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Acetylcysteine Sodium is a form of the amino acid cysteine (N-acetylcysteine or NAC) that Bayview compounds to a prescriber's order.
Acetylcysteine Sodium is an active pharmaceutical ingredient known for its mucolytic properties. Its free thiol group breaks the disulfide bonds in mucus proteins, reducing mucus viscosity and making secretions easier to clear.[2] It is FDA-approved for conditions with abnormal, viscid, or thick mucus secretions, including cystic fibrosis, and mucolytics are used in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) to decrease mucus viscosity.[1][2]
Acetylcysteine is also FDA-approved as an antidote for potentially hepatotoxic doses of acetaminophen. It replenishes glutathione by providing cysteine, a precursor for glutathione production, and it also binds toxic acetaminophen metabolites.[1]
Acetylcysteine is sometimes used off-label as a topical treatment for keratoconjunctivitis sicca (dry eye).[1] It also has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.[1] Bayview compounds acetylcysteine ophthalmic solution on a prescriber's order.
Compounded at Bayview
Patient guides for the preparations we make most often. Each one is compounded to order and requires a prescription.
For prescribers
Every preparation in our formulary that contains this ingredient. Strength, base and dose form are set by the prescription.
Eye doctors prescribe them as a mucolytic to thin and loosen mucus and filaments on the eye surface in conditions such as filamentary keratitis and dry-eye disease. They are used off-label, and a valid prescription is required.
Acetylcysteine is a mucolytic. It breaks the chemical bonds that hold mucus together, thinning it and making the sticky strands (filaments) that form in filamentary keratitis easier to clear. With regular use as prescribed, many patients notice less of the gritty, foreign-body feeling those filaments cause. Unlike artificial tears, it thins the mucus itself rather than just lubricating the eye.
No. There is no FDA-approved acetylcysteine eye drop in the United States, so your eye doctor prescribes it off-label and a compounding pharmacy prepares it sterile to that prescription. Compounded preparations are not FDA-approved. Acetylcysteine drops have been used in other countries for decades, which is where much of the supporting clinical experience comes from.
Other salt forms of this molecule, and ingredients commonly compounded alongside it.
This page describes an active pharmaceutical ingredient, not a finished drug product. Bayview Pharmacy compounds preparations containing it only on a prescriber's order for an individual patient.
Compounded preparations are not FDA-approved, and the FDA has not evaluated them for safety, effectiveness, or manufacturing quality. Nothing on this page is a claim that any preparation is effective for any condition.
A valid prescription is required. Availability depends on Bayview's licensure in your state. This page is general information, not medical advice — discuss your situation with a licensed healthcare provider.
Our pharmacists work with prescribers to build preparations around a patient's dose, form and tolerances. Ask us what is possible with this ingredient.
