Tuesday 27 September 2016
Pharm Justice Enoma writes: DRUGS AND PREGNANCY
DRUGS AND PREGNANCY
A woman walks into a near by drug store and makes a complaint to the owner of the shop “madam I feel feverish, I have headache and body pain and I vomited in the morning. The woman did not hesitate to go to her shelf and bring out an Artemesinin combination therapy drug for the lady. She was healed after 3 days and sang praises to the owner of the drug store, but little did she know that 8 months later she will give birth to a deformed baby.
Patient M, was 3 months pregnant but she had diarrhea she was stooling and she needed an intervention. Getting to a drug store she made a complaint to the owner of the drug store who gave her a combination of drugs containing tetracycline and ciprofloxacin to effectively take care of the micro organism that was responsible for the case. Mrs modupe gave birth to a baby girl Kemi who was very beautiful but had a single flaw which was her teeth. Kemi in all her beauty as a child had discolored teeth.
pregnancy or the gestation period is a very fragile and complicated time for the female anatomy. The mother and the unborn foetus are connected in ways beyond what the lay man imagines. They share a common circulation. The mother is connected to the child by virtue of the placenta and it is an organ that connects the developing fetus to the uterine wall to allow nutrient uptake, waste elimination, thermo-regulation and gas exchange via the mothers blood supply. The placenta attaches to the wall of the uterus, and the baby’s umbilica cord develops from the placenta.
Although once thought to be a barrier to drug transfer the placenta is a medium of transfer of a number of substances between the mother and foetus especially drugs and the placenta functions fully for such transport by the fifth week of conception. Drugs which albeit were of no harm to the mother posse significant treats to the developing foetus. Most of these so called drugs could cause physical or functional deformites to the foetus these drugs are called teratogens. The degree to which exposure to a drug influence s the embryo/fetus also maybe a function of the timing of the exposure. Drug exposure using the embryonic period (period between fertilisation and 10th weeks of gestation) has the greatest potential influence on organ development. Indeed, the most obvious teratogenic effects occur during this period. Teratogenic effects may include,
However more subtle change in function and behaviour may be associated with drug exposure at other times during pregnancy
Thus care is paramount when pregnant patients are prescribed or dispensed to. Some of the common drugs which posse a potential hazard to the developing foetus includes
NSAIDS (Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) : Children whose mothers use the pain reliever during pregnancy may be at risk for asthma, behavior problems and attention deficit disorder according to preliminary reports. For women who use Paracetamol the risk to the foetus is quite small
Simvastatin and other statins : Cholesterolis needed for the growth of the foetus and its reduction by statins could harm the foetus
Oral Contraceptives : they can cause birth defects
Dutasteride : affects the sex organ development of the male fetus
Tetracycline : it gets deposited in fetal bones and retard their growth, also affect teeth causing them to be discolored and deformed
Chloramphenicol : Grey Baby Syndrome
ACE Inhibitors : Growth retardation, Birth defects and Fetal Death
During the last 3 months of pregnancy, drugs crossing the placental barrier may interfere with the vital functions of the fetus e.g. sulphonamides which may increase bilirubin levels leading to kernicterus (fetal jaundice), or morphine which when given to the mother during labor can cause fetal asphyxia, etc
In conclusion to the above certain tips that must be considered before taking a drug during pregnancy include :
Try non drug measures
Consult your healthcare provider
Avoid combination products
Read labels
Thank you
Enoma Justice
600 Level pharmacy student
University Of Benin
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For more health information
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A woman walks into a near by drug store and makes a complaint to the owner of the shop “madam I feel feverish, I have headache and body pain and I vomited in the morning. The woman did not hesitate to go to her shelf and bring out an Artemesinin combination therapy drug for the lady. She was healed after 3 days and sang praises to the owner of the drug store, but little did she know that 8 months later she will give birth to a deformed baby.
Patient M, was 3 months pregnant but she had diarrhea she was stooling and she needed an intervention. Getting to a drug store she made a complaint to the owner of the drug store who gave her a combination of drugs containing tetracycline and ciprofloxacin to effectively take care of the micro organism that was responsible for the case. Mrs modupe gave birth to a baby girl Kemi who was very beautiful but had a single flaw which was her teeth. Kemi in all her beauty as a child had discolored teeth.
pregnancy or the gestation period is a very fragile and complicated time for the female anatomy. The mother and the unborn foetus are connected in ways beyond what the lay man imagines. They share a common circulation. The mother is connected to the child by virtue of the placenta and it is an organ that connects the developing fetus to the uterine wall to allow nutrient uptake, waste elimination, thermo-regulation and gas exchange via the mothers blood supply. The placenta attaches to the wall of the uterus, and the baby’s umbilica cord develops from the placenta.
Although once thought to be a barrier to drug transfer the placenta is a medium of transfer of a number of substances between the mother and foetus especially drugs and the placenta functions fully for such transport by the fifth week of conception. Drugs which albeit were of no harm to the mother posse significant treats to the developing foetus. Most of these so called drugs could cause physical or functional deformites to the foetus these drugs are called teratogens. The degree to which exposure to a drug influence s the embryo/fetus also maybe a function of the timing of the exposure. Drug exposure using the embryonic period (period between fertilisation and 10th weeks of gestation) has the greatest potential influence on organ development. Indeed, the most obvious teratogenic effects occur during this period. Teratogenic effects may include,
- Loss of pregnancy
- Structural abnormalities
- Growth impairment
- Functional loss
However more subtle change in function and behaviour may be associated with drug exposure at other times during pregnancy
Thus care is paramount when pregnant patients are prescribed or dispensed to. Some of the common drugs which posse a potential hazard to the developing foetus includes
NSAIDS (Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) : Children whose mothers use the pain reliever during pregnancy may be at risk for asthma, behavior problems and attention deficit disorder according to preliminary reports. For women who use Paracetamol the risk to the foetus is quite small
Simvastatin and other statins : Cholesterolis needed for the growth of the foetus and its reduction by statins could harm the foetus
Oral Contraceptives : they can cause birth defects
Dutasteride : affects the sex organ development of the male fetus
Tetracycline : it gets deposited in fetal bones and retard their growth, also affect teeth causing them to be discolored and deformed
Chloramphenicol : Grey Baby Syndrome
ACE Inhibitors : Growth retardation, Birth defects and Fetal Death
During the last 3 months of pregnancy, drugs crossing the placental barrier may interfere with the vital functions of the fetus e.g. sulphonamides which may increase bilirubin levels leading to kernicterus (fetal jaundice), or morphine which when given to the mother during labor can cause fetal asphyxia, etc
In conclusion to the above certain tips that must be considered before taking a drug during pregnancy include :
Try non drug measures
Consult your healthcare provider
Avoid combination products
Read labels
Thank you
Enoma Justice
600 Level pharmacy student
University Of Benin
Subscribe to Health medium international HMI
For more health information
And sponsored health outreach in your location
Facebook.com/healthmediuminternational
Email: healthmediuminternational@gmail.com
Whatsapp: +2348032328932, +2347037937273, +2348150664525
Effects of Self-medication, by Chuka Francis
Chuka Amukamara "therapeutic advice to the world
Effects of Self-medication
SAY NO TO SELF-MEDICATION!!!
A very prevalent and deadly situation and An attitude that has silently killed so many.
What is self-medication?
Self-medication is defined as the selection and use of medicines by individuals (or a member of the individuals' family) to treat self-recognized or self-diagnosed conditions or symptoms.
Potential risks of self-medication practices
°Incorrect self-diagnosis
° Delays in seeking medical advice when needed,
° Infrequent but severe adverse reactions,
° dangerous drug interactions
° Incorrect manner of administration
° Incorrect dosage
° Incorrect choice of therapy
° Masking of a severe disease
° Risk of dependence and abuse.
° Resistance to therapy of microbes
That you were prescribed ciprofloxacin last time for your typhoid, and you felt better does not make ciprofloxacin the drug you run to whenever you feel symptoms that are likely found with typhoid.
My son complained of headache, and was given paracetamol, then at this my 65years of age, why hasn't this headache stopped, after I had taken paracetamol?
Was that your doctors prescription for you? Do you not know that hypertension can present headache? Visit your doctor now before it enters a dangerous stage! Self-medication!!!
She takes piroxicam whenever she feels menstrual pain, and when I did same forgetting I had peptic ulcer disease, I almost died of crisis.
"Self-medication!! There is what's called "individualization" in pharmacy, every individual has drug that's fit for their predicament.
I was prescribed erythromycin for my sore throat, and the pharmacist demonstrated, I should take it after every 12hours for 10 days, I followed the instruction up till 5dyas and stopped taking the drug as I noticed the sore throat had disappeared, after two weeks, the sore throat came back with full force, I went and bought erythromycin on my own, took it as he instructed before, but it never worked again, what should I do sir?
Now you have caused the streptococcus pyogenes to develop RESISTANCE over erythromycin, and a resistant strain caused the relapse, it will cost you more now to treat this sore throat, as new drug is required "self-medication"
Last time I had malaria, he prescribed artemether/lumefantrine combination for me, I got better. Now I feel the malaria symptoms again and also feel anaemic, I went and bought the normal artemether/lumefantrine combination, and a multivitamin formulation, took them together, but the malaria has refused to go, why?
"Self-medication!!!, you assumed the place of a professional and failed to act as a professional. The antioxidants (Vitamin E, Vitamin C, and possibly Ginseng extract) in the multivitamin formulation had reduced the efficacy of the antimalarial medicine you took.
I was few weeks pregnant and visited my grandma, there, I was feeling waist pain, and she gave me her prescribed "arthrotec" (diclofenac+misoprostol), I took the medicine and the pain stopped, but later I realised I had lost the pregnancy, what happened?
You simply terminated the gestation, Self-medication!!!
I was having pains, and one of my workers asked me to get tramadol, I went to a patent chemist who gave me tramadol 100mg and asked me to take 2 caplets twice a day, look at me, dying in just first dose, I can't urinate, my heart beats more than 100 beats/min, I feel maniac, what should I do?
"Self-medication!!! Thank God you were not killed by the "drug", next time, you don't dwell on Self-medication
I can't explain how this accident happened, I'm a good driver, how come?
Were you on any drug?
No!, I only bought and took piriton for my cough,
Do you not know that chlorpheniramine and so many other medicines can make you feel drowsy and dizzy and that you should not drive nor use machinery while on any of those medicines? Self-medication!!!
I had skin reaction, and I bought ampiclox, ciprofloxacin and erythromycin, took them for very long time to ensure that my beautiful skin never experienced such again, later I started having odoriferous vaginal discharges which I have never seen before, what caused it sir?
Do you not know that as a lady, you are not supposed to be exposed to antibiotics for a prolonged period, now you have caused a gross depreciation to your vaginal flora and it lead to this secondary infection you feel now? Self-medication!!!
Self-medication has been shown to cause 60% of disease cases suffered in Nigeria and has a very significant effect to drug resistance!
You may deem it expensive to visit a health professional for a complain, but the benefit outweighs the cost, because when the effect of your negligence is calculated "if reversible", you have the reason to avoid Self-medication.
Live safe! Avoid Self-medication!!
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