Health Library

Fenoprofen calcium overdose

Nalfon overdose

Fenoprofen calcium is a type of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID). It is used to relieve pain, swelling, and inflammation. Fenoprofen calcium overdose occurs when someone takes more than the normal or recommended amount of this medicine. This can be by accident or on purpose.

This article is for information only. DO NOT use it to treat or manage an actual overdose. If you or someone you are with has overdosed, call the local emergency number (such as 911), or the local poison control center can be reached directly by calling the national toll-free Poison Help hotline (1-800-222-1222) from anywhere in the United States.

I Would Like to Learn About:

Poisonous Ingredient

Fenoprofen can be harmful in large amounts.

Where Found

Fenoprofen calcium is found in medicines with this name:

• Fenoprofen

Other medicines may also contain fenoprofen calcium.

Symptoms

Below are symptoms of a fenoprofen calcium overdose in different parts of the body.

AIRWAYS AND LUNGS

• Wheezing or trouble breathing, especially in those who have asthma or lung conditions

EYES AND EARS

• Blurred vision
• Ringing in the ears

BLADDER AND KIDNEYS

• Little or no urine output

STOMACH AND INTESTINES

• Diarrhea
• Nausea (common)
• Possible bleeding in the stomach and intestines
• Stomach pain
• Vomiting (common, sometimes with blood)

HEART AND BLOOD

• Chest pain
• High or low blood pressure
• Increased heart rate
• Edema (swelling in the body or legs)

NERVOUS SYSTEM

• Agitation
• Confusion
• Coma (decreased level of consciousness and lack of responsiveness), in a very severe overdose
• Seizures, in a very severe overdose
• Dizziness (common)
• Drowsiness (common)
• Blurred vision (common)
• Delirium (person is not making sense)
• Movement problems
• Numbness and tingling
• Unsteadiness
• Headache

SKIN

• Rash

Home Care

Seek medical help right away. Do not make the person throw up unless poison control or a health care provider tells you to do so.

Before Calling Emergency

Have this information ready:

• Person's age, weight, and condition
• Name of the product (ingredients and strength, if known)
• Time it was swallowed
• Amount swallowed
• If the medicine was prescribed for the person

Poison Control

The local poison control center can be reached directly by calling the national toll-free Poison Help hotline (1-800-222-1222) from anywhere in the United States. This national hotline will let you talk to experts in poisoning. They will give you further instructions.

This is a free and confidential service. All local poison control centers in the United States use this national number. You should call if you have any questions about poisoning or poison prevention. It does NOT need to be an emergency. You can call for any reason, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

You can also get online poison help now at Poisonhelp.org. Just enter the product, poison, or medicine to get expert help.

What to Expect at the Emergency Room

Take the container to the hospital with you, if possible.

Your provider will measure and monitor your vital signs, including temperature, pulse, breathing rate, and blood pressure.

Tests that may done include:

• Blood and urine tests
• Chest x-ray
• Electrocardiogram (ECG)
• Endoscopy -- camera placed down the throat to check for burns in the esophagus and stomach

Treatment may include:

• Fluids through a vein (by IV)
• Medicines to treat symptoms
• Activated charcoal
• Laxative
• Tube through the mouth into the stomach if vomiting contains blood
• Breathing support, including a tube through the mouth into the lungs and connected to a breathing machine (ventilator)

Outlook (Prognosis)

How well someone does depends on how much fenoprofen calcium was swallowed and how quickly treatment is received. The faster the medical help is received, the better the chance for recovery.

A mild overdose of this medicine does not usually cause serious problems. There may be some stomach pain and vomiting (possibly with blood).

However, a large amount of internal bleeding is possible, and a blood transfusion may be needed. Endoscopy may be needed to stop the internal bleeding.

In rare cases, there can be ringing in the ears and a bad headache. But these symptoms will likely pass as well.

If kidney damage is severe, dialysis (kidney machine) may be needed until kidney function returns. In some cases, the damage is permanent.

A large overdose can be very harmful to children and adults. Death may occur.

References

Aronson JK. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). In: Aronson JK, ed. Meyler's Side Effects of Drugs. 16th ed. Waltham, MA: Elsevier; 2016:236-272.

Hatten BW. Aspirin and nonsteroidal agents. In: Walls RM, ed. Rosen's Emergency Medicine: Concepts and Clinical Practice. 10th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2023:chap 139.

Meehan TJ. Care of the poisoned patient. In: Walls RM, ed. Rosen's Emergency Medicine: Concepts and Clinical Practice. 10th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2023:chap 135.

Nelson LS, Calello DP. Acute poisoning. In: Goldman L, Cooney KA, eds. Goldman-Cecil Medicine. 27th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2024:chap 96.

Review Date: 10/14/2025  

Reviewed By: Jesse Borke, MD, CPE, FAAEM, FACEP, Attending Physician at Kaiser Permanente, Orange County, CA. Also reviewed by David C. Dugdale, MD, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, for Health Content Provider (www.urac.org). URAC's accreditation program is an independent audit to verify that A.D.A.M. follows rigorous standards of quality and accountability. A.D.A.M. is among the first to achieve this important distinction for online health information and services. Learn more about A.D.A.M.'s editorial policy, editorial process and privacy policy. A.D.A.M. is also a founding member of Hi-Ethics. This site complies with the HONcode standard for trustworthy health information: verify here.

The information provided herein should not be used during any medical emergency or for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. A licensed medical professional should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions. Links to other sites are provided for information only -- they do not constitute endorsements of those other sites. No warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, is made as to the accuracy, reliability, timeliness, or correctness of any translations made by a third-party service of the information provided herein into any other language.

© 1997- 2026 A.D.A.M., a business unit of Ebix, Inc. Any duplication or distribution of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited.

All content on this site including text, images, graphics, audio, video, data, metadata, and compilations is protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. You may view the content for personal, noncommercial use. Any other use requires prior written consent from Ebix. You may not copy, reproduce, distribute, transmit, display, publish, reverse-engineer, adapt, modify, store beyond ordinary browser caching, index, mine, scrape, or create derivative works from this content. You may not use automated tools to access or extract content, including to create embeddings, vectors, datasets, or indexes for retrieval systems. Use of any content for training, fine-tuning, calibrating, testing, evaluating, or improving AI systems of any kind is prohibited without express written consent. This includes large language models, machine learning models, neural networks, generative systems, retrieval-augmented systems, and any software that ingests content to produce outputs. Any unauthorized use of the content including AI-related use is a violation of our rights and may result in legal action, damages, and statutory penalties to the fullest extent permitted by law. Ebix reserves the right to enforce its rights through legal, technological, and contractual measures.