Medicines are substance used for treating disease. In spite of advances of technology resulting from the outstanding success of drug manufacturer in producing drugs, there is still some uncertainty as to how we are use the medicines or drugs wisely and responsibility. Clearly some people have less knowledge about prescribing of drugs and misuse of drugs. In order to address the problems, details contains description of the commonly used listed under their generic and proprietary names are as follows:
Paracetamol
A non-narcotic ANALGESIC used to treat all forms of mild to moderate pain; although it is also effective in reducing high body temperature it has no capacity for relieving inflammation.
Side-effects:
There are few side-effects if dosage is low; high overdosage or prolonged use may result in liver dysfunction.
Warning:
Paracetamol should be administered with caution to patients with impaired liver function or who suffer from alcoholism.
Aspirin
Acetylsalicylic acid or Aspirin is a popular and widely used non-narcotic Analgesic, which also has Anti-Inflammatory properties and is useful in reducing high body temperature (Antipyretic). As an analgesic it relieves mild to moderate pain particularly headache, toothache, menstrual pain and the aches of rheumatic disease. Its temperature reducing capacity helps in the treatment of the common colds, fevers or influenza.
Side-effects:
Gastric irritation with or without haemorrhage is common, although such effects may be neutralized to some extent by taking the drug after food.
Warning:
Irritation of the stomach lining may, in susceptible patients, cause nausea, vomiting, headache, hyperventilation, and sometimes a state of confusion or delirium followed by coma.
Analgesic
A drug that relieves pain. And because pain is a subjective experience that can arise from many causes, there are many ways that drugs can be used to relieve it. However, the term analgesic is best restricted to two main classes of drug. First, the narcotic analgesics are drugs such as Morphine, which have powerful actions on the central nervous system and alter the perception of pain. Second, non-analgesics are drugs such as Aspirin, which have no serious tendency to produce dependence, but are by no means free of side-effects. As part from these two main classes, there are other drugs that are sometimes referred to as analgesics because of their ability to relieve the pain.
Phenylpropanolamine
A Sympathomimetic drug that has a strong relaxant effect on certain muscles of the body, including especially the muscles of the bladder that contract to allow urine to escape through the urethra. Therefore, the drug is primarily used under medical supervision to treat urinary inconsistence. However, it is used also to relieve the symptoms of some allergic disorder, such as asthma and hay fever, often when administered with an antihistamine.
Side-effects:
There are many anxiety, restlessness and insomnia, with dry mouth, sweating, and cold extremities; urinary retention may occur. Some patients experience tremor and heartbeat irregularities.
Warning:
It should not be administered to patients with high blood pressure (hypertension), over activity of the thyroid gland (hyperthyroidism), coronary heart disease or diabetes, or who are taking antidepressant drugs.
Salbutamol
A Bronchodilator, of the type known as a selective Beta-receptor stimulant, used to treat asthmatic bronchospasm, emphysema and chronic bronchitis. It is sometimes also used to prevent or delay premature labour. It has fewer cardiac side-effects than previous drugs of its type. It is administered orally in the form of tablets, as sustained-release tablets, as a sugar free liquid, and as an inhalant from aerosol, nebulizer, inhalation cartridge, powder disc, or ventilator; it is also administered by injection or infusion.
Side-effects:
There may be headache and nervous tension, associated with tingling of the fingertips and a fine tremor of the hands.
Warning:
It should be administered with caution to patients with disorders of the thyroid gland, heart disease or hypertension (high blood pressure), who are elderly, or who are pregnant.
Carbocisteine
A mucolytic drug, used accordingly to reduce viscosity of sputum and thus facilitate expectoration (the coughing up of sputum) in patients with disorders of the upper respiratory tract such as asthma and bronchitis. It may also used to treat accumulation of mucus in the middle ear in children.
Side-effects:
Uncommon, but there may be gastrointestinal disturbance, with nausea, or a rash.
Warning:
Carbocisteine should not be administered to patients with a peptic ulcer; it should be administered with caution to those who are pregnant.
Diphenhydramine Hydrochloride
An Anti-histamine, one of the first to discover, used to treat allergic conditions such as hay fever and urticaria, some forms of dermatitis, and some sensitivity reactions to drugs. Its additional sedative properties are useful in the treatment of some allergic conditions, but the fact that it is also an Antinauseant makes it useful in the treatment or prevention of travel sickness, vertigo, and infections of the inner and middle ears too. Administration is oral in the form of capsules.
Side-effects:
Sedation may effect patient’s capacity for speed of thought and movement; there may be headache and/ or weight gain, dry mouth, gastrointestinal disturbances and visual problems.
Warning:
Diphenhydramine hydrochloride should not be administered to patients with glaucoma, urinary retention, intestinal obstruction, enlargement of the prostate glands, or peptic ulcer, or who are pregnant; it should be administered with caution to those who suffer from epilepsy or liver disease.
Dextromethorphan
An antitussive, an opiate that is used singly or in combination with other drugs in linctuses, syrups and lozenges to relieve dry or painful coughs.
Side-effects:
Constipation is a comparatively common side effect.
Warning:
Dextromethorphan should not be administered to patients who suffer from liver disease. Used as a linctus, it may cause sputum retention, which may be injurious to patients with asthma, chronic bronchitis or bronchiectasis (two conditions for which linctuses are common prescribed).
Mefenamic Acid
A non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory, non-narcotic Analgesic. It is primarily used to treat mild to moderate pain in rheumatic disease and other musculo-skeletal disorders, although it may also be used either to reduce high body temperature (especially in children) or to lessen the pain of menstrual problems.
Side-effects:
There may be drowsiness and dizziness; some patients experience nausea; gastrointestinal disturbances may eventually result in ulceration. Treatment should be withdrawn if diarrhoea, jaundice, anaemia or sensitivity reactions such as asthma like symptoms occur.
Warning:
It should not be administered to patients with inflammations in the intestines, peptic ulcers or impaired liver or kidney function; or who are pregnant. It should be administered with caution to those with any allergic condition (including asthma). Prolonged treatment requires regular blood counts.
Ibuprofen
A non-steroidal, Anti-Inflammatory, non-narcotic Analgesic drug used primarily to treat the pain of rheumatism and other musculo-skeletal disorders, but also used sometimes to treat other forms of pain, including menstrual pain (dysmenorrhoea). In its anti-inflammatory capacity it is not as powerful as many other drugs, however, and dosage tends to be high to compensate. Administration is oral in the form of tablets or sustained release capsules, or syrup.
Side-effects:
Administration with or following meals reduces the risk of gastrointestinal disturbance and nausea. But there may be headache, dizziness and ringing in the ears (tinnitus), and some patients experience sensitivity reactions or blood disorders. Occasionally, there is fluid retention.
Warning:
It shoud be administered with caution to patients with impaired liver or kidney function, gastric ulcers, or severe allergies (including asthma), or who are pregnant.
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