The inflammatory process is, in general, the body’s natural response to an attempt to introduce foreign microorganisms into it. Thus, the lesion is limited and the infectious agent is destroyed. But the body is not always able to cope with the disease. In order not to lead to significant damage to organs and tissues, when their functions may even be impaired, anti-inflammatory drugs are often used. You can do without them with the effectiveness of etiotropic treatment. If we are talking about the chronic course of a systemic inflammatory disease of the connective tissue, and there is a risk of patient disability, then the use of anti-inflammatory drugs as soon as possible is simply necessary.
All anti-inflammatory pills are divided into three main categories: steroidal, non-steroidal, and slow-acting.
Steroids
These include corticosteroid drugs. Initially, these were: cortisone and hydrocortisone obtained from the adrenal glands. Now a number of these agents have been replenished with synthetic drugs: prednisone, methylprednisolone, fluorinated derivatives - dexamethasone, triamcinolone, flumetasone, betamethasone. Steroids actively inhibit phospholipase A2, which is why they exhibit anti-inflammatory effects. Indications for steroid use are all forms of active rheumatism. The treatment is long, up to 2 months, often combined with non-steroidal medications.
Slow Action
These anti-inflammatory pills are used to treat systemic lesions of connective tissue, rheumatoid arthritis. This is a basic treatment medication with a slow effect, which manifests itself over several months. These include gold, chingamine (delagil, chloroquine), penicillinamine, cytostatics, etc.
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)
This group is the most common. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory tablets also have antipyretic and analgesic effects. They gained great popularity even with a wide range of actions and high efficiency. Every day, more than 30 million people worldwide take this group of drugs, of which nearly half are over the age of 60. Many people buy medicine in pharmacies without a prescription.
NSAIDs are divided into groups depending on the chemical structure and nature of the action. The first is a highly effective anti-inflammatory pill. These are salicylates (among them the well-known aspirin), pyrazolidines (phenylbutazone), derivatives of indoleacetic (indomethacin, sulindac) and phenylacetic (diclofenac) acids, oxycam (piroxicam, etc.), propionic acid derivatives (ibuprofen, ketaprofen, naproxen .). This group also includes some non-acidic derivatives, for example, alkanones (namubeton), sulfonamide derivatives (nimesulide, rofecoxib).
The drugs of the second group have a weak anti-inflammatory activity. By the way, the popular paracetamol belongs to them.
The action of NSAIDs is based on the inhibition of cyclooxygenase (COX), an enzyme involved in the synthesis of prostaglandins. The latter are modulators of the inflammatory process, produce the appearance of a pain syndrome and sharp jumps in temperature (fever).
NSAIDs have many side effects, but recently a new generation of drugs (meloxicam, tenoxicam, nabumetone, solpaflex) have begun to appear that selectively inhibit prostaglandins, significantly reducing the likelihood of unpleasant complications. Knowing the large number of severe side effects that many antibiotics sin, anti-inflammatory drugs are often preferred if you can choose.