Peptic ulcer is becoming more common due to the rhythm of life and changes in the nature of people's nutrition. Ranitidine tablets help to cope with the main manifestations of the pathology and restore human performance. The effectiveness of the drug is clinically proven and confirmed by patients and doctors.
Material Content:
The composition of the drug
Ranitidine is presented in tablets in the form of hydrochloride - an active salt. The drug is soluble in water and sensitive to sunlight. It has a white or yellowish color, a specific sulfuric smell and a bitter taste.
The tablets contain a granular powder inside, and on the outside are coated in the form of a film. 150-300 mg of active substance are in 1 capsule, and also magnesium stearate, silicon dioxide, copovidone and MCC are a part of Ranitidin. The drug acts as an antagonist of H2 receptors for histamine. It acts as a blocker of the transmission of impulses to them, as a result, the mucous membrane of the digestive tract ceases to be irritated. This starts the healing process, which ends with recovery.
What helps ranitidine, indications for use
The drug is prescribed for various diseases of the digestive tract and related pathologies.
These include:
- esophagitis;
- neoplasm of unknown origin in several endocrine glands (polyendocrine adenomatosis);
- gastric ulcer;
- pneumonia provoked by vomiting or food into the respiratory tract;
- Mendelssohn syndrome;
- peptic ulcer of the duodenum;
- gastroesophageal reflux;
- dyspeptic disorders;
- Zollinger-Ellison syndrome;
- peptic ulcer defect, unspecified location;
- pneumonia caused by aspiration due to anesthesia during childbirth;
- heartburn;
- GI bleeding of unspecified genesis;
- mastocytosis of a systemic nature;
- intoxication with non-opioid type painkillers, antirheumatic and antipyretic drugs;
- complications after surgery;
- erosive esophagitis;
- increased secretion of gastric juice.
The drug is prescribed not only for treatment, but also as a prophylactic if there is a high risk of complications from surgery. It helps to avoid the occurrence of gastrointestinal pathologies, as well as prevent bleeding from the digestive system. For the universality of action and high efficiency, the tablets are widely used among doctors and patients.
Instructions for use and dosage of tablets
Ranitidine is known among patients as tablets from the stomach, although it is often prescribed for pathologies of other sections of the gastrointestinal tract. With an uncomplicated disease, it is enough to take from 300 to 450 mg per day for 2-3 times. If the patient's condition is life threatening or the standard dosage does not cope with the treatment, the amount of medication is increased. Such patients are prescribed from 600 to 900 mg of active substance per day, while the frequency of administration remains the same.
To prevent exacerbation of a duodenal ulcer and stomach or complications after surgery, 150 mg of the drug is prescribed at night. If the patient has a violation of the functions of the excretory system, the dose is reduced to 75 mg twice a day. The course of therapy usually does not take more than a month, but the exact period is selected by the attending physician individually.
During pregnancy and lactation
Instructions for use of the drug contain information that when experiments on rats using dosages exceeding human by 160 times, no negative effect on embryos was detected. But the appointment of it by pregnant women is possible only under the supervision of a specialist, since the active substance is able to pass through the placental barrier. In the breast milk of mothers, the presence of medicine was also noted, therefore, for the period of feeding the baby, it is worth refusing to take Ranitidine. If a woman’s condition threatens her life, the drug is allowed, and the baby is transferred to adapted mixtures.
Drug interaction
Ranitidine acts through the gastrointestinal tract, so it is able to interact with many drugs. With simultaneous treatment with a large amount of sucralfate or antacids (from 2 g and above), the absorption of the active substance is worsened. Therefore, at least 1-2 hours should elapse between taking these types of drugs.
The effectiveness of the drug decreases with smoking, which requires correction of the recommended dosage by a doctor. With alcoholic beverages, the medicine can react, and there is also a significant load on the liver. This can provoke a violation of its functions and cell damage.
Combined therapy with ranitidine and triazolam increases the amount of the latter in the blood by one third. This is due to a change in the pH of the secretion of the stomach. The drug also affects metoprolol, increasing its concentration and retaining it in the body.
The drug has an effect on the antifungal drugs Ketoconazole and Itraconazole, worsening the degree of absorption. Therefore, the interval between taking these drugs should be at least 2 hours. Ranitidine inhibits the metabolic activity of hexobarbital, phenazone, BKK, buformin and glipizide. If necessary, simultaneous treatment requires adjustment of the dosage of drugs in the direction of increasing.
Taking Ranitidine with drugs that suppress bone marrow function increases the possibility of a deficiency of neutrophils in the blood. This can cause bacterial complications during treatment. In the treatment of elderly people with ranitidine and anticholinergics, a deterioration in memory and attention develops. Therefore, they require more care and supervision for this period.
With the simultaneous use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and Ranitidine, the risk of ulceration in the gastric mucosa is reduced. A joint treatment with quinidine can cause ventricular arrhythmias. Combination therapy with cisapride can cause damage to heart cells.
The combined use of ranitidine with tripotassium bismuth dicitrate increases the degree of its absorption. And in combination with Furosemide, the bioavailability of the diuretic increases. Also, the drug increases the concentration of cyclosporine, which requires dose adjustment.
With the simultaneous use of Ranitidine and procainamide, the excretion of the second through the kidneys becomes worse, so its amount in the blood increases. And with phenytoin therapy, its concentration increases several times. This can provoke intoxication with the drug, so this combination should be avoided.
Contraindications, side effects and overdose
Since Ranitidine is highly effective, its purpose is accompanied by some limitations. It is not recommended to use the drug for pregnant and lactating women, as well as in the presence of individual reactions to its components. A small number of contraindications is explained by the safety of the drug and the uniqueness of its action.
But during treatment, the patient may be disturbed by side effects. These include:
- disorders of the nervous system (insomnia, pain in the head, anxiety, fatigue, drowsiness, vertigo, dizziness, convulsive syndrome);
- pathology of the visual analyzer (impaired accommodation of the lens of the eye, reversible visual impairment);
- mental disorders (depressive disorders, less commonly impaired consciousness, hallucinations);
- pathologies of the heart and blood vessels (bradycardia, hypotension, tachycardia, ventricular arrhythmia, atrioventricular block);
- disorders of the hemostasis system (reversible decrease in the concentration of platelets, leukocytes, granulocytes, less often the absence of granulocytes, a decrease in bone marrow, anemia of aplastic or hemolytic type);
- digestive tract pathologies (diarrhea, nausea, constipation, vomiting, pain in the abdomen, less commonly inflammation of the pancreas, non-infectious hepatitis, jaundice);
- disorders in the musculoskeletal system (pain in the muscles and joints);
- allergic manifestations (fever, rashes, bronchospasm, an increase in the number of eosinophils, erythema multiforme type, Quincke edema, anaphylactic shock);
- pathology of the reproductive system (increased mammary glands in men, decreased sexual desire and potency, lack of menstruation);
- vasculitis;
- baldness.
The incidence of side effects is extremely low., but if there is one of the signs, you should immediately contact a specialist. He will prescribe symptomatic therapy and carry out activities aimed at removing the drug from the body.
In some cases, an overdose of the drug is possible. In these situations, patients report drowsiness, headaches, impaired consciousness, dizziness, and a rash. Doctors advise taking a sorbent (activated carbon, Polysorb, Enterosgel) on your own and calling an ambulance.
Analogs of antiulcer drug
From pain in the stomach and other manifestations of the gastrointestinal tract, Ranitidine analogues can be prescribed. Usually this is due to individual intolerance to the drug or its inaccessibility.
These drugs include:
- Atzilok;
- Zantac
- Ranisan;
- Histac.
These are drugs that contain the same active substance. Of the drugs with a similar therapeutic effect, Cimetidine and Gastrosidine can be noted. They also help with gastrointestinal pathologies, but have a different dosage and contraindications. Therefore, self-replacement of ranitidine with analogues is not recommended.
Due to the high prevalence of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, a large number of therapeutic agents have been invented. But Ranitidine remains one of the most effective and safest. It helps with most types of pathologies, and is also used as a prophylaxis, which makes it even more versatile and indispensable.
