Medicines for arthritis – use, side-effects, interactions and precautions

               

Arthritis is painful inflammatory disease that can hamper your daily activities. Excruciating joint pain, limited range of motion and loss of flexibility can make you completely dependent on medication to relieve your symptoms. If you have been taking medicines to manage your arthritis symptoms, you should be aware of everything about them and the right way to use them.

Can medicines cure arthritis?

‘Medicines cannot cure arthritis. For any type of arthritis, the goal of medical treatment is to reduce pain and stiffness and to make it easier for the patient to remain active,’ says Dr Jaggi, senior consultant, Orthopedics, FMRI.

What are the common drugs prescribed for patients with arthritis?

‘Different types of arthritis are treated with different drugs. Drugs are mainly given to improve the symptoms and, wherever possible, to slow down or halt the progress of the condition. Depending on your type of arthritis your doctor may prescribe you a combination of one or more specific drugs to deal with the disease itself, as well as more general drugs to help you with the pain, stiffness or inflammation that are the symptoms. Both rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis is treated with the following class of drugs,’ explains Dr Jaggi.   

• Analgesics: These are pain killers and a few of them like aspirin and ibuprofen are also available over-the-counter
• Topical pain relievers: These are available in the form of creams and gels. They mainly contain corticosteroids  
• Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs): These drugs along with corticosteroids form the first line of treatment to relieve joint inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis. Their combination is termed as Disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs). However, they do not prevent destruction of the tissues dues to inflammation.
• Corticosteroid injections: Sometimes corticosteroid injections may be administered for immediate relief from pain. They reduce swelling and prevent damage caused to the bones.
• Hyaluronic acid injections: Hyaluronic acid is a fluid that your body makes naturally to lubricate the joints and help them work normally. If you don’t find relief with analgesics or other drugs, your doctor may suggest you to take hyaluronic acid injections. They are found to work better in patients with osteoarthritis.
• Immunosupressants: For patients with rheumatoid arthritis, immunosuppressants may be prescribed to slow down the action of the immune system against the body.

Do these medicines have any side-effects?

‘Yes. All medications, even ones you buy without a prescription, have potential side effects and arthritis medications are no exception. It is impossible to list all of the side effects of arthritis medications because different drugs cause different side effects and different people react differently to medications,’ says Dr Jaggi. He explains common side effects of the different categories of medications used to treat arthritis are:

• Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs): Edema (swelling of the feet) heartburn, stomach upset and stomach ulcers and possibly, increased risk of blood clots, heart attack and stroke.
• Cortiocosteroids: Cataracts, elevated blood fats and raised blood sugar levels, increased appetite and bone loss.
• Disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs): Stomach upset and increased susceptibility to infection.

Other side effects vary depending on the mode of administration.

• Biologic agents that are injection or infused site at the site of pain can cause redness and swelling, and increased risk of serious infections.

What are the effects of overdose of these medicines?

Overdose of anything can be harmful. It is possible for arthritis patients to misuse over-the-counter pain killers, resulting in medicine overdose and adverse side effects. Harmful effects include kidney failure, liver damage and gastrointestinal problems.  

What precautions should a person take while on medication?

‘When prescribing medications, you and your doctor will need to weigh the potential risks against the benefits you hope and expect to achieve,’ says Dr Jaggi. Here are some points you should remember:

• You should speak with your doctor about ways to minimize medication side effects, such as adjusting the dosage or timing of medication
• Confirm whether the medication is supposed to be taken with food
• Inform your doctor if you’re taking any other medicines for conditions like heart disease, diabetes or kidney disease to prevent interactions.
• Do not take over the counter pills if you’re pregnant or breast feeding. Women should be extra careful and discuss the potential risks of taking the drugs with the doctor. 
• Adhere to prescribed dosage of drugs and do not take an extra dose without consulting the doctor.

Source: http://www.thehealthsite.com/diseases-conditions/medicines-for-arthritis-use-side-effects-interactions-and-precautions/