Docusate sodium 0.5% ear drops
Available from a pharmacy with pharmacist advice
Docusate, or dioctyl sulfosuccinate, is a stool softener indicated for the treatment of constipation[A32201].
Official documents, adverse reaction reporting, and safety monitoring
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Official medicine documents
Safety monitoring data
Yellow Card reports
The MHRA Yellow Card scheme collects reports of suspected side effects from healthcare professionals and patients. View the Drug Analysis Profile (iDAP) for real-world adverse reaction data.
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Suspected adverse reactions reported for Docusate
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Report a side effect
Submit a Yellow Card report to the MHRA
Data from the MHRA Yellow Card scheme. A reported reaction does not necessarily mean the medicine caused it. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
EudraVigilance
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) collects suspected adverse reaction reports from across the EU/EEA through the EudraVigilance system. Search for safety data on this medicine.
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Suspected adverse reactions reported for Docusate
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EudraVigilance data is published by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). A suspected adverse reaction is not necessarily caused by the medicine.
1 branded products available
MHRA licensed products
View all licensed products for Docusate on the MHRA register
Waxsol ear drops
This is the NHS Drug Tariff indicative price used for reimbursement purposes. It may not reflect the price paid by patients or pharmacies.
View full Drug TariffSource: NHS Drug Tariff via NHSBSA. Derived from dm+d VMPP (Virtual Medicinal Product Pack) pricing data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Therapeutically similar medicines
Similarity is based on WHO Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) classification and on a factual NHS dm+d therapeutic-grouping code prefix. Source data: NHS dm+d via TRUD (OGL v3.0), WHO ATC/DDD Index.
NHS prescribing volume and spending trends
Guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence
NICE clinical guidance(1)
Source: National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Check stock at pharmacies and supply information
Pharmacy stock checkers
Search for this medicine at major UK pharmacy chains. These links open the retailer's own website — results depend on their current online catalogue.
Supply & safety information
Official UK regulator monitoring and safety alerts
Pharmacy links redirect to the retailer's own search and do not represent real-time stock levels. Shortage and safety information sourced from MHRA drug safety updates (gov.uk, Crown Copyright under OGL v3.0).
Codes for healthcare professionals and prescribing systems
These codes are used by healthcare IT systems and prescribers to identify this medicine.
NHS UK identifiers
SNOMED CT and dm+d codes from NHS TRUD (Technology Reference data Update Distribution), licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. BNF code shown is the factual mapping value distributed by NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) in the dm+d supplementary file under OGL v3.0; it is not affiliated with, nor licensed from, the publishers of the British National Formulary.
Active and completed clinical studies from ClinicalTrials.gov
Source: ClinicalTrials.gov, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health (NIH). Data accessed via ClinicalTrials.gov API v2. Trial information is provided for research purposes and does not constitute medical advice.
Academic studies and reviews for this medicine's active substance
Showing the 50 most relevant studies.
Reviews & meta-analyses: 4 · Randomised trials: 6 · Trials: 1 · 1998–2026
Showing the 50 most relevant studies, sorted by most relevant.
Virginia Hurdon, Raymond Viola, Cori Schroder
Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 2000
- Chronic Disease
- Constipation
- Dioctyl Sulfosuccinic Acid
Abdul Mounaem M. Majzoub, Alexander K. Malik, Mustafa Gandhi, et al.
Gastroenterology, 2024
Yoko Tarumi, Mitchell P. Wilson, Olga Szafran, et al.
Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 2012
- Constipation
- Dioctyl Sulfosuccinic Acid
- Senna Extract
Teresa Ruston
Canadian Oncology Nursing Journal, 2013
- Analgesics, Opioid
- Cathartics
- Constipation
Abby Stevens
50 Pharmacotherapy Studies Every Palliative Practitioner Should Know, 2025
Mcrorie, Daggy, Morel, et al.
Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics, 1998
- Cathartics
- Chronic Disease
- Constipation
Adam J. Singer, Ed Sauris, Asa Viccellio
Annals of Emergency Medicine, 2000
- Administration, Topical
- Cerumen
- Dioctyl Sulfosuccinic Acid
P. Piromchai, Chanticha Laohakittikul, Sirichoke Khunnawongkrit, et al.
Otology & Neurotology, 2020
- Cerumenolytic Agents
- Cerumen
- Dioctyl Sulfosuccinic Acid
Minita S. Patel, Megan O. Schimpf, D. O’Sullivan, et al.
American journal of obstetrics and gynecology, 2010
- Phytotherapy
- Senna Plant
- Constipation
Valerie N. Whatley, Carey L. Dodds, Ronald I. Paul
Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 2003
- Cerumen
- Therapeutic Irrigation
- Chlorobutanol
Sources: aggregated from Europe PMC (EMBL-EBI), OpenAlex, Crossref, PubMed and other open scholarly databases. Retracted articles are excluded. Study information is provided for research purposes and does not constitute medical advice.
Pharmacology and chemical data from DrugBank
Key facts
Drug status
Approved
Major interactions
None known
Half-life
Not available
Mechanism
Recent studies suggest that docusate's mechanism of action is due largely to it'…
Food interactions
None known
Human targets
None mapped
Data: DrugBank · CC BY-NC 4.0
Pharmacokinetics at a glance
Absorption
[L1801][L5912]
As the actions of docusate are local and it is not absorbed, the pharmacokinetic parameters are not available.
[L5912]…
Elimination
[L1801][L5912]
Pharmacokinetic data: DrugBank · CC BY-NC 4.0
[A176984]
Though recently, pressure has been building to end the use of docusate over concerns of efficacy.
[A176972][A176987][L5912]
Known interactions with other medications. Always consult a healthcare professional.
Showing 50 of 393 interactions
Docusate’s mechanism of action was investigated in 1985 on healthy patients.[A32201] Docusate was added directly to the jejunum based on calculated concentrations of docusate in the jejunum.[A32201] At this concentration, there was an increase in secretion of water, sodium, chloride, and potassium as well as a decrease in absorption of glucose and bicarbonate[A32201]. Based on in vitro data, the authors suggested this effect was due to an increase in intracellular cyclic AMP either directly through docusate or E series prostaglandins.[A32201]
How the body processes this drug — absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination
[L1801][L5912]
As the actions of docusate are local and it is not absorbed, the pharmacokinetic parameters are not available.
[L5912]
[L1801][L5912]
Chemical identifiers
CAS, UNII, InChI Key and database cross-references
Show
Chemical identifiers
CAS, UNII, InChI Key and database cross-references
Linked compound data from DrugBank Open Data (CC BY-NC 4.0)
Docusate
DrugBank citations
If you use DrugBank data in your research, please cite the following publications:
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Structured knowledge from the free knowledge base
Linked open data from Wikidata (Q27105309), a free and open knowledge base operated by the Wikimedia Foundation. Data is available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Public Domain Dedication.