Medical drugs are far from safe and there are often adverse reactions in the body associated with taking medical drugs. Adverse drug reactions are reactions that are unintended or undesired. If you take or intend to take medically prescribed drugs you need to be aware of the potential for these reactions in the body. Many people believe that taking medical drugs is the only option open to them. However, in many situations, this is not the case and there are a wide range of effective alternatives that do not have the adverse reactions on many medical drugs.
There are 5 main groups into which these adverse reactions can be placed. Those that:
* adversely affect the blood cells,
* cause toxicity in the liver,
* damage the kidneys,
* affect the skin, and
* affect the unborn baby.
There are a number of factors that will influence the possibility of adverse drug reactions. These include:
The number of drugs that a person is taking. The greater the number being taken the greater the likelihood that there will be an interaction between these drugs. The effects of these interactions are impossible to accurately determine - especially when the number of drugs taken exceeds two or three.
Women, theoretically only require 3/4 of the male adult dose. This is related to the weight and metabolic differences between men and women. Often this difference is not taken into account when women are prescribed drugs and when they take over-the-counter medications. This means that there could be an increased risk of adverse reactions for women.
The age of the person taking the drugs is also important. Babies, children and the elderly all require modifications to the full adult dose. This is due to their reduced ability to metabolise and detoxify the drugs. Dosages in these cases are related to their weight and age. Digitalis (digoxin) is a very toxic drug used in heart disease - its dosages are related to the person's body weight.
Symptoms associated with adverse drug reactions can be divided into 3 groups:
* life threatening (as in an major allergic reaction - which unless dealt with immediately could be fatal),
* severe or
* irritating and uncomfortable.
The symptoms generally subside when the drug which caused the reaction is withdrawn. An allergic response (or hypersensitivity) to a drug forms the majority of side effects or adverse drug reactions. These allergic responses generally follow a particular pattern: There is an initial exposure to the drug - this establishes the allergic reaction and a state in which the person is now allergic to that drug.
The reaction can lead to the following:
* skin rashes that can be itchy, flaky, purple spots or red and raised,
* nausea and vomiting and other gut reactions such as diarrhoea,
* tightness and swelling in the lungs and throat which can cause difficulty in breathing.
There are many possible adverse reactions to medical drugs. If you are taking medical drugs or are intending to take them you need to be aware of these possible reactions as well as the toxic effects of the medication. The list of possible side effects is very lengthy and extends for the annoying to the life threatening. Many people believe that taking medical drugs is the only option open to them - this however, in many situations, is not the case. There are often effective alternatives to the use of pharmaceutical medication. However, if you are currently taking pharmaceutical medication it is not wise to cease that medication without the supervision of a health professional.
Wed,11 April 2012
Health for the addicted person is many times considered a liability. Whether your touch is health for an opiate addiction, alcohol addiction, methadone addictio
Tue,03 April 2012
Although the vast majority pharmacy technicians receive informal on-the-job training, employers surely restlessly favor those who consciously have complet
Wed,21 March 2012
Although the ginormous majority pharmacy technicians receive informal on-the-job training, employers surely restlessly favor those who consciously should prefer to c
Tue,13 March 2012
There are two types of asthma, hereditary asthma and extrinsic asthma. Internal factors like stress, air pollution, respiratory infection and drill cause intrinsic asthma. Animals' dander, p
Mon,05 March 2012 From Southern California to Northern New Jersey, from Detroit to Louisville, KY in a five-month querying, the Associated Press (AP) discovered that drugs have been detected in the
It is estimated that 3% to 6% of students in the U.S. have tried steroids. That means that, at a minimum, hundreds of thousands of high school students are using them.