People with cancer are often sick because treatment has a dramatic effect on the body. Antiemetic drugs during chemotherapy have to be consumed by patients during and after treatment. Vomiting is dangerous for the body, as it can cause dehydration.
Causes of Vomiting
When treating cancer with chemotherapy, vomiting often occurs. This is due to the effect on the body of strong drugs that fight tumors of malignant forms. Most drugs increase the calcium level in the blood (hypercalcemia), and vomiting is a protective action in which excess substances are excreted.
Varieties of vomiting in chemical therapy
During treatment in people with cancer, doctors distinguish two types of vomiting.
These include:
- acute vomiting, which manifests itself during the first day after the start of therapy;
- delayed vomiting, which manifests itself within 2 or 5 days after the start of therapy.
The acute variety is the most debilitating and frequent. Antiemetic drugs with chemotherapy and acute vomiting must be taken after the appearance of nausea and vomiting. Doctors do not recommend choosing a drug on their own, because the patient may make a mistake with the choice and the tool will not help him.
In the case of a delayed variety, antiemetic drugs after chemotherapy are taken until the emetics completely disappear.
Drugs for vomiting
Cancer treatment not only helps the body cope with the disease, but also causes some side effects. Vomiting is considered the most common, it can lead to dehydration and worsen the condition of a sick person.
In modern medicine, there are drugs that can prevent the appearance of vomiting.
Most often, doctors use the following tools:
- phenothiazines ("Prochlorperazine");
- benzodiazepines (Lorazepam);
- butyrophenones ("Haloperidol");
- corticosteroids ("Methylprednisolone");
- cannabinoids ("Dronabinol");
- metoclopramides ("Raglan").
The funds listed above do not have or have minimal side effects. Antiemetic drugs during chemotherapy are released in the form of tablets and injections. They must be applied, observing all the recommendations of the doctor and strictly on schedule. Interrupting the course of treatment yourself is undesirable, as this can lead to the development of complications and a deterioration in the patient’s well-being.
There are cases when nausea and vomiting do not stop after a course of cancer treatment, then doctors recommend taking medications even after therapy. At such moments, it is necessary to consult a specialist in order to prescribe other antiemetic drugs for patients after chemotherapy.
Comparison of antiemetics
Drug name | Release form | Indications | Contraindications | Side effects | Price (rub) |
"Haloperidol" | Tablets | Tics, vomiting, nausea, hiccups, premedication before surgery, psychosis. | Children under 3.5 years of age, pregnancy, lactation, diseases of the central nervous system. | Arrhythmia, impaired stool, decreased blood pressure, jaundice. | 25–40 |
Lorazepam | Pills and injections | Anxiety, depression, vomiting and nausea, psychosis, muscle stiffness, tremors. | Brain diseases, alcohol consumption, pregnancy and lactation, children under 12 years old. | Confusion, outbreaks of fear and aggression, diplopia, anemia, disorders in the genitourinary system. | - |
Dronabinol | Tablets and solution | Anorexia, nausea, vomiting. | There is no data | The onset of hallucinations. | - |
"Methylprednisolone" | Tablets | Erythema, dermatitis, vomiting, adrenal hyperplasia, allergies, psoriasis. | Intolerance to the components of the drug, children under 3 years old. | Convulsions, gastric ulcer, osteoporosis, gas, intracranial pressure, hallucinations. | 70–90 |
"Raglan" | Tablets | Dyspepsia, nausea, vomiting, preparation for an examination of the gastrointestinal tract (gastrointestinal tract). | Glaucoma, perforation of the stomach and intestines, epilepsy, pheochromocyte. | Drowsiness, dizziness, headaches, depression, flatulence, stool disorder. | 100-200 |
Principles of antiemetic therapy
To achieve better results in the fight against vomiting, doctors have developed a special course of using drugs that prevent vomiting.
- Patients should take antiemetic drugs during chemotherapy from the first days of treatment.
- In some cases, the use of complex treatment is necessary.
- Preventive measures must be taken to prevent delayed vomiting.
- Antiemetic therapy is used throughout the course of chemotherapy, and not only at the time of vomiting.
- If the use of drugs in the form of tablets and injections is not possible, then doctors prescribe antiemetic drugs during chemotherapy in suppositories.
If all the rules are followed, the risk of nausea and vomiting is reduced. It happens that when treating vomiting is still present, in such cases it is necessary to consult a doctor to identify the causes or replace the drug. This can happen due to getting used to the drug with its long-term use or with non-compliance with the recommendations.
The occurrence of vomiting in different people with chemotherapy
Vomiting does not occur in all people in the treatment of cancer. Each patient responds to such treatment in his own way. Some develop vomiting; others develop dizziness.
Most often, vomiting and nausea occurs in women under 40 years of age if untreated. Chemotherapy antiemetics, the names of which are described above, help to cope with such an unpleasant side effect as vomiting.
There is a myth that the higher the dose of an antiemetic drug, the higher its effectiveness - this is not so. Drugs must be used strictly on the recommendation of a doctor and observe the dosage prescribed by him. This is the only way to achieve a better result.
Be healthy!