Anticholinergic drugs are a class of medication that interfere with how your body uses a neurotransmitter called acetylcholine.

Neurotransmitters are like signals or messengers your cells and body systems use to communicate. Anticholinergic drugs essentially jam, limit or block that communication

What do anticholinergic drugs treat?

Over 600 medications have anticholinergic (pronounced ant-ee-KO-lin-er-jic) effects. For many of those drugs, that’s their main effect.

Examples of anticholinergic drugs and some conditions they treat include:

Atropine: treats slow heartbeat (bradycardia) and certain types of poisoning, like from industrial chemicals and chemical weapons (nerve gas)

Benztropine: treats Parkinson’s disease and parkinsonism

Diphenhydramine: the active ingredient in many over-the-counter sleep aids and allergy medications

Glycopyrrolate: treats severe, chronic drooling and is useful for reducing salivation during medical procedures like surgeries

Ipratropium: can help symptoms of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)

Oxybutynin: treats muscle spasms and related issues for people with conditions like benign prostatic hyperplasia and urge incontinence, and comes in topical forms for excessive sweating (hyperhidrosis)

Scopolamine: eases nausea and vomiting that happen with motion sickness

Solifenacin: can reduce the need to pee frequently that happens with urge incontinence

Tiotropium: also treats asthma and COPD

Tolterodine: can reduce bladder spasms that happen with urge incontinence

Trihexyphenidyl: reduces muscle tremors that can happen with Parkinson’s disease and parkinsonism

Vecuronium: paralyzes muscles to keep you from moving during surgeries and other medical procedures

Anticholinergics are drugs that block the action of acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter in the nervous system. They are used to treat a variety of conditions, including muscle spasms, bladder control issues, nausea, and motion sickness.

How they work
Anticholinergics block acetylcholine from binding to its receptors in nerve cells.
This inhibits the parasympathetic nervous system, which controls involuntary actions in the lungs, urinary tract, and gastrointestinal tract.

Uses

Bladder control: Anticholinergics can treat overactive bladder, which causes a frequent urge to urinate even when the bladder isn't full.

Muscle spasms: Anticholinergics can relieve muscle spasms in the stomach, intestines, and bladder.

Nausea and vomiting: Anticholinergics can prevent nausea, vomiting, and motion sickness.

Hyperhidrosis: Anticholinergics can treat excessive sweating in the palms, soles, underarms, and face.

Parkinson's disease: Anticholinergics can reduce tremors in Parkinson's disease.
Side effects
Anticholinergics can cause dry mouth, constipation, visual impairments, confusion, delirium, and cognitive decline.
They can also cause heat exhaustion and heat stroke.

Examples

Dicyclomine,

Trihexyphenidyl (Artane),

Benztropine (Cogentin),

Diphenhydramine (Benadryl),

Brompheniramine (Dimetapp), and

Dimenhydrinate (Dramamine).