Side Effects
Side effects can be described as adverse reactions to medication, treatment or different procedures that a patient may be experiencing. Everyone reacts to different types of changes differently, and there have been medical advances in the past couple of years to lower side effects for certain types of circumstances. Unfortunately, doctors and medical scientists have not found out the method to eliminating side effects indefinitely. There will always be patients who experience some sort of negative reaction or illness following a procedure or dosage of medication. Clinical trials have been the best way to determine the types of side effects or reactions that may happen to a patient. By first using animals to determine serious reactions, doctors are able to analyze how it might potentially affect a human. There are different stages in clinical trials, and the medication or treatment must pass through all stages before it is made available to the market.
The severity of side effect is different for every circumstance and every patient. Depending on the procedure or medication, the patient can experience little to no side effects or all, or life altering side effects that could potentially make them very sick and form other conditions. For example, taking too much aspirin may cause an upset stomach for some people. Others will have no reaction at all. For more server cases, such as cancer treatments and medication, there are inevitable reactions that most patients experience. Common side effects that a person may have include nausea, vomiting, upset stomach, headache, dry mouth, fever, rash and others that are similar. There are ways to minimize the side effects of a product that a doctor may distribute to allow more comfort to the patient. It is important to ask a medical professional about the side effects before beginning any treatment or medication regimen.
Last modified: December 17 2007.
