The side effects of drugs are

Adverse drug reactions . In a broad sense, adverse drug reactions include harmful reactions caused by drug quality problems or improper use of drugs, including side effects, toxic effects (toxic reactions), sequelae (aftereffects), allergic reactions, idiosyncratic reactions, superinfection caused by anti-infective drugs, dependence, and carcinogenic, teratogenic, and mutagenic effects. Some of these adverse reactions occur when the drug itself contains impurities or is used improperly, while others can occur even if the drug passes quality inspection and is used normally in clinical practice and in dosage.

definition

According to the regulations of the WHO International Drug Monitoring Collaborating Center, adverse drug reactions (ADRs) refer to harmful reactions that are unrelated to the purpose of medication when normal doses of drugs are used to prevent, diagnose, treat diseases or regulate physiological functions. This definition excludes intentional or accidental overdose and reactions caused by improper medication.

In the process of using commonly used doses of drugs to prevent, treat or diagnose diseases, various reactions that are unrelated to the purpose of medication and are detrimental to the patient occur due to the effects of the drugs themselves or the interactions between drugs.

There are currently no uniform standards for describing or measuring the severity of adverse drug reactions. Most drugs can cause gastrointestinal dysfunction when taken orally, with loss of appetite, nausea, abdominal distension, constipation or diarrhea accounting for a large proportion of all adverse reactions.

Doctors often dismiss gastrointestinal disturbances, headaches, fatigue, unexplained muscle pain, malaise, and sleep changes as minor reactions, but these reactions are real concerns.

Moderate reactions include anxiety, restlessness, irritability, as well as rash (especially if widespread and persistent), visual disturbances (especially in patients with refractive errors), muscle tremors, difficulty urinating (more common in elderly men), mental or psychological changes, and changes in certain blood components (fats, lipids). Mild or moderate adverse reactions may not require special treatment for the time being if there are no other suitable alternative drugs. However, the doctor should reconsider the dosage, frequency of administration, time of administration (before or after meals, etc.), whether other drugs can be used to relieve the symptoms, etc. (for example, mild laxatives can be used for constipation). Some drugs can cause serious adverse reactions, even life-threatening. At this time, the medication must be stopped immediately and treatment must be continued, but sometimes the medication must be continued, such as chemotherapy for cancer patients and immunosuppressants used in organ transplants. When taking medication, you should pay attention to using different methods to prevent and treat serious adverse reactions, such as giving antibiotics to patients with impaired immune systems to prevent infection; using high-efficiency antacids or H2-receptor blockers such as famotidine and ranitidine to prevent gastric ulcer bleeding; platelet transfusions can be used to treat persistent bleeding, and blood transfusions can be given to patients with drug-induced anemia to stimulate blood cell proliferation.