Haloperidol: uses, dosing, side effects & brands

Haloperidol is a typical antipsychotic sold in the U.S. under 2 brand and generic names, for child behavior disorders, tourette syndrome and psychotic disorders. Below: what the FDA label says, every product that contains it, what the pills look like, and its recall record.

By the pharmaranks editorial teamReviewed against the FDA (openFDA label, NDC Directory & Enforcement) sourcesUpdated Jul 24, 2026How we research

Key facts

Drug class: Typical Antipsychotic
Treats (across its forms): Child Behavior Disorders, Tourette Syndrome and Psychotic Disorders
Available as: Injectable · Tablet
Sold as: 2 products — Haloperidol and Haldol Solutab
Prescription?: Prescription only
Generic available?: Yes
What the pharmacy pays: about $5 for a 30-count supply — not your price
Boxed warning: Boxed warning

How haloperidol is dosed

From the FDA label for Haloperidol (application ANDA218789). Other haloperidol products — different forms, different strengths — are dosed differently. Follow the label for the one you were prescribed.

There is considerable variation from patient to patient in the amount of medication required for treatment. As with all antipsychotic drugs, dosage should be individualized according to the needs and response of each patient. Dosage adjustments, either upward or downward, should be carried out as rapidly as practicable to achieve optimum therapeutic control. To determine the initial dosage, consideration should be given to the patient’s age, severity of illness, previous response to other antipsychotic drugs, and any concomitant medication or disease state. Children, debilitated or geriatric patients, as well as those with a history of adverse reactions to antipsychotic drugs, may require less haloperidol. The optimal response in such patients is usually obtained with more gradual dosage adjustments and at lower dosage levels, as recommended below. Clinical experience suggests the following recommendations: Oral Administration Initial Dosage Range Adults Moderate Symptomatology - 0.5 mg to 2 mg b.i.d. or t.i.d. Severe Symptomatology - 3 mg to 5 mg b.i.d. or t.i.d. To achieve prompt control, higher doses may be required in some cases. Geriatric or Debilitated Patients - 0.5 mg to 2 mg b.i.d. or t.i.d. Chronic or Resistant Patients - 3 mg to 5 mg b.i.d. or t.i.d. Patients who remain severely disturbed or inadequately controlled may require dosage adjustment. Daily dosages up to…

Haloperidol side effects

Cardiovascular Effects Tachycardia, hypotension, and hypertension have been reported. QT prolongation and/or ventricular arrhythmias have also been reported, in addition to ECG pattern changes compatible with the polymorphous configuration of Torsades de pointes, and may occur more frequently with high doses and in predisposed patients (see WARNINGS and PRECAUTIONS ). Cases of sudden and unexpected death have been reported in association with the administration of haloperidol. The nature of the evidence makes it impossible to determine definitively what role, if any, haloperidol played in the outcome of the reported cases. The possibility that haloperidol caused death cannot, of course, be excluded, but it is to be kept in mind that sudden and unexpected death may occur in psychotic patients when they go untreated or when they are treated with other antipsychotic drugs. CNS Effects Extrapyramidal Symptoms (EPS) EPS during the administration of haloperidol have been reported frequently, often during the first few days of treatment. EPS can be categorized generally as Parkinson-like symptoms, akathisia, or dystonia (including opisthotonos and oculogyric crisis). While all can occur at relatively low doses, they occur more frequently and with greater severity at higher doses. The symptoms may be controlled with dose reductions or administration of antiparkinson drugs such as…

Who shouldn’t take haloperidol

Haloperidol tablets are contraindicated in severe toxic central nervous system depression or comatose states from any cause and in individuals who are hypersensitive to this drug or have Parkinson’s disease.

Every haloperidol product we track (2)

Same active ingredient — different manufacturer, form, price and FDA recall record. That last one is what our independent score measures.

Haloperidol products
#	Drug	Rating	Type	Form	Generic?	Pharmacy pays
1	Haloperidol Boxed warning	68/100	Prescription	Injectable	Generic	$5	View →
2	Haldol Solutab	Not yet rated	Prescription	Tablet	Generic	$5	View →

What haloperidol pills look like

Imprint codes, colour and shape from the FDA’s labelling data. Match the imprint on your pill — or search any imprint.

Haloperidol pill imprints
Imprint	Strength	Colour	Shape	Maker
ZC;07	5 mg	green	oval	—
15;11	0.5 mg	white	round	—
15;12	1 mg	yellow	round	—
15;13	2 mg	pink	round	—

Haloperidol recalls

From the FDA Enforcement database. A recall covers specific lots — not the drug as a whole.

How long haloperidol keeps

No haloperidol label we read sets a separate limit for after opening, but they do specify how it must be stored — and the stability behind any date assumes those conditions.

Does haloperidol expire? The in-use limits and storage rules from its labels

Haloperidol and breastfeeding

From LactMed, the US National Library of Medicine’s Drugs and Lactation Database — quoted, not rewritten.

Limited information indicates that maternal doses of haloperidol up to 10 mg daily produce low levels in milk and usually do not affect the breastfed infant. Very limited long-term follow-up data indicate no adverse developmental effects when haloperidol is used alone. However, use with other antipsychotic drugs occasionally might negatively affect the infant. One expert guideline recommends against using haloperidol during breastfeeding, but a safety scoring system finds haloperidol possible to use cautiously during breastfeeding. Monitor the infant for drowsiness and developmental milestones, especially if other antipsychotics are used concurrently. Monitor infants exposed to haloperidol decanoate via human milk for excessive sedation, irritability, poor feeding, and extrapyramidal symptoms (tremors and abnormal muscle movements).

Full LactMed record for haloperidol: levels in milk, effects in breastfed infants, and the drugs it would consider instead

National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, record revised November 15, 2025. LactMed states its information is not a substitute for professional judgement.

What people report to the FDA about haloperidol

The FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) collects reports from patients and clinicians. It holds 26,987 reports naming haloperidol, and the FDA flagged 93% of those reports as serious. The effects reported most often — leaving out reports about overdose, misuse or the condition being treated, which dominate the raw list for common medicines:

neuroleptic malignant syndrome1,822 reports
weight increased1,467 reports
extrapyramidal disorder1,410 reports
agitation956 reports
somnolence919 reports
pyrexia895 reports
confusional state833 reports
delirium819 reports

Read these as a signal, not a rate. A report does not mean haloperidol caused the effect — anyone can file one, and many describe people taking several medicines for several conditions. Crucially there is no denominator: FAERS does not record how many people took the drug, so these counts cannot be turned into “X% of patients” — a bigger number often just means a more widely used or more talked-about drug. Duplicates exist, and publicity drives reporting. For what is actually established, read the FDA label section above.

Source: openFDA drug/event (FAERS), retrieved July 25, 2026.

Related calculators

QTc calculator (this drug can prolong the QT interval) →How long it stays in your system →

Frequently asked questions

What is haloperidol?

Haloperidol is a typical antipsychotic used to treat Child Behavior Disorders, Tourette Syndrome, Psychotic Disorders, Schizophrenia.

What kind of drug is haloperidol?

The FDA classifies haloperidol as a typical antipsychotic. If you are checking whether it is safe to combine with something else, the class is what matters — two drugs from the same class usually should not be stacked.

Can you take haloperidol with other medicines?

It depends on the medicine. We check it against the FDA labels rather than guessing: our interaction checker searches each drug's own label for the other and quotes what it says, naming the section it came from. Run haloperidol against whatever else you take — and remember that a label not naming a drug is not the same as that combination being safe.

What brand names is haloperidol sold under?

We track 2 haloperidol-containing products in the U.S.: Haloperidol and Haldol Solutab. They are the same active ingredient; they differ in form, manufacturer, price and FDA recall record.

What forms does haloperidol come in?

Across the brands we track, haloperidol is currently marketed as injectable and tablet, per the FDA's National Drug Code Directory. Each form is dosed differently — follow the label for the exact product you were prescribed.

Is there a generic haloperidol?

Yes. Our catalog lists 1 generic haloperidol product alongside the brand versions. A generic has the same active ingredient and must meet the FDA's bioequivalence standard; it usually costs less. Ask your pharmacist which one your plan covers.

Has haloperidol been recalled?

The FDA's Enforcement database lists at least 5 recall records whose product description mentions haloperidol. The most recent: Haloperidol Lactate Injection (Oct 10, 2025). A recall applies to specific lots, not to the drug as a whole — check the record for the affected lot numbers.

Cite this page

APA: pharmaranks. (2026, July 24). Haloperidol: uses, dosing, side effects & brands. https://pharmaranks.com/drugs/haloperidol
MLA: “Haloperidol: uses, dosing, side effects & brands.” pharmaranks, 24 July 2026, https://pharmaranks.com/drugs/haloperidol.

We summarise public FDA and NIH sources — for a clinical claim, cite the primary source we link to as well.

Sources: FDA openFDA drug label, National Drug Code Directory, and Enforcement (recall) database. This page reproduces public FDA data and is not medical advice. Dosing is set by your prescriber.

Read the full FDA label for haloperidol on DailyMed (NIH) ↗ — including its boxed warning in full.