Simvastatin Facts

 Image source

Simvastatin was popularly recognized as Zocor. Nowadays, with the rise of numerous cheaper brands and generic equivalent competitors, most people understood simvastatin simply as cholesterol –lowering drug.

Simvastatin is an antihyperlipidaemic agent. As a statin or HMG CoA reductase inhibitor, simvastatin reduces the LDL (low-density lipoprotein) or the bad cholesterol. It also decreases the triglycerides in the blood while increasing the HDL or high-density lipoprotein or the good cholesterol. 

Read more here

A Typical Prescription from a Rural Health Center

Aerius and Celestamine Facts

 Image source

 Allergic conditions have many causes. While some drugs – ingested or injected can lead to hypersensitivity reactions, foods like peanut, eggs, fish can be causative agents too. Through the air we breathe, we can catch pollens, mold spores, dust mites or even insect parts that can trigger our allergic rhinitis or asthma. With our skin, hives, allergic dermatitis or urticaria can be experienced with latex, plants (poison ivy), dyes, chemicals, metal (nickel) or cosmetic contact. Fortunately, not all individuals are susceptible to allergies. Immunity can be developed on certain allergens and more to this, there are antihistaminic drugs that can control and treat allergic conditions.

 Image source

Aerius and Celestamine are two popular allergy cures. While, Aerius is said to be recommendable than Celestamine, the latter is the ultimate relief for any allergic conditions. The following are facts about Aerius and Celestamine – which is better between the two.

Read more here

911 Health Shop VS eVitamins: Online Supplements and Health Product Stores Comparison

 Image source

Shopping online for health products are becoming common nowadays. Unlike the hassles of going personally to pharmacies and health stores, online shopping offers an easy and more convenient way of procuring items without leaving our homes.

911 Health Shop and eVitamins are online health product stores who both specializes in pet care, weight loss, vitamins, supplements, herbs, teas, skin care  and other healthcare services. While 911 Health Shop started serving consumers in 2001, eVitamins has been in the online business since 1999. Both health shops present a wide selection of quality and trusted products. They also offer good competitive prices and discounts for their items. 

However, besides the product quality, consumers normally regard the customer service provided by online shops. Considering 911 Health Shop and eVitamins, which of the two is recommendable?

Read more here

Nine Popular Lizards Used In Medicine

Belonging to the reptile class, the lizards have been known for many medicinal uses. Their healing and preventive capacities have been recorded throughout the world. Although most of them lack scientific studies, their names have grown popular with their distinctive medicinal uses.  Used as a cure for many ailments and diseases, the following are the most popular lizards of today – ranging from those who have undergone laboratory studies to types that possess no scientific evidence.

Gila monster (Heloderma suspectum)

The Gila monster is a type of venomous lizard that grows up to 24 inches long. It is found in southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. 

 Image source

The Gila monsters venom contains the protein named exendin-4 that can regulate blood glucose. In 2005, the drug Exenatide marketed as Byetta was approved by the FDA for type 2 diabetes. Exenatide is the synthetic version of exendin-4 that was obtained from the Gila monster’s saliva.

Beaded lizard (Heloderma horridum)

The beaded lizard is a close relative of Gila monster which is another venomous lizard. It is a native of Mexico and southern Guatemala. The beaded is larger than the Gila monster as the former ranges from 24 to 36 inches.

 Image source

Like the Gila monster, the saliva of the beaded lizard also contains an enzyme that can control the blood sugar. An endocrinologist, Dr. John Eng named this protein exendin-3. Unfortunately, the study has also revealed that this protein can also dilate the blood vessels.

Read more here

Drug Myth: Loratadine is a No-Drowse Anti-Allergy Relief

Antihistamines or anti-allergy drugs are regarded as the first-line of relief for symptoms of hay fever and skin allergies. There are two types of antihistamine drugs- the first generation and the second generation. While the old, FGA or first generation antihistamines (chlorphenamine, diphenhydramine etc.) include anti-allergies that induce drowsiness or sleepiness, the newer, SGA or the second generation antihistamines (loratadine, fexofenadine and cetirizine) are considered as non-sedating antihistamines.

Between the two types, the SGA drugs are regarded as safer because these have least CNS side effects. The FGA on the contrary, may increase the risk for vehicular accident and injuries at work.

Loratadine as a second generation antihistamine is popular for its non-drowse effect. Claritin, a brand name of loratadine even have a ‘no-drowse’ statement in its label. However, other loratadine brands such as Allerta (Amherst lab/ UAP), Lorahist (JustRight Pharma) and Lergicyl (Eurowest/ Basic Pharma) reveal sedation as an adverse reaction. So does this mean, loratadine is also a sedating allergy drug?

Source

Loratadine facts

Loratadine is known as a long acting non-sedating antihistamine normally taken once a day. It is a non-prescription antihistamine or anti-allergy drug that can be taken with or without food.

Loratadine is indicated as a relief of symptoms of chronic urticaria and other skin allergy. It is also a drug of choice for symptoms associated with allergic rhinitis or hay fever as sneezing, nasal itching, ocular or eye itching.

Loratadine is classified as a tricyclic antihistamine, closely related to tricyclic antidepressants such as Amitriptylin (Elavil) and the antipsychotic quetiapene.

Common brand names and availability

As a single drug form:

Allerta syrup and tablet (UAP)

Claritin syrup and tablet (Schering-Plough)

Clarihist tablet (International Apex)

Flamitin tablet (Flamingo/ Pasteur Pharma)

Immunix tablet and syrup (Unique/ Ambica)

Lergicyl tab (Eurowest/ Basic Pharma)

Loratyne tab (New Smart Formulae)

Loraped syrup (Pediatrica)

Lorahist tab (Unison/ JustRight Pharma)

Lorano tab (PT Prma Hexal)

Zylohist tab (Zydus Cadilla/ GX International)

In combination form:

Claricort tab (loratadine with betamethasone ) (Schering-Plough)

Clarinase tablet and syrup (loratadine with pseudoephedrine) (Schering-Plough)

Common contraindications and special precautions

Loratadine is contraindicated with people who have hypersensitivity to the drug and those with liver problems. As for pregnancy, loratadine safety is still not established. Loratadine is excreted in milk thus; its antihistamine effect can also be obtained by the infant. Most doctors would prescribe loratadine for kids below two years old; however as an OTC drug its label or leaflet may include a precaution for kids under 2 years old.

Common adverse reactions

These include fatigue, somnolence, headache, dry mouth, gastrointestinal disorders as gastritis, nausea etc. and rare cases, allergic symptoms as rash. Other observed side- effects include alopecia, anaphylaxis, tachycardia and palpitations.

Common drug interactions

Loratadine causes toxicity when taken with amiodarone- anti arrhythmic drug and with nefazodone hydrochloride- a phenylpiperazine antidepressant. In addition, its plasma concentration may also increase with ketoconazole, erythromycin or cimetidine.

Loratadine as a less-sedating antihistamine drug

Tracing the origin of the drug, loratadine is a tricyclic antihistamine structurally related to Amitriptyline- a tricyclic antidepressant product which is also under the CNS stimulants. Tricyclic antidepressants are agents that are used to treat major depressions. These agents have two groups, the dimethylamino compounds which tend to be sedative and the monomethyl relatives that tend to be stimulatory. With Amitriptyline, this product is the most sedative of the tricyclic antidepressants. More to this, loratadine is also connected to antipsychotic quetiapene which is considered as the most sedating of all the anti-psychotic drugs.

Interestingly, what makes loratadine less sedating than other antihistamines is because it only penetrates the blood brain barrier a little. In the brand Claritin, 'the no significant sedative property' is cited at the daily recommended dose of 10 mg.

Taking loratadine safely

As a less-sedating anti-allergy drug, loratadine may also cause drowsiness. Individuals must also be advised that this inconvenience may occur and may affect tasks as driving or other activities that needs concentration. An interaction between alcohol and loratadine has not been shown; however, it is still best to avoid excessive liquor drinking while on loratadine medication.

Loratadine is an OTC drug, without the privilege of specific instructions from a physician. Do not hesitate to ask assistance from the pharmacist or pharmacy personnel to avoid over dosing particularly with loratadine liquid forms for kids.

Important:

Loratadine are for mild allergies only. In cases of serious conditions, a physician’s advice is the best. Like any other medications, loratadine may not be for you, observe yourself intently and if an untoward reaction occur, discontinue the medication and seek medical help as soon as possible.

© Phoenix Montoya @ March 8, 2011

Original article source: Is Loratadine Really Non-Drowsy?

References:

1. http://www.mims.com/Page.aspx?menuid=mng&name=Allerta+Tablet+tab&brief=true&h=loratadine&CTRY=PH&searchstring=loratadine
2. http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/406736
3. http://www.mims.com/Page.aspx?menuid=mng&name=Lorahist+tab&brief=true&h=loratadine&CTRY=PH&searchstring=loratadine
4. PPDr 5th Edition
5. Wilson and Gisvold’s Textbook of Organic Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Chemistry 9th Edition

More articles by this author:

• Breaking a Medicine Tablet: Is It Advisable? 
• Appetite Stimulant Facts 
• Expired Medication Cover-Ups

Is It OK to Break a Medicine Tablet?

The strength of a medicine depends on the patient’s age, body mass and the severity of the disease. Physicians have two major reasons on why they resort into advising a patient into breaking a tablet.

The first one involves economic reason. Hypertensive patients for instance, need their maintenance drugs daily to control high blood pressure. As a financial aid for these people, doctors tend to advise them to buy an antihypertensive drug with a double strength then have them divide the tablet into two or according to the required drug concentration. The first part is to be taken immediately while the other half or halves are saved for future uses. Medications with greater doses are often cheaper when divided or split.

The second reason is the drug unavailability. For a child patient, physicians instruct their secretaries to divide a tablet in cases that only an adult drug is available. A paracetamol 500mg tablet for example is cut so that half of it can be agreeable for a seven year old patient who only needs a 250mg strength.

Splitting a tablet is as simple as doing arithmetic, as logical as taking two 250mg capsules of amoxicillin if someone needed an adult dose or giving a baby a 3.5ml dose of a cough formula when no drops dosage form is available. But we may wonder, in the case of a tablet medication - are there no complications in cutting a tablet? Is this really recommendable for financial reasons?

Tablet types issues

We may notice several forms of tablets. Among these are the sublingual, the coated, the multi-layered etc. With the various types are different functions. Sublingual forms are to be taken beneath the tongue for emergency instances. While the effect is faster this way, sublingual types contains drugs that should only be absorbed through the oral mucosa because they are usually inactivated or not absorbed in the GIT.

With the erythromycin stearate as a film coated tablet, its form has two purposes; the coating prevents the patient from having stomach irritation because of the drug itself and the coating protects the inert substance from being destroyed by the gastric juices.

Tablet breaking is not advisable for tablet types cited above for this may decrease their effect and more to it, could harm the patient.

Not enough active constituents?

Besides the active ingredients responsible for the positive effect of the medication, a tablet may also include diluents, binders, lubricants, disintegrants and other additives to complete its form.

While diluents (E.g. Lactose) make up the major portion of the tablet, disintegrants are responsible for its breaking up in the process. Binders on the other hand, are adhesive substances that glue powder together that forms granules.

The manufacturing of a tablet involves mixing before compression. And one of the problems here is content uniformity. Content uniformity is defined as the equal distribution of the drug content in each tablet. This is determined on ten tablets. USP limit is 85-115% and is met if not more than one tablet is outside the limits.

One passing medicine tablet may have the appropriate active constituent but if we will cut it into two, there is no guarantee that a patient can also get half of the strength of the inert substance. It is also possible that the half side of the tablet contains the active constituent while the other half, the additives.

Image source

Will you consider breaking a tablet?

There are some tablets that are not designed to be divided. We can never be sure if we are going to get the exact strength of the drug when we cut it. Most people may claim that this method works and interestingly it does. We could think of it as a placebo effect but the thing is drugs even not divided equally have active constituents that can cure or harm. And we must be reminded that every individual has different body chemistry. Some may react to untoward reactions while the others may tolerate it. But just to be safe, tablets not designed to be cut should not be divided. There are the scored tablets or tablets that have lines - these are the tablet forms designed to be cut.

© Phoenix Montoya @ February 12, 2011

Article source: Breaking a Medicine Tablet: Is It Advisable?

References:

1. Compiled Notes in Manufacturing Pharmacy by Emma and Imelda G. Pena
2. Wilson and Gisvold’s Textbook of Organic Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Chemistry 4th edition

Related articles:

• Enteric-Coated, Sublingual and Other Medicine Tablet Types
• Things to Consider Before Taking Any Medicine
• Is Ilosone Safe for Use?

More drug articles by this author:

• What is The Best GERD Medicine to Take with Plavix?
• The Oral Contraceptive Pill Versus The Injectable Contraceptive: Which Method is Better?
• Generic Zoloft for Depression
• Does Heroin Interact with Prozac or Other Anti- Depressant?