Essential Information on Anti-Inflammatory Drugs
Even in ancient times, the visual evidence of inflammation was described by the Roman philosopher and physician Aulus Cornelius Celsus. He listed such showings of inflammatory process as reddening of the tissues, fever, ache, and swelling. It was later completed with the functional impairment.
In the late nineteenth century, Russian biologist Ilya Mechnikov discovered and claimed that it is an answer of an organism developed due to evolution and that its major manifestation is phagocytosis (capturing) by microphages and macrophages of the pathogenic agents and ensuring the body's recovery. But he overlooked the reparative feature of the inflammatory process. Besides, he considered that this curing force of nature is still far from the perfect as it commonly occurs in diseases and can even lead to death.
There exist numerous illnesses and conditions that can trigger inflammatory process because it is, as it was previously discussed, the answer of an organism to any negative effect. In this section of our online pharmacy, you can buy anti-inflammatory preparations for such diseases as rheumatoid arthritis, ulcerative colitis, and Crohn’s disease. These are chronic conditions manifested in irritation, pain, and fever. They last for multiple years or as long as a lifetime and require the use of powerful medications which are quite expensive which is why we recommend you to pay attention to their generics from our range of products. And now let’s get a bit deeper on the topic of inflammation to know how it differs, diagnosed, and what treatment is considered the best today.
Types of inflammations based on different parameters
The inflammatory processes differ by the time they last and are classified into Acute that lasts several minutes to several hours; Subacute that lasts from several days to several weeks; Chronic that lasts from a few months to a lifetime with alternating periods of remission and exacerbation.
By the intensity of the body reaction they are classified into:
- Normal inflammation is an adequate reaction of the organism that corresponds to the attribute and intensity of the pathogen irritant effect;
- Hyperergic inflammation is a reaction that is highly exaggerated;
- Hypergic and anergic types are weak or total lack of reaction of the organism that can occur in people older than 60 years, in malnutrition and avitaminosis.
By the localization or the area of spreading the inflammations are classified into:
- Local inflammation is spread to a limited area of tissue or a single organ.
- Systemic inflammation is a process spread on a system of a body, for instance, connective tissues system in rheumatoid arthritis, vascular system in systemic vasculitis, and so on.
Another classification differentiates the process by the form of the process:
- Exudative inflammation, i.e. an inflammation that is accompanied with excretion of different fluids. It is also divided into several sub-classes based on the type of fluid that is excreted: serous, fibrinous, purulent, putrefactive, hemorrhagic, catarrhal, and mixed;
- Proliferative inflammation is a process in which a protective barrier is formed with a prevalence of cell and tissue cell expansion.
- Alterative and exudative changes recede into the background. As a result of the proliferation of cells, focal or diffuse cellular infiltrates are formed. It is also divided into several sub-categories such as granuloma, interstitial inflammation, development of polyps and genital warts, and inflammation around parasitic animals and foreign bodies (cholangitis, urethritis, cyst).
- Specific inflammation is developed in such conditions as tuberculosis, syphilis, glanders, leprosy, and scleroma.
What can cause an inflammation?
There are several known factors that can contribute to inflammation development and they are physical trauma, fungal, viral or bacterial infection, and hypothermia. Another alone standing cause of inflammation is an autoimmune condition in which the body starts to tear away for some reasons its own components.
One of the serious chronic inflammatory diseases, Crohn’s disease is also related to the inadequate reaction of the body immune system yet it is not considered an autoimmune disease.
The official classification of the causes is the following:
- The physical cause of an inflammation is a trauma, a mechanical damage to the integrity of the tissue, frostbite, and thermal burn.
-Chemically-induced inflammations are caused by alkalis, acids ( the hydrochloric acid of the stomach), essential oils, irritants and toxic substances (alcohol (alcohols) and some medications.
- Biological for the inflammation is the causative agents of infectious diseases: animal parasites, bacteria, viruses, products of their vital activity (exo- and endotoxins).
Many pathogens cause specific inflammations, characteristic only for a certain type of infection (tuberculosis, leprosy, syphilis). Biological damage factors are also referred to as immune complexes, consisting of an antigen, antibody, and complement, causing immune inflammation (allergy, autoimmune thyroiditis, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic vasculitis).
Diagnosis of an inflammation
The diagnosis is made differently based on the type of inflammation. For instance, in an injury, viral or bacterial respiratory tract inflammation it is enough to do a physical examination of a patient. But if an inflammation is within the body, i.e. cannot be visible, it is diagnosed with a general blood test, biochemical blood test, x-ray, ultrasound, tomography, and so on. In some cases, for instance, in an inflammation of ovaries, a doctor can detect it by palpation, i.e. physical examination. Gastrointestinal tract inflammation is diagnosed with gastroscopy and colonoscopy besides the blood tests.
Treatment of inflammation
The medicament management of inflammation is contingent on the type of inflammation that is defined according to the above-listed classifications. It can be done with steroidal or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications, medications based on 5-aminosalicylic acid to help the tissues heal, or through the elimination of the pathogen that caused it. For instance, if this process occurs as an answer to bacterial infection, antibiotics are used, in case of fungal infection antifungal medications should be taken, and viral infection is treated with antiviral medications. You can find these drugs in the respective sections of our online pharmacy and in this section we offer specifically anti-inflammatory medications that help the tissue to recover and reduce the pain syndrome.
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications or NSAIDs are preparations that have a painkiller, antipyretic (anti-fever) and anti-inflammatory effects. The use of the word “nonsteroidal” in the name outlines their difference from the steroidal medicines such as glucocorticoids, which have not only an anti-inflammatory effect but also other, sometimes undesirable, properties of steroids.
The conditions in which the medicines from this group are mostly used include rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, inflammatory arthropathies, gout, dysmenorrhea, bone metastases accompanied by pain, headache and migraine, postoperative pain syndrome, pain syndrome of mild or moderate severity with inflammatory changes or trauma, fever, and renal colic.
The treatment of the inflammation that accompanies Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis is made with the preparations based on 5-aminosalicylic acid such as Sulfasalazine and Mesalazine that you can also find in this section of our website. These medications have an anti-inflammatory effect and render healing effect on the inflamed mucosa of the large intestine.
Besides these medications, hormonal medicines prednisolone, dexamethasone and their analogs are prescribed in the insufficient effect of the 5-aminosalicylic acid medications or in severe cases of ulcerative colitis. These medicines are usually combined with Sulfasalazine and Mesalazine. In case of severe manifestation of the disease, the hormones are administered intravenously in the dosage of 180-240 mg a day. After 3-7 days, in the presence of the therapeutic effect, the hormones are prescribed to be taken in a form of pills. Usually, the starting dosage is from 40 to 60 mg a day contingent on the severity of the disease and the weight of the patient. Subsequently, the dosage of prednisolone or its analogs is lowered by 5 mg a week. The hormonal medications don’t heal the mucosa of the intestines but just abate the intensity of the exacerbation.
Please note that even though you can buy anti-inflammatory drugs without prescriptions from our medstore, it is still highly advisable to consult a medical professional, take all necessary tests, find out the exact diagnosis and get a treatment plan from your healthcare provider.