Showing posts with label Uses. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Uses. Show all posts

Statins - Uses

Uses-Statins




Statins may be recommended if you have cardiovascular disease (CVD) or a high risk of developing it in the next 10 years.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD)

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a general term for conditions affecting the heart or blood vessels.
It's often caused by high cholesterol and is the most common cause of death in the UK.
The main types of CVD are:
Statins cannot cure these conditions, but they can help prevent them getting worse or recurring in people who have been diagnosed with them.
They can also reduce the chance of CVD developing in the first place in people at risk. 
Statins are usually used in combination with lifestyle measures, such as: 

People at risk of CVD 

If you do not have any form of CVD, statins may still be recommended if you're thought to be at a high risk of developing the condition in the future.
The current recommendation is that you should be offered statins if:
  • you have at least a 1 in 10 chance of developing CVD at some point in the next 10 years
  • lifestyle measures, such as exercising regularly and eating a healthy diet, have not reduced this risk
Your GP may recommend carrying out a formal assessment of your CVD risk if they think you may be at an increased risk of CVD, based on your personal and family medical history.
For this formal assessment, your GP or practice nurse will use special CVD risk assessment computer software that takes into account factors such as:
  • your age
  • if you're male or female
  • your ethnic group, as some have an increased risk of CVD
  • your weight and height
  • if you smoke or have previously smoked
  • if you have a family history of CVD
  • your blood pressure
  • your blood cholesterol levels
  • if you have certain long-term conditions – such as diabetes, chronic kidney disease, rheumatoid arthritis and atrial fibrillation (a heart condition that causes an irregular and often abnormally fast heart rate)

Other uses

Statins can also be used to treat people with familial hypercholesterolaemia.
This is an inherited condition caused by a genetic fault that leads to high cholesterol levels, even in people who have a generally healthy lifestyle.
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Antidepressants - Uses

UsesAntidepressants



The main use for antidepressants is treating clinical depression in adults. They're also used for other mental health conditions and treatment of long-term pain.
In most cases, adults with moderate to severe depression are given antidepressants as a first form of treatment. They're often prescribed along with a talking therapy such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). CBT is a type of therapy that uses a problem-solving approach to help improve thought, mood and behaviour.
Antidepressants aren't always recommended for treating mild depression because research has found limited effectiveness.
However, antidepressants are sometimes prescribed for a few months for mild depression to see if you experience any improvement in your symptoms. If you don't see any benefits in this time, the medicine will be slowly withdrawn.
Initially, a type of antidepressant called a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) is usually prescribed. If your symptoms haven't improved after about 4 weeks, an alternative antidepressant may be recommended or your dose may be increased.
Many antidepressants can be prescribed by your GP, but some types can only be used under the supervision of a mental health professional. If the depression doesn't respond to antidepressants alone, other treatments, such as CBT, may also be used to help achieve better results. They may also give higher doses of the medicine.

Children and young people

Children and young people with moderate to severe depression should first be offered a course of psychotherapy that lasts for at least 3 months.
In some cases, an SSRI called fluoxetine may be offered in combination with psychotherapy to treat moderate to severe depression in young people aged 12 to 18.

Other mental health conditions

Antidepressants can also be used to help treat other mental health conditions, including:
As with depression, SSRIs are usually the first choice of treatment for these conditions. If SSRIs prove ineffective, another type of antidepressant can be used.

Long-term pain

Even though a type of antidepressant called tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) weren't originally designed to be painkillers, there's evidence to suggest they're effective in treating chronic (long-term) nerve pain in some people.
Chronic nerve pain, also known as neuropathic pain, is caused by nerve damage or other problems with the nerves, and is often unresponsive to regular painkillers, such as paracetamol.
Amitriptyline is a TCA that's usually used to treat neuropathic pain. Conditions that may benefit from treatment with amitriptyline include:
Antidepressants have also been used to treat cases of chronic pain that don't involve nerves (non-neuropathic pain). However, they're thought to be less effective for this purpose. As well as TCAs, SSRIs and serotonin-noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) can also be used to treat chronic non-neuropathic pain.
Conditions that cause non-neuropathic pain which may benefit from treatment with antidepressants include fibromyalgia, chronic back pain and chronic neck pain.

Bedwetting in children

TCAs are sometimes used to treat bedwetting in children, as they can help relax the muscles of the bladder. This increases bladder capacity and reduces the urge to urinate.
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Anticoagulant medicines - Uses

UsesAnticoagulant medicines



Anticoagulants are used if you're at risk of developing blood clots that could potentially block a blood vessel and disrupt the flow of blood around your body.
This can lead to several serious conditions, including:
  • strokes – where a blood clot restricts the flow of blood to your brain, causing brain cells to die and possibly resulting in permanent brain damage or death 
  • transient ischaemic attacks (TIAs) – also called "mini-strokes", these have similar symptoms to a stroke, but the effects usually last less than 24 hours 
  • heart attacks – where a blood clot blocks a blood vessel supplying your heart, starving it of oxygen and causing chest pain and sometimes death 
  • deep vein thrombosis (DVT) – where a blood clot forms in one of the deep veins in your body, usually your legs, causing pain and swelling 
  • pulmonary embolism – where a blood clot blocks one of the blood vessels around the lungs, stopping the supply of blood to your lungs

Who should take anticoagulants?

Your doctor may recommend anticoagulants to help prevent the above conditions if they feel you're at risk.
This may be because you have:
  • developed blood clots in the past 
  • recently had surgery that means you're unable to move around much while you recover, such as a hip replacement or knee replacement
  • had an aortic valve replacement – as blood clots can form on the surface of the new heart valve 
  • atrial fibrillation – a type of irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia) that can cause blood clots to form in the heart 
  • a condition where the blood has an increased tendency to form clots (thrombophilia), such as Factor V Leiden 
  • antiphospholipid syndrome – where the immune system attack fats and proteins in the blood vessels, causing the blood to clot 
Anticoagulants are also sometimes used to treat blood clots, such as DVT or a pulmonary embolism, by stopping the clot getting bigger while your body slowly reabsorbs it.
How long you'll need to take anticoagulants for will depend on why they're needed. You might only need to take them for a short time after a hip or knee replacement, but treatment may be lifelong if you have a long-term condition that increases your risk of blood clots
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Antibiotics - Uses

UsesAntibiotics



Antibiotics are used to treat or prevent some types of bacterial infections. They aren't effective against viral infections, such as the common cold or flu.
Antibiotics should only be prescribed to treat conditions:
  • that aren't especially serious but are unlikely to clear up without the use of antibiotics – such as moderately severe acne
  • that aren't especially serious but could spread to other people if not promptly treated – such as the skin infection impetigo or the sexually transmitted infection chlamydia
  • where evidence suggests that antibiotics could significantly speed up recovery – such as a kidney infection
  • that carry a risk of more serious complications – such as cellulitisor pneumonia

People at risk of bacterial infections

Antibiotics may also be recommended for people who are more vulnerable to the harmful effects of infection. This may include:
  • people aged over 75 years 
  • babies less than 72 hours old with a confirmed bacterial infection, or a higher than average risk of developing one 
  • people with heart failure
  • people who have to take insulin to control their diabetes
  • people with a weakened immune system – either because of an underlying health condition such as HIV infection or as a side effect of certain treatments, such as chemotherapy

Antibiotics to prevent infection

Antibiotics are sometimes given as a precaution to prevent, rather than treat, an infection. This is known as antibiotic prophylaxis.
Antibiotic prophylaxis is normally recommended if you're having surgery on a certain part of the body which carries a high risk of infection or where infection could lead to devastating effects.
For example, it may be used if you're going to have:
Your surgical team will be able to tell you if you require antibiotic prophylaxis.

Bites or wounds

Antibiotic prophylaxis may be recommended for a wound that has a high chance of becoming infected – this could be an animal or human bite, for example, or a wound that has come into contact with soil or faeces.

Medical conditions

There are several medical conditions that make people particularly vulnerable to infection, making antibiotic prophylaxis necessary.
For example, the spleen plays an important role in filtering out harmful bacteria from the blood. People who have had their spleen removed, people having chemotherapy for cancer, or those with the blood disorder sickle cell anaemia, where their spleen doesn't work properly, should take antibiotics to prevent infection.
In some cases, antibiotic prophylaxis is prescribed for people who experience a recurring infection that's causing distress or an increased risk of complications, such as: 
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