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Side effects & Adverse effects, Confusion solved...

Side effects and Adverse effects are always mistaken as the same with common people. But they are both different. Here we will know how.. Adverse effects These are those unintended effects of a drug which are harmful to the body even at therapeutic dose. These effects may also be termed as Averse drug reaction (ADR).  An example of ADR is repeated use of Methotrexate which is preferred in treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis may cause megaloblastic anaemia even at therapeutic dose. Side effects While side effects are those unintended effects of a drug which are not harmful to the body and rather these effects may be used in treatment of another indication. A very good example of side effect is effect of Promethazine. This is a drug primarily used for treatment of allergies as an anti-allergic agent. But it is also used in prophylaxis or prevention of motion sickness and as a sedative in minor surgeries and also in psychiatry. This was how adverse drug reaction or
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Worst beverages that you could be drinking...!!

Soda, pop, cola, soft drink — whatever you call it, it is one of the worst beverages that you could be drinking for your health. As the debate for whether to put a tax on the sale of soft drinks continues, you should know how they affect your body so that you can make an informed choice on your own. Soft drinks contain little to no vitamins or other essential nutrients. However, it is what they do contain, that is the problem: caffeine, carbonation, often food additives such as artificial coloring, flavoring, preservatives and lastly lots and lots of simple sugar... Most soft drinks contain a high amount of simple sugars. When you drink sodas that are packed with simple sugars, the pancreas is called upon to produce and release insulin, a hormone that empties the sugar in your blood stream into all the tissues and cells for usage. The result of overindulging in simple sugar is raised insulin levels. Raised blood insulin levels beyond the norm can lead to depression of the immu
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Mind Your Cough....!!!

Coughing is a useful physiological mechanism which clears foreign materials and surplus secretions from our respiratory passage. It is an essential protective mechanism for the airways and lungs. Thus it should not be repressed arbitrarily. Cough can be symptom of upper or lower respiratory tract infection, or may be consequence of a non-infectious condition such as asthma, exposure to smoke, or aspiration of a foreign body. It is caused by stimulation of receptors present in throat, respiratory passage or stretch receptors in the lungs. Cough can be classified as DRY or non-productive cough and WET or productive cough. Dry cough are not accompanied by secretions and are usually associated with viral respiratory infections, cardiac diseases. While wet cough is accompanied by secretions and expel secretions which blocks the airway. In wet cough excessive secretion of mucus results in obstruction of airway and impairment of gas exchange. Hence, the excessive mucous is cle
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AntiOxidants…

In simple words, an antioxidant is a molecule that inhibits the oxidation of other molecules… But it has great significance for life. Insufficient levels of antioxidants, or inhibition of the antioxidant enzymes, cause oxidative stress and may damage or kill cells. And this is how it happens… Oxidation reactions can produce free radicals and these free radicals are unstable molecules that take away electrons from other molecules and damage them. This is the cause for many diseases. Antioxidants terminate these chain reactions by donating electrons to free radicals and stabilize them. This prevents free radicals from invading other cells and causing diseases. Thus Antioxidants play a vital role in anti-aging and keep you young. It also protects you against heart disease, cancer and other diseases. Antioxidants are commonly used as medications to treat various forms of brain injury. So if you eat fruits and vegetables more then you have lower risk of heart disease and some neuro
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Antacids and confusion with PPIs

Antacids are acid neutralizing agents and many times confused as PPIs. Lets find out what is it actually. Hi, this is Sumit your online pharmacist... To understand the working of antacids you should know that acids and bases acts opposite to each other. Antacids are bases which are poorly absorbed by the stomach and thus reacts with the acid present in the stomach and reduce the acidity. Antacids as the name suggests are anti acids. That means they neutralize acids which are already present in the stomach. While PPIs are those drugs which blocks acid formation in stomach. Both these drugs differ in action and results. (To know more about PPIs Visit this link  http://zzzpharmacist.blogspot.in/2018/05/why-ppi-is-taken-before-food.html  ) Antacids do not decrease acid production and just react to already produced acid thereby reducing the acidity of stomach. A combination of two or more antacids are used to have better and sustained effect on the acidity of stomach. Anta
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Why PPI is taken before food ?

PPI are most commonly used drugs for gastritis and prevention of acid formation in stomach. But do you know how it works in your body and why one should take these medicines before food...? Hi, this is Sumit your online pharmacist... Let's talk about PPIs. As the name tells these are Proton Pump Inhibitors and the drugs in this class are Omeprazole, Pantoprazole, Esomeprazole, Lansoprazole, Rabeprazole and Dexrabeprazole. These PPIs acts on the proton pump (biologically known as H+K+ATPase) and inhibit the pump which is responsible for the acid secretion in your stomach. When it comes to oral administration of the medicine, it is advised to take before food. This is because PPIs need acidic pH to get activated. This sounds funny, to block acidity it needs acid? Yes, that's true. PPIs work by blocking the proton pump which are present on the inner lining of stomach. These proton pumps start releasing acid when it gets signal either from your brain or when food e
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Gastric proton pump | How does it works?

Proton pump, sounds technical and is responsible for the acid secretion in your stomach but do you know where is it located and how does it works? Hi, this is Sumit, your online pharmacist... Lets talk about proton pumps. Proton pumps are a combination of small structure located on the inner lining of your stomach. This is biological called H+K+ATPase pump. That means Hydrogen Potassium ATPase pump which is an enzyme that acts as a gate for exchange of potassium and hydrogen. Proton pump gets activated on signal from brain or arrival of food in stomach.This signals reach the pump through three chemical messenger which are Histamine, Gastrin and Acetylcholine. Out of these messengers Histamine plays a dominant role in activating the pump. The other two acts indirectly to a greater extent compared to direct action. As soon as the signal reaches the pump it opens the inlet for Potassium ions(K+) from the stomach and outlet for Hydrogen ions(H+) into the stomach. These h
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