Drugs Related To Joints Must Be Present At A Pharmacy
Joint and bone problems are the most common type of medical conditions observed in adults. But nowadays, even teenagers face excessive problems related to painful joints and weak bones. The reason could be anything between malnutrition, improper diet, less use of milk, etc. These rheumatic joint problems occur mostly due to insufficient intake of calcium or vitamin D insufficiency.
For the proper treatment of rheumatic diseases, doctors first assess your joint conditions and most effective form treatment. Then, they may prescribe you a combination of drugs to treat rheumatic diseases as soon as possible to avoid further complications. But if you’re not a patient of chronic joint disease, you can just run a quick errand to your local pharmacy. Pharmacies always have some OTC drugs to relieve sudden joint pain.
Here’s a list of 5 drugs related to joint problems that must be present at your nearby pharmacy.
Methotrexate – DMARDs
Methotrexate is the most commonly sold disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARDs). DMARDs are the number one choice of drug for treating rheumatoid arthritis and other joint problems causing mild to severe joint pain. These drugs can effectively slow the progression of disease and save your joint and bone tissues from permanent damage. DMARDs are basically biological agents that act on targeted joint sites to produce their antirheumatic action.
Methotrexate or Amethopterin, serves as a medicinal drug that can suppress your immune responses. It inhibits your immune-system and reduces inflammation. Methotrexate is also used to relieve pain and treat other autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis.
Tocilizumab – Immunosuppressant
Tocilizumab is a well-known immunosuppressive drug sold usually as Actemra (brand name) by the tocilizumab supplier all around the world. It is a modified form of your usual interleukin-6 antibodies (IL-6) that fights against a number of diseases including rheumatoid arthritis, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, and other joint diseases. The monoclonal cytokine IL-6 works to generate and mediate immune responses that are needed to treat many autoimmune diseases, tumorous myeloma and prostate cancer.
Doctors often prescribed tocilizumab for treating rheumatoid arthritis in adults in combination with DMARDs like methotrexate. Tocilizumab alone is good to be prescribed for children suffering from severe arthritis pain.
Hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil ®) – DMARD
Hydroxychloroquine is also a DMARD that is marketed under the brand name of Plaquenil. It provides a valuable medication against malarial parasites and rheumatoid arthritis pain. It can also be given to treat systemic lupus erythematosus and porphyria cutanea tarda. It is administered orally by mouth. To make it more patients-friendly, it is sold as hydroxychloroquine sulfate.
You might experience a few common side effects after intaking hydroxychloroquine drugs such as nausea, vomiting, dizziness, blurred vision, weaknesses, etc. due to it’s potent dose. Yes it serves as an effective pregnancy drug for treating rheumatic disease and malarial fever.
Sulfasalazine (Azulfidine®) – DMARD
Sulfasalazine (Azulfidine) is another important medicine for treating bone and joint problems such as rheumatoid arthritis. It helps to provide the first-line treatment option for severe rheumatic joint disease but it is also used to cure Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Sulfasalazine is available in an oral dosage form so it can easily be engulfed with a glass of lukewarm water whenever you feel severe pain in your joints.
Since sulfasalazine is an disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD), it can also be used to reduce inflammation and treat inflammatory bowel disease along with psoriatic and reactive arthritis. It’s mechanism of action is still unclear but it mainly concerns with inhibiting prostaglandins to produce local anti-inflammatory effects.
Leflunomide (Arava®) – DMARD
Another important drug known for its effective uses in treating rheumatic diseases is Leflunomide. This drug is mostly sold as a trade name “Arava” all around the world. Available at both in the local shops as well as on the online pharmacy portals, it makes treating joint pain easy with its immunosuppressive properties. Among other problems, it helps to treat moderate-to-severe rheumatoid active psoriatic arthritis.
Leflunomide also belongs to the class of disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs). Its mechanism of action concerns the synthesis of a pyrimidine inhibitor that can inhibit the action of dihydroorotate dehydrogenase. The drug is given in a controlled or dose-limiting manner to avoid common side effects. Such as hair loss, high BP, allergic rashes, respiratory problems, headache, nausea, diarrhea, skin issues, abdominal discomfort, liver compromise, UTI and bacterial infections.
Conclusion
The above-mentioned drugs are top 5 drugs that every local, clinical or hospital pharmacy must have at all times to treat the patients in need, suffering from severe joint problems.