A very recent study on the perception of the risk of adverse drug reactions pointed towards a belief in the general population that sleeping pills hold the highest rank as a dangerous drug (Bongard et al. 2002). Health care professionals on the other hand ranked anticoagulants as the most dangerous drug, revealing a discrepancy between them and the general population (Bongard et al. 2002). This negative view of sleeping pills by people who were not doctors or another type of health care professional, is indicative of a deeper underlying problem in the health education of the general population.
The author of the textbook Foundations of Physiological Psychology expresses one idea that may be an explanation of the general populations" attitude toward sleeping pills. He states "Patients who receive a sleeping medication develop a tolerance to the drug and suffer rebound symptoms if it is withdrawn" (Carlson 2002). In other words many people may worry that if they take a sleeping pill they will develop tolerance and dependence to it and in the end sleep even more poorly than they did to begin with. Though there is some truth to this phenomenon of rebound insomnia, there are several more recent studies that indicate that some available sleeping pills produce minimal rebound, and that even placebos produce some rebound insomnia which would indicate that the problem does not necessarily lie in the medication itself but just the actual process of taking a pill (Hajak et al. 1998).
Currently, the most commonly prescribed compounds for insomnia complaints are benzodiazepines and non-benzodiazepine hypnotics. The drugs examined in the following studies included the benzodiazepines triazolam, flunitrazepam. The other drugs studied were the non-benzodiazepine hypnotics zopiclone and zolpidem. So far the newer non-benzodiazepine hypnotics appear to provide adequate aid in falling asleep and maintaining sleep as benzodiazepines do with a desirably lower incidence of rebound (Voderholzer et al.
The effects of these drugs varies as well. ... While taking these drugs one might have an adverse reaction or overdose. ... The adverse and overdose reaction vary, possibly depending on dosage. ... They have the same adverse reactions of nitrous oxide. ... The effects of designer drugs usually mimic opium, morphine, and heroine. ...
ADVERSE EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL ON FETUSES: One of the most controversial and intricate issues in the field of neuroscience recent years has been the effect of alcohol on the human nervous system. Underlying this controversy is a lack of conclusive evidence that alcohol has adverse effects on the nervous system of every individual who consumes alcohol. Alcohol's adverse effects on the brain may originate as far back as pregnancy when the human brain is still under development which in turn may lead to cognitive and learning disabilities through one's lifetime. ... Alcohol like any o...
The concurrent and cumulative effects of impaired developmental maturation, deteriorating psychosocial functioning, and declining self-esteem will place the adolescent at a greater risk for dangerous and potentially lethal behavior, including explicit suicidal acts. ... Serious drug use is not an isolated phenomenon. ... Models have also begun to include a balance of risk and protective or coping factors that tend to account for individual differences among adolescents with similar risk factors who in fact escape adverse outcomes. ... Currents at drug prevention are mi...
Most who take the drug will experience side effects, especially those who are opioid-nave. ... Sedation and nausea usually don't last passed the first few days ("OxyContin,"" 2540), and many of the adverse effects will cease or decrease in intensity as the OxyContin therapy is continued or a tolerance is developed ("OxyContin,"" 2539). ... Some of the more serious adverse effects are respiratory depression or arrest, apnea, circulatory depression, and hypotention or shock ("OxyContin,"" 2539). Most of the adverse effects are non-serious and dependant on the dosage amount, tolerance a...
After a drug user takes a stimulant, the user may try to drink alcohol in order to counteract the effects of a stimulant drug. ... Mixing such a drug with other drugs only makes the effects worse. ... However, in a majority of the possible combinations, the resulting effects of the ingestion of the drug mix are more adverse than taking the drug on an individual basis. ... The effects of a number of them have effects on the molecular level, and are therefore disregarded by many users of the drugs. This is an adverse notion, as it decreases the social stigma of a certain combination's use, ...
The comparison of the short-term effects of both drugs obviously shows that tobacco is more dangerous since tobacco causes sudden drastic internal health changes. ... The long-term effects of tobacco are well known. ... The harmful effects of smoking do not end with the smoker. ... The health of nonsmokers is adversely affected by environmental tobacco smoke (ETS). ... More people die every year from the effects of cigarettes than all the people who die from AIDS, murder, fires, alcohol, and illegal drugs combined. ...
Herbal, Nutraceutical, Nutritional Supplement Adverse Event information is filed in the same way that Prescription Drug Side Effects / Adverse Events are reported. ... MedWatch key links: MedWatch Reporting for Consumers MedWatch Reporting Home Faqs for MedWatch Reporting by DrugIntel Definitions of Adverse Drug Reaction - Adverse Drug Event Terms: MedWatch is how the following are accomplished by FDA in cooperation with the Pharmaceutical Companies in the USA: Pharmacovigilance, Spontaneous Adverse Event Reporting (AER), Serious Adverse Event Reporting (SAEr), Post-Market...
Several clinical trials have demonstrated that angiotensin-receptor antagonists are as effective as the other anti-hypertensive agents, such as ACE inhibitors, and induce fewer adverse effects, and that they are preferred as a first-line therapy (3-4). For example, in the first large-scale multicenter study of outpatient subjects with hypertension, oral losartan potassium (an angiotensin-receptor antagonist) at 50mg daily dosage and enalapril maleate (an ACE inhibitor) at 20mg daily dosage were both relatively effective in reducing blood pressure; however, losartan potassium induced fewer a...
Psychoactive Drugs Drugs are a part of almost everyone's life. ... The major effects of caffeine are an increase in attentiveness and a decrease in reaction time. ... Depressants, on the other hand, have an adverse effect. ... The effects of marijuana vary from person to person, but typically consist of a feeling of general well being. ... If you ever think about using one of these drugs stop first, and think of the effects it will have on your body. ...