside your ears, and finally, headaches. 

While these experiences are quite rare, it’s not something that should be totally discounted. If you do need to take both, the best thing for you to do, is to start tapering off the hydroxyzine. You may notice that it helps you more if you just use cannabis, getting off of the drug. Slowly taper this off. 

While this is great for any sorts of allergic reactions in the body, it can have negative effects, so be mindful of that before you use this, and keep it in mind when you try it as well.