What Is Trifluoperazine Used For?

Trifluoperazine uses are primarily concerned with treating schizophrenia and anxiety. The medication works by blocking or lessening the effects of dopamine (a chemical in the brain), which can become elevated in people with these conditions. It has been approved for treating schizophrenia in children as young as six years old. At this time, there are no off-label trifluoperazine uses.

Trifluoperazine Hydrochloride

An Overview of Trifluoperazine Uses

Trifluoperazine hydrochloride (Stelazine^®) is a prescription medicine known as a phenothiazine that has been licensed to treat the following conditions:

Schizophrenia
Anxiety (for short-term use only).

Trifluoperazine Uses for Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is one of the most confusing and disabling mental illnesses.

The term refers to a group of mental disorders that involve abnormal thinking. Although the causes of schizophrenia are not fully understood, it is currently thought that genetics and environmental factors play important roles. Depending on the type of schizophrenia (see Types of Schizophrenia), symptoms may include the following:

Hallucinations
Delusions
Thought disorders
Disorders of movement
Flat affect (immobile facial expressions, monotonous voice)
Lack of pleasure in everyday life
A diminished ability to initiate and sustain planned activity
Speaking infrequently, even when forced to interact
Poor executive functioning (the ability to absorb and interpret information and make decisions based on that information)
An inability to stay focused
Problems with working memory (the ability to keep recently learned information in mind and use it right away).

Although psychotherapy may be helpful for schizophrenia (see Psychosocial Therapy for Schizophrenics), medication is often essential to successful schizophrenia treatment. Trifluoperazine can help improve the symptoms of schizophrenia, although it cannot cure the condition.

(What Is Trifluoperazine Used For? Continued: Page 2)