Side effects
Side effects refer to the unintended and often undesirable effects that can occur alongside the therapeutic benefits of medications and medical treatments. These effects can vary widely in severity, manifesting either suddenly or developing over time, and not everyone will experience them. Common causes of side effects include the medications themselves, medical treatments, and pre-existing health conditions that affect the body's normal functioning. It is essential to differentiate between side effects and allergic reactions, as the latter involves an immune response to foreign substances, which can be severe and life-threatening.
The range of side effects can be mild, such as stomach upset from pain relievers like aspirin and ibuprofen, or more severe, including muscle pain from statins and hair loss from chemotherapy. Understanding and managing side effects is crucial for patient safety, and healthcare professionals work to minimize these risks through careful prescribing and patient education. Open communication with healthcare providers allows patients to address concerns and consider alternatives if side effects arise. Overall, while side effects can complicate treatment, they do not always negate the benefits of the prescribed therapies.
Side effects
Also known as: Reaction, side reaction, adverse reaction, adverse event, complication
Anatomy or system affected: All
Definition: Unwanted, unintended changes to healthy cells, tissue, or organs caused by drugs, medical treatments, or existing medical conditions.
Causes and Symptoms
All medicines and medical treatments have benefits and potential drawbacks. These drawbacks, known as side effects, can be mild or severe and can come on suddenly or take a long time to develop. Not all people suffer from side effects in the same way, and many people never experience them at all. Side effects do not necessarily cancel out the benefits of the medicine or treatment. The main causes of side effects are medicines, medical treatments, and existing medical problems that change normal, healthy cells, tissues, or organs.
A side effect should not be confused with an allergic reaction. An allergic reaction is the uncontrolled response of the immune system to a foreign substance, such as drugs or pollen. The immune system sends out an excessive number of white blood cells to fight the foreign substance. Common signs of an allergic reaction include hives or skin rash, itching, sneezing, and shortness of breath; more serious signs include abdominal pain, diarrhea, chest discomfort, dizziness, nausea, and fainting. These signs appear between several minutes and two hours after contact with the drug. Some allergic reactions can be fatal if not treated immediately.
An unwanted effect from a drug is known as an adverse reaction or adverse event. Powerful drugs have helped to fight many diseases, but they have also caused problems for some people. Statins, for example, lower cholesterol in the body, but they have the potential to generate muscle pain, which can sometimes be so severe that it hurts to move. Other side effects of statins are upset stomach, constipation, and diarrhea.
Steroids (corticosteroids, not the anabolic steroids that some athletes use) reduce inflammation in the body. Doctors prescribe them for rheumatoid arthritis. Mild side effects from steroids include acne, upset stomach, increased appetite, weight gain, and a puffy face. Severe side effects include high blood pressure and osteoporosis (weakening of the bones).
Anticoagulants prevent the blood from clotting. Clotting can lead to stroke. Mild side effects from anticoagulants include painful, purple toes; headache; stomach bloating; and yellowing of the skin. Serious side effects include reduced blood flow, which can cause gangrene of the skin. Anticoagulants can also cause increased blood flow, which can lead to pain and hemorrhage (loss of blood).
Penicillin and other antibiotics kill dangerous bacteria in the body, but they also kill friendly bacteria that help with digestion. This can lead to diarrhea, the most common side effect of antibiotics.
Even over-the-counter drugs can potentially cause problems. Aspirin is well known to ease pain, lower fever, and thin the blood. Its mild side effects include heartburn and upset stomach; severe side effects include difficulty breathing and hearing loss. Ibuprofen, another common painkiller, has the potential to cause a rash, ringing in the ears, drowsiness, and stomach pain. More serious side effects, usually from overuse, include impaired kidney function and high blood pressure.
As with medicines, some medical treatments have side effects. Even the simplest operations can sometimes lead to soreness or infection. Chemotherapy, a common treatment for cancer, uses drugs to kill cancer cells. The drugs can also affect healthy cells, leading to common and potentially debilitating side effects, including hair loss, fatigue, mouth sores, and vomiting. Radiation therapy to treat cancer focuses on specific areas, so potential side effects depend on the area being treated. Common side effects include sensitive skin, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, and difficulty swallowing.
Side effects from existing medical problems are known as complications. For example, the common cold can lead to influenza or pneumonia. An underactive thyroid can lead to memory loss, ringing in the ears, weight gain, and heart disease. Type 2 diabetes can bring about nerve damage, bad breath, and kidney failure.
Treatment and Therapy
Treatments for mild side effects are straightforward. Simply changing the medicine or treatment, changing the dosage, or stopping the medicine or treatment will eliminate the side effects. Drugs can be reintroduced after a certain time; often, the body will have built up a physical or mental tolerance to the drug and will more readily accept it. Serious permanent side effects and complications require a completely new set of specific treatments.
Perspective and Prospects
Patient safety has become an important issue in the discussion of healthcare. Health professionals, manufacturers of drugs and medical devices, and government agencies have all worked to reduce side effects or at least to make the public more aware of them. Many doctors adopt an evidence-based approach to medicine. They base their prescriptions and treatment on reports of research on proven methods and benefits to patients.
Responding to consumer demands and government regulations, manufacturers conduct rigorous tests and trials on their products to make sure that they are safe before bringing them to market. Standards for clinical trials involving human subjects call for a benefits-risk ratio, an assessment that compares the benefits and risks of a drug, device, or procedure.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) monitors the safety of prescription drugs, over-the-counter drugs, and medical devices. It also enforces standards for manufacturing, testing, and marketing drugs. At least every three months, the FDA posts reports on its website with new information regarding potential safety issues with drugs and medical devices. As a patient and a member of one’s healthcare team, it is important to be informed and proactive about the potential side effects of medicine. The best way to do so is to have an open line of communication with one’s doctors and pharmacist.
Bibliography
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