Mebeverine
Mebeverine (sold as Colospa) relaxes the smooth muscle in your gut to ease the cramping and spasms that come with Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Colospa is the only product listed, in 135 mg and 200 mg capsules.
Key points
- Acts directly on gut muscle without slowing normal digestion, targeting Gastrointestinal Spasm rather than the whole bowel.
- Rare but serious allergic reactions including throat swelling and difficulty breathing have been reported.
- The 200 mg capsule is not recommended under 18, as safety data for younger patients is limited.
How does mebeverine work?
The exact way mebeverine calms gut muscle is not fully understood, but it appears to work through several routes at once: it reduces the flow of ions through muscle cell channels, blocks the reabsorption of noradrenaline, and has a mild local anaesthetic effect on the muscle itself. What sets it apart from older antispasmodics is that it acts locally on the bowel wall without producing the dry mouth, blurred vision or urinary retention that anticholinergic medicines cause. The 200 mg modified release capsule is absorbed quickly and releases the medicine over several hours. Colospa is listed under Digestive Health.