It is difficult to imagine that such a well-known medicine as magnesium sulfate, which has been used in medical practice for several centuries, was originally used only as a laxative. And now, despite the creation of modern and seemingly more effective drugs, magnesium sulfate is still a popular drug that is used even in emergency care.
The mechanism of therapeutic action
As a medicine, magnesium sulfate, the use of which is based on the clinical effects of its components, is widely used not only in therapy, but also in neurology, gynecology, and dermatology. Magnesium is a competitive calcium antagonist, therefore, it has a direct effect on metabolic processes in the cells of the body, the transmission mechanism of the neuromuscular impulse in the cells of the nervous system and muscle excitability. Moreover, the effect, which is identical in mechanism of action and comparable in strength, occurs both in smooth and in striated muscle fibers. At the same time, this substance causes a noticeable slowdown in the rhythm of heart contractions and a decrease in peripheral vascular resistance - that is why magnesium sulfate is prescribed for the relief of hypertensive crises.
The sulfate group in this drug explains why magnesium sulfate, which is used internally as a choleretic and laxative today, is considered the most effective drug for treating constipation. When a solution of magnesia enters the intestine, the substance is practically not absorbed and causes water retention in the lumen of the colon - after 2-4 hours, the expected laxative effect occurs. In addition, the laxative effect of magnesia allows you to prescribe a drug to reduce the absorption of any toxins from the intestines and accelerate the elimination of poisons in case of poisoning.
In surgical practice, the drug is used as a powerful tool for treating wounds with copious discharge (both serous and purulent) - the wound surface is drained and the possibility of suppuration is reduced.
How is magnesia prescribed?
Magnesium sulfate, which is now used internally for the treatment of acute poisoning by poisons taken through the mouth, and to eliminate constipation that occurs when the normal flow of bile is disturbed, is prescribed as a 25% solution. In the first case, the drug inhibits the absorption of any chemical substance and fluid from the lumen of the large intestine. In the second case, it removes the spasm of the muscles of the biliary tract, and already due to the influence of bile on the motility of the digestive tract, the passage of intestinal contents is accelerated.
Prescribing magnesium sulfate intramuscularly, the doctor takes into account the antispasmodic and antihypertensive effect of the drug. That is why the drug is prescribed at the initial stage of hypertension, neurocirculatory dystonia of the hypertensive type, or the initial stages of atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease. There is another useful property of magnesia - this substance can be prescribed to pregnant women or women in childbirth with the threat of developing severe forms of late pregnancy toxicosis (preeclampsia or eclampsia) for the prevention and treatment of seizures, overly strong labor. In this case, magnesium sulfate is prescribed intravenously or intramuscularly, but only under the condition of constant medical supervision and the possibility of immediate resuscitation assistance - in case of an overdose or excessively rapid administration of the drug, respiratory depression is possible.