Side Effects From Drugs: What Are They?
You will surely have heard of unwanted effects or side effects from drugs. 7% of the population has an adverse reaction to medicines, which is a public health problem.
An adverse drug reaction, whose acronym is RAM, is any harmful or unintended response to a drug that develops following administration of a normal dosage. These can be dosages for prophylaxis, following diagnosis and for the treatment of diseases, as well as doses administered for the restoration, correction or modification of biological functions. Among the drugs that most often cause adverse reactions, we find non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and antibiotics
How can I find out about possible side effects from drugs?
The Italian Medicines Agency (AIFA) reminds us of the importance of always keeping informed about the drugs that are prescribed and over the counter. It is essential to inquire with your doctor or pharmacist about possible adverse reactions that the drug may cause, as well as about situations in which its use is contraindicated.
In addition, the package leaflet can be viewed. It contains a list of known side effects and what to do if they occur.
All drugs on the market can cause side effects. However, if they have been commercialized, it is because the benefits obtained from their administration are greater than the health risks.
Several side effects
A general ranking of drug side effects divides them into two large groups: predictable reactions and unpredictable reactions.
Predictable reactions
They account for 80% of adverse effects. These are dose dependent, meaning that the higher the dosage, the greater the undesirable effects of these drugs. They are associated with pharmacological actions of the drug, such as:
- Side effect due to its mechanism of action
- An interaction with other drugs or substances
- Overdose
Unpredictable reactions
Unlike the previous ones, these reactions are not predictable, so they can occur following administration of any dosage. Nor are they associated with the drug’s pharmacological mechanisms. Instead, they are due to some factors that depend on the patient, since they mostly occur in people with high immunological sensitivity or susceptible to genetic variables. Among the unpredictable side effects we can distinguish the following:
- Intolerance: when at minimal doses we are unable to tolerate the drug. For example, some patients suffer from low-dose albuterol tremors.
- Idiosyncrasy: these are genetically determined reactions which consist of an abnormal reaction to the drug, because the patient has an enzymatic deficiency or abnormalities in the metabolism of a given drug. These reactions tend to be more severe, but affect a small percentage of the population.
- Hypersensitivity reactions or allergic reactions: these are abnormal responses due to an immune mechanism. For example, penicillin allergy.
- Pseudo-allergic or anaphylactic reaction : they are clinically indistinguishable from the previous ones, but they occur following a different mechanism, in which the immune system is not involved. They have been identified with opiate drugs, for example.
Other side effects from drugs
In addition to those already mentioned, there are other side effects that can occur during a drug treatment. Some of these further reactions are known as type C.
They appear following prolonged administration of a drug and are generally predictable and known. This group includes drug addictions, possible in the case of benzodiazepines, tardive dyskinesia caused by neuroleptic drugs or Cushing’s syndrome, caused by corticosteroids.
Type D reactions are uncommon and occur some time after the end of therapy. Among these undesirable effects are teratogenesis, with malformations of the fetus, and carcinogenesis.
On the other hand, there are also type E effects, that is, those that derive from the abrupt interruption of the administration of a drug. An example of this side effect is adrenal insufficiency following discontinuation of corticosteodes, seizures following discontinuation of antiepileptics, or angina after discontinuation of beta-blockers.
Conclusions
It is very important to keep yourself informed about a drug that we are about to take, since all those on the market can cause some adverse reaction that can lead to a dangerous situation. We strongly recommend that you always contact your doctor and pharmacist regarding the instructions for administering the drug.
