This article explains the side effects of rheumatoid drugs, and 6 methods are effective in alleviating them

"Doctor, taking so many medicines, will the side effects of the drugs be great?"

Doctor, how can I make these drugs have fewer side effects? ”

As we all know, rheumatoid is a disease with a long course of disease, and patients
with rheumatoid for more than ten years are often seen clinically.
Rheumatoid patients may need to take several drugs to control the disease once the disease occurs, and some patients have poor physical fitness and also need to take drugs to regulate the body
after the condition is stable.

Therefore, patients often ask such questions
.

So, what are the side effects of commonly used rheumatoid drugs? How can we reduce side effects in life? Let's
take a look together.

Side effects of commonly used therapeutic drugs

Commonly used rheumatoid drugs include Western medicine and Chinese medicine, which produce different
side effects.

Among them, Western medicine also commonly uses non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, chronic antirheumatic drugs, glucocorticoids, biological agents, and small molecule targeted drugs
.

Western

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs

At present, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs commonly used in clinical practice for the treatment of rheumatoid include diclofenac, celecoxib, etoricoxib, meloxicam, loxoprofen, etc.
, the main adverse reactions include myocardial infarction, heart rate failure, thrombosis, hypertension and a series of cardiovascular diseases [1], some patients may experience nausea, vomiting, gastrointestinal bleeding, ulcers and other gastrointestinal adverse reactions [2], and even cause an increase
in serum transaminases in mild liver function.

Among them, most of the abnormal liver function can return to normal after stopping the drug, because liver damage caused by such drugs with obvious clinical symptoms is still relatively rare [3].

Chronic antirheumatic drugs

Chronic anti-rheumatic drugs are the most common drugs for the clinical treatment of rheumatoid, and it generally takes 2 months to half a year to take effect
.
Almost all chronic antirheumatic drugs can cause drug-induced liver damage, but the severity depends on the drug
.

For example, methotrexate, the preferred drug for active disease, although a common side effect is elevated transaminases, the American College of Rheumatology has shown that patients with rheumatoid who have taken methotrexate for up to 5 years have a risk of severe liver damage such as cirrhosis of the liver less than 0.
1% [4].

Studies have shown that patients taking leflunomide have a liver function abnormality rate of 30% [3], in addition to which patients may experience side effects
such as bone marrow damage, interstitial pneumonia, hair removal, diarrhea, and liver damage.

Glucocorticoids

Studies have shown [5] that long-term use of glucocorticoids can lead to different degrees of osteoporosis in patients, and long-term use of large doses can lead to pathological obesity, skin purple streaks, acne, hirsutism, hypertension, diabetes, etc
.

Even small doses of glucocorticoids can cause upper gastrointestinal bleeding, leading to hematemesis
.

Biologics

Biologics inhibit the body's immune function, so its side effects are more common in infections and tumors [6], among which upper respiratory tract infections such as colds and pharyngitis and urinary tract infections such as pyelonephritis and cystitis are more common
.

Small molecule targeted drugs

The safety of small molecule targeted drugs is relatively strong, and clinical adverse reactions that can occur in patients include dizziness, headache, elevated aminotransferases, and elevated low-density lipoprotein, but the incidence is not high [7].

Traditional Chinese medicine

Traditional Chinese medicine classifies rheumatoid as the category of "paralysis", believing that this disease is mixed with the three evils of "wind", "cold" and "wet", which can change according to the climate and the patient's personal condition, and the common clinical symptoms are liver and kidney deficiency, moist heat obstruction, phlegm stasis obstruction, cold and dampness obstruction [7], therefore, Chinese proprietary medicines and Chinese medicine prescriptions commonly used in clinical practice to nourish
the liver and kidneys, clear heat and remove dampness, dissolve phlegm and disperse stasis or disperse cold and dampness.

Traditional Chinese medicine is used symptomatically after the doctor's differentiation, the prescription is flexible, the side effects are smaller than that of Western medicine, and sometimes it is treated by combining Chinese and Western medicine, and the combination of traditional Chinese medicine can reduce the side effects of patients taking Western medicine, and play a role in increasing efficiency and reducing toxicity
.

If the patient takes the medicine by himself, the drug does not match the patient's condition, and the patient may have uncomfortable symptoms, depending on the medicinal properties of the Chinese medicine
.

If the drug that nourishes the liver and kidneys is taken by mistake, the patient may be on fire due to too much nourishment, and symptoms such as mouth ulcers, red and swollen eyes, irritability and thirst; If you mistakenly take the medicine to clear heat and remove dampness, the drug itself is cold, the patient may have cold fear, cold limbs, women may have symptoms such as dysmenorrhea; If you mistakenly take traditional Chinese medicine that dissolves phlegm and disperses stasis, because the anti-stasis drugs are often biased towards cold, patients may also have symptoms such as cold intolerance; If you mistakenly take Chinese medicine to disperse cold and remove dampness, the medicinal properties are warm, and the patient may have symptoms
such as irritability and sweating, irritability, mouth ulcers, and nosebleeds.

How to reduce drug side effects?

Knowing the side effects of different medications, some patients may start to become anxious
.
What can we do to reduce the side effects of drugs?

To do the following six points:

01Truthfully inform the patient of the patient's condition at the time of consultation

Some patients are more nervous when they visit the doctor, may miss their past medical history or personal situation, the accompanying family members need to pay attention to remind, especially hypertension, diabetes and other basic diseases or liver disease history, should inform the doctor
in time when visiting.

02Strictly follow the doctor's advice

Drug side effects vary according to specific drugs, different dosages, doctors in the determination of the patient's diagnosis and treatment plan, usually consider the patient's personal condition and drug side effects, such as patients over 70 years old, low kidney function or less than 40kg weight when using methotrexate treatment usually preventive use of folic acid, glucocorticoids if necessary calcium and vitamin D supplementation
.

Therefore, patients should strictly follow the doctor's advice, and should not adjust the use of drugs because of the improvement of symptoms and suspected side effects of drugs, nor can they take drugs or increase the dose
of drugs because of the recurrence of the disease.

If there is a new condition, or the side effects of medication are large, it is necessary to go to the rheumatology and immunology specialist clinic for feedback, and the doctor will adjust
according to the situation.

03Limit alcohol consumption during medication

Some drugs can increase the possibility of liver damage when taken, such as methotrexate, the preferred drug during rheumatoid activity, if the patient binges alcohol during the medication, it can lead to folate deficiency and induce liver damage
.
Therefore, patients should limit alcohol consumption
during medication.

04Strictly monitor the physical condition and conduct regular reexaminations

Rheumatoid patients should pay attention to their own physical condition during the period of taking the drug and within 1 month of stopping the drug, consult a rheumatology and immunology specialist in time when they have uncomfortable symptoms, and at the same time, patients should regularly review the liver function, kidney function and other indicators according to the doctor's advice, check whether the drug has caused damage to the body, and adjust the medication
if necessary.

05Maintain healthy water intake

Daily water intake should be kept at 2000-3000ml
.
Most drugs need to be metabolized by the kidneys, and ensuring adequate water intake can avoid drug components staying in the urinary system for a long time, increasing the burden on the kidneys and causing impaired
kidney function.

06Keep exercising

Insisting on exercise is a major magic weapon to maintain human metabolism, appropriate exercise helps rheumatoid diseases, in addition, promote human metabolism, but also help to avoid the retention of toxic components of drugs in the body
.

Write at the end

Today's popular science is about adverse drug reactions, so that patients and doctors can pay close attention to and fully understand the drug safety of rheumatoid arthritis, so as to avoid the occurrence
of adverse reactions as much as possible.

However, patients do not need to be afraid of medication, because both Chinese medicine and Western medicine are mainly aimed at
treating diseases.

At the same time, doctors will fully balance the relationship between
drug efficacy and side effects when formulating medication plans.

As long as you strictly follow the doctor's advice and closely monitor the condition, you can well avoid the occurrence of adverse reactions, so you don't have to worry too much
.
In addition, do the above 6 points, remember to go to the rheumatology and immunology department of the hospital in time if you are unwell
.

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