Sodium Polystyrene Sulfonate
Sodium polystyrene sulfonate is a potassium-binding resin used to treat hyperkalemia (high potassium levels in the blood).
🧬 Where this information comes from Click to expand
The clinical label records used on this page are FDA-filed Structured Product Labeling (SPL) retrieved through openFDA. We identified 14 clinical label sets within the page’s selected clinical scope after exact ingredient or ingredient-combination matching and applicable route/form matching. Forms, routes, brands, labelers, strengths, and NDC product-record counts are built separately from matching FDA National Drug Code Directory records. The linked DailyMed document is a representative official source for verification, not the page’s only clinical source. View the linked label on DailyMed →
📖 Sodium Polystyrene Sulfonate: Patient Information Guide
A plain-language walkthrough of Sodium Polystyrene Sulfonate — what it treats, how it works, how it’s taken, side effects, warnings and interactions. Tap any section to expand it.
🎯What it's used for▾
Sodium polystyrene sulfonate is a potassium binder used to treat hyperkalemia (high potassium in the blood). All supported products share this single indication.
- Kionex Suspension (oral suspension): indicated for the treatment of hyperkalemia
- Sodium Polystyrene Sulfonate oral suspension, powder for suspension, and enema forms: indicated for the treatment of hyperkalemia
- Important limitation (all products): Not appropriate as emergency treatment for life-threatening hyperkalemia — it takes hours to days to lower potassium, so faster interventions (including dialysis) may be needed in severe cases
⚙️How it works▾
Sodium polystyrene sulfonate is a resin — a substance that exchanges ions (electrically charged particles). As it travels through your intestines, it releases sodium and picks up potassium in return. The potassium-loaded resin then passes out of the body in stool, lowering the amount of potassium in your blood. Most of this exchange happens in the large intestine. The medication is not absorbed into your bloodstream at all — it works entirely inside the gut.
The exchange process is limited and somewhat unpredictable in how well it works from person to person. Potassium reduction can take anywhere from several hours to a few days, which is why this medication is not used in emergencies.
💊How it's taken▾
This medication can be taken by mouth or given rectally as an enema, depending on the product form and your clinical situation. The oral form is generally taken one to four times a day; the rectal form is typically given every six hours. Always take it in an upright position.
- Separate this medication from all other oral medicines by at least 3 hours before or after — or 6 hours if you have slow stomach emptying (gastroparesis)
- The powder for suspension should be prepared fresh and used within 24 hours; never heat it
- Your prescriber will determine the dose and duration based on how high your potassium is and how your body responds
🤒Side effects — in detail▾
The most common side effects involve the digestive system, but changes in blood electrolytes are also possible and important to watch for.
- Nausea, vomiting, or loss of appetite
- Constipation (especially at higher doses)
- Diarrhea
- Stomach irritation
- Fecal impaction (bowel blockage) — more common in elderly patients and with rectal use in children
- Low potassium (hypokalemia) — can cause muscle weakness, confusion, or irregular heartbeat
- Low calcium (hypocalcemia) or low magnesium (hypomagnesemia)
- Fluid retention or swelling from the sodium content of the medication
If you develop severe stomach pain, bloody stools, muscle weakness, or a fast or irregular heartbeat, get medical help right away — these can be signs of serious complications.
⚠️Warnings & precautions▾
- Intestinal necrosis (bowel tissue death): Rare but potentially fatal cases have been reported, especially when this drug was combined with sorbitol. People with recent bowel surgery, bowel disease, low blood volume, or kidney failure are at greatest risk. Stop the medication and seek care if you develop severe abdominal pain or bloody stools.
- Dangerously low potassium (hypokalemia): Potassium can drop too far during treatment, causing heart rhythm problems, muscle weakness, or even paralysis. Blood tests are needed regularly.
- Other electrolyte losses: Calcium and magnesium levels can also fall. All electrolytes should be monitored.
- Sodium load and fluid overload: Each dose contains significant sodium. People with heart failure, high blood pressure, or edema need careful monitoring for swelling or worsening symptoms.
- Aspiration risk: Inhaling particles of this medication has caused lung inflammation (bronchitis or pneumonia). Always take the oral suspension sitting upright. Patients with swallowing difficulties are at higher risk.
- Not for emergencies: This medication acts slowly and should not be the only treatment when potassium is at a life-threatening level.
🔀What it interacts with▾
Sodium polystyrene sulfonate can interact with several medications — either by reducing their absorption or by changing how they affect your body.
- Sorbitol: Combining with this laxative has been linked to fatal intestinal necrosis — avoid this combination
- Magnesium hydroxide and similar antacids/laxatives: Can cause a dangerous rise in blood pH (alkalosis) and reduce the resin's effectiveness — magnesium hydroxide should not be used together with this medication
- Aluminum hydroxide: Combined use has caused bowel blockages from hardened concretions
- Digoxin (digitalis): Low potassium caused by this medication amplifies digoxin's toxic effects on the heart
- Lithium: Absorption of lithium may be reduced
- Thyroid hormone (thyroxine): Absorption may be reduced if taken at the same time
- Warfarin, metoprolol, phenytoin, furosemide, amlodipine, amoxicillin: Lab studies show the resin can bind these drugs — space all oral medications at least 3 hours apart from this medication
This is not a complete list of interactions. Always talk with your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping, or changing any medication.
📋Before taking it▾
- Do not take this medication if you have an allergy to polystyrene sulfonate resins
- Do not take it if you have an obstructive bowel disease (a blockage in your intestine)
- Neonates with reduced gut motility should not receive this medication at all
- Tell your doctor if you have a history of constipation, impaction, inflammatory bowel disease, ischemic colitis, bowel resection, or bowel obstruction
- Tell your doctor if you have not had a bowel movement since surgery
- People with heart failure, high blood pressure, or edema should be monitored carefully because of the sodium content in each dose
- Patients with swallowing problems or who are prone to reflux should be managed carefully to avoid inhaling the medication
- Pregnancy: The medication is not absorbed systemically, so fetal risk is not expected; use only under medical supervision
- Breastfeeding: Not absorbed systemically, so risk to the infant is not expected; discuss with your provider
- Children and neonates: Safety and efficacy have not been formally established; oral use is not appropriate for neonates; rectal use in children and neonates requires careful dosing to avoid impaction; premature and low-birth-weight infants face higher risk of serious gut complications
🚑If you take too much▾
Too much sodium polystyrene sulfonate can cause dangerous drops in potassium, calcium, and magnesium. Signs of overdose may include irritability, confusion, slow thinking, muscle weakness, loss of reflexes, difficulty breathing, or an irregular heartbeat. If these occur, seek emergency care immediately. Treatment focuses on restoring normal electrolyte levels and removing the resin from the gut using laxatives or enemas.
📡Pharmacodynamics — effects in the body▾
Sodium polystyrene sulfonate lowers the level of potassium in the blood by pulling potassium out through the stool. This effect does not happen quickly — meaningful reduction in serum (blood) potassium can take several hours to a few days after dosing begins. Because of this delayed onset, it is not suitable for treating a potassium emergency on its own.
🔬Pharmacokinetics — how your body processes it▾
Sodium polystyrene sulfonate is not absorbed into the bloodstream — it stays entirely within the gastrointestinal tract. As it moves through the intestines, it exchanges sodium for potassium; approximately one-third of its sodium content is ultimately delivered to the body in this process. Because it is not absorbed systemically, it does not undergo typical drug metabolism or kidney/liver clearance; it exits the body in the stool along with the potassium it has captured.
📦How to store it▾
Store at 20° - 25° C (68° - 77° F); excursions permitted to 15° – 30° C (59° – 86° F)
📄 Written from Sodium Polystyrene Sulfonate’s FDA-approved label information, summarized in plain language with AI, and reviewed by our pharmacy team before publication. Every point is grounded in that labeling — nothing is invented. How we use AI →
🩺 Pharmacist Counseling Corner
Quick, plain-English answers to the questions patients ask most about Sodium Polystyrene Sulfonate — the kind of thing our pharmacy team would talk through with you at the counter.
What exactly is sodium polystyrene sulfonate doing in my body? ▾
How long does it take to work, and do I need to take it long-term? ▾
Can I take my other medications at the same time as this one? ▾
What side effects should I expect, and when should I call my doctor? ▾
I have heart failure — is it safe for me to take this? ▾
Is this medication safe during pregnancy or while breastfeeding? ▾
Is Sodium Polystyrene Sulfonate available over the counter? ▾
When was Sodium Polystyrene Sulfonate first available? ▾
Who makes Sodium Polystyrene Sulfonate? ▾
💬 Answers drafted from Sodium Polystyrene Sulfonate’s FDA-approved label information, summarized in plain language with AI, and reviewed by our pharmacy team before publication. Grounded in that labeling — nothing is made up. How we use AI →
🧰 Keep exploring
💊 How Sodium Polystyrene Sulfonate comes
Sodium Polystyrene Sulfonate is available in 3 forms. Different forms and brands can have different approved uses, doses, schedules, and directions. Follow the instructions for your exact product, and do not switch forms without guidance from your prescriber or pharmacist.
Enema
How this form is used
- Sodium Polystyrene Sulfonate enema is used rectally to treat hyperkalemia, though rectal administration produces less effective results than oral use
- The rectal enema form is typically administered every six hours for adults; follow your prescriber's instructions
- In children and neonates, use extra caution with rectal administration — excessive doses or inadequate dilution can cause resin impaction
- Sodium Polystyrene Sulfonate enema should be given with the patient in an upright or appropriate position as directed by your care team
Oral suspension
How this form is used
- Kionex Suspension is indicated to treat hyperkalemia (high blood potassium)
- Sodium Polystyrene Sulfonate oral suspension is indicated to treat hyperkalemia
- Kionex Suspension is typically taken one to four times daily; follow your prescriber's schedule
- Kionex Suspension should be taken with the patient sitting upright — do not lie down while taking it
- Administer Kionex Suspension at least 3 hours before or after other oral medications (6 hours if you have slow stomach emptying)
- Sodium Polystyrene Sulfonate oral suspension should be prepared fresh and used within 24 hours; do not heat it
Rectal powder
How this form is used
- Sodium polystyrene sulfonate powder for suspension is indicated for the treatment of hyperkalemia and can be administered orally or rectally
- Prepare the suspension fresh and use within 24 hours; do not heat the powder as this can alter how it works
- Administer at least 3 hours before or after other oral medications; allow 6 hours if you have slow stomach emptying
- Do not use this medication as emergency treatment for life-threatening hyperkalemia — it takes hours to days to work
📊 Sodium Polystyrene Sulfonate across the U.S. market
How Sodium Polystyrene Sulfonate appears in the FDA’s National Drug Code Directory — including its dosage forms, strengths, brand names, manufacturers, and FDA-listed product records. These are directory records, not sales or prescription volume.
FDA-listed product records by dose form (tablet variants merged) — FDA National Drug Code Directory. Record counts are not sales or prescription volume.
Also listed with the FDA, not a patient dose form: Powder (5) — bulk drug substance sold to compounders/manufacturers and multi-item kits. These aren’t counted in the dose-form total above.
Share of FDA-listed product records by manufacturer — FDA National Drug Code Directory. Record counts are not sales or prescription volume.
📈 How widely Sodium Polystyrene Sulfonate is used
A general measure of how commonly Sodium Polystyrene Sulfonate is prescribed, based on Medicaid — one of the largest public drug programs. The figure below is prescriptions filled in Q1–Q4 2025, summed across every form and brand of the drug.
Think of this as a proxy for how widely Sodium Polystyrene Sulfonate is used, drawn from freely available public data. Medicaid is just one program — these numbers don’t include Medicare, other government coverage, or commercial and cash-pay prescriptions, so real-world use is higher than what’s shown here.
How commonly is Sodium Polystyrene Sulfonate prescribed? Of the 1,596 medications we measure, Sodium Polystyrene Sulfonate ranks #837 by Medicaid prescriptions — more than 48% of them.
Utilization by Sodium Polystyrene Sulfonate product
Pick a product to see its own Medicaid numbers. Each chip is one clinical product — a specific strength & dosage form as defined by RxNorm — with brand-name and generic versions combined.
sodium polystyrene sulfonate 15000 MG Powder for Oral Suspension Most dispensed
Summed across the 7 of 29 listed NDC products with Medicaid activity — every brand and generic of this exact strength & form. RxNorm 2101899
sodium polystyrene sulfonate 250 MG/ML Oral Suspension
Summed across the 1 of 9 listed NDC products with Medicaid activity — every brand and generic of this exact strength & form. RxNorm 313072
Other Sodium Polystyrene Sulfonate products — combination packs and listings not yet matched to a specific clinical product (kept visible so every prescription is accounted for)
Summed across the 3 of 14 listed NDC products with Medicaid activity.
Shares are of the Medicaid prescriptions shown here. Product grouping follows RxNorm (the National Library of Medicine’s drug terminology), so “one product” means one strength & dosage form regardless of manufacturer. Dollar figures are gross Medicaid reimbursement before mandatory rebates — rebates (often large, especially for brand-name drugs) are confidential, so actual net cost to Medicaid is lower than shown.
Source: Medicaid State Drug Utilization Data (CMS), aggregated by generic ingredient — summed across every NDC (all brands, strengths, salt forms and dosage forms) of Sodium Polystyrene Sulfonate, and across all states and both fee-for-service and managed-care claims. A general popularity signal; it excludes Medicare, commercial insurance and cash prescriptions, so it is not total U.S. use. Based on the 11 of 52 listed Sodium Polystyrene Sulfonate NDCs with Medicaid activity.
🔍 Compare Sodium Polystyrene Sulfonate products
A representative set of FDA-listed product records for Sodium Polystyrene Sulfonate — across manufacturers, strengths, and dosage forms, grouped by form with each product’s manufacturer and how the FDA approved it. The same medicine may be made and packaged by different companies, so a single drug can have many directory entries. (It’s also why a refill can look different — a new shape, color, or box — even though it contains the same medication.)
| Strength | Route | Manufacturer / Labeler | Category ⓘ | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 💊Enema | ||||
| 4.1 mEq/g | Oral; Rectal | Atlantic Biologicals Corp. | ANDA | Find on DailyMed ↗ |
| 4.1 mEq/g | Oral; Rectal | Belcher Pharmaceuticals, LLC × 2 listings | ANDA | View NDC → |
| 4.1 mEq/g | Oral, Rectal | Bryant Ranch Prepack × 5 listings | ANDA | View NDC → |
| 4.1 mEq/g | Oral; Rectal | Bryant Ranch Prepack × 8 listings | ANDA | View NDC → |
| 15 g/60 mL | Oral, Rectal | Burel Pharmaceuticals, LLC × 2 listings | ANDA | View NDC → |
| 15 g/60 mL | Oral; Rectal | Cardinal Health | ANDA | View NDC → |
| 15 g/60 mL | Oral, Rectal | Cardinal Health 107, LLC | ANDA | View NDC → |
| 15 g/60 mL | Oral; Rectal | Cardinal Health 107, LLC | ANDA | View NDC → |
| 4.1 mEq/g | Oral, Rectal | Chartwell RX, LLC | ANDA | View NDC → |
| 4.1 mEq/g | Oral; Rectal | Chartwell RX, LLC | ANDA | View NDC → |
| 1 g/g | Oral, Rectal | CMP Pharma, Inc. | ANDA | View NDC → |
| 15 g/60 mL | Oral, Rectal | CMP Pharma, Inc. | ANDA | View NDC → |
| 4.1 mEq/g | Oral; Rectal | ECI Pharmaceuticals, LLC | ANDA | View NDC → |
| 4.1 mEq/g | Oral; Rectal | Marlex Pharmaceuticals Inc × 2 listings | ANDA | View NDC → |
| 4.1 mEq/g | Oral, Rectal | Sunrise Pharmaceutical, Inc. | ANDA | View NDC → |
| 💊Oral suspension | ||||
| 15 g/60 mL | Oral | ANI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | ANDA | View NDC → |
| 4.1 mEq/g | Oral | Atlantic Biologicals Corp. × 2 listings | ANDA | View NDC → |
| 4.1 mEq/g | Oral | Epic Pharma, LLC × 2 listings | ANDA | View NDC → |
| 4.1 mEq/g | Oral | PuraCap Laboratories, LLC × 2 listings | ANDA | View NDC → |
| 💊Rectal powder | ||||
| 1 g/g | Oral, Rectal | KVK-Tech, Inc. | ANDA | View NDC → |
| 1 g/g | Oral; Rectal | KVK-Tech, Inc. | ANDA | View NDC → |
| 💊Bulk drug substance | ||||
| 1 kg/kg | — | Dsp | BULK INGREDIENT | View NDC → |
| 1 kg/kg | — | Ion Exchange India Limited | BULK INGREDIENT | View NDC → |
| 1 kg/kg | — | Purolite LLC × 3 listings | BULK INGREDIENT | View NDC → |
Showing 43 of 43 products — FDA National Drug Code Directory. See every product, package size and price: browse all 43 Sodium Polystyrene Sulfonate NDCs →
📈 What people report — real-world data (FDA FAERS)
After a medicine reaches the market, patients, doctors and drugmakers can send the FDA reports of problems they think may be linked to it. Here’s what’s been reported for Sodium Polystyrene Sulfonate — a signal of what to watch for, not proof the drug caused it.
Source: openFDA, from the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS). These are voluntary reports — they don’t prove the drug caused the effect, and counts reflect how often something was reported, not how often it actually happens. Reports also often name the very problem the medicine is taken for — a common reason to file one is that the drug didn’t help — so for a pain reliever you may see “pain” high on the list; that points to why the report was filed, not to the drug causing the symptom. This counts every report that lists Sodium Polystyrene Sulfonate in any role, so the total runs higher than the FDA’s official dashboard, which counts only cases where the drug is the suspect. For the authoritative figures, see the FDA FAERS Public Dashboard. Always talk to your pharmacist or doctor.
🏛️ The road to your pharmacy
How Sodium Polystyrene Sulfonate went from FDA review to the pharmacy shelf — the key milestones in its regulatory journey.
Source: Drugs@FDA.
🚨 Recall history
A recall is when a specific batch of a medicine is pulled from the market — usually a manufacturing issue, not a problem with the drug itself. Class I is most serious, Class III least.
Source: openFDA drug enforcement (recall) reports.
RxNorm Concept Web — From Ingredient to Every Form and Strength
This page starts with one ingredient concept (IN). The branches below show its dose-form concepts (SCDF), then the available clinical drug and strength concepts (SCD). Combination products remain separate concepts with their own pages.
RxCUI 56512 2 dose forms · 2 strengths
Look up RxCUI 56512 in the RxCUI Atlas →
RxNorm is the U.S. National Library of Medicine’s normalized drug vocabulary. Its concept hierarchy can include forms that are not currently marketed; the status on each branch compares that concept with current FDA listings. RxCUIs identify vocabulary concepts, not individual packages or manufacturers.
📦 Supply & shortage status
Whether Sodium Polystyrene Sulfonate is in short supply in the U.S. right now, plus any shortage history the FDA has on record. A shortage usually reflects a manufacturing or demand issue — not a safety problem with the drug.
Source: openFDA, from the FDA Drug Shortages database.
🏷️ Sold under these brand names
🏭 Manufacturers & labelers
🔬 Where this comes from
Core label, product, RxNorm, safety, and utilization data on this page come from the sources identified below. AI-written, editorial, and licensed sections are labeled separately.
How we combine label and product data
HelloPharmacist combines public FDA and NLM records; we don’t author the underlying clinical facts. We identified 14 FDA-filed SPL label sets within the page’s selected clinical scope after exact ingredient or ingredient-combination matching and applicable route/form matching. The representative label is the starting point for the displayed reference monograph; the 12 largest stored in-scope SPL records, which may include that representative, are compared section by section, and the longest available version of each section is retained. Forms, routes, brands, labelers, product-listed strengths, and product-record counts are aggregated separately from ingredient-matched FDA NDC Directory records; package records listed above are associated with the linked SPL; and the normalized concept hierarchy comes from NLM RxNorm.
For canonical ingredient pages, bounded product-attributed indication and administration excerpts may be added to the AI evidence, and the generator is instructed to preserve available product, brand, route, and form qualifiers instead of treating one label as universal. Where a section is identified as AI-written, its plain-language text is generated from bounded label evidence. New draft drug pages remain in the admin review queue before first publication. CMP Pharma, Inc. is the representative DailyMed label linked for verification and dates; it is not the sole source used for the page.
This is general education, not medical advice — always consult your doctor or pharmacist about your medications and any medical condition. For the exact wording of the linked representative label, view that label on DailyMed; some displayed composite sections may come from other in-scope SPL labels. Learn how we use AI and our data sources & update cadence.