Diclofenac Sodium

Diclofenac

Diclofenac is a capsule or tablet form medicine used to treat pain and inflammation. Its active ingredient, Diclofenac Sodium, is one of the groups of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) that reduces swelling of joints, muscles, and tendons especially around the area of the knees, feet, and hands. Pain associated with dental and minor surgery can be eased by Diclofenac. It also alleviates pain caused by sports injuries, backache, sprain, and frozen shoulder, dislocations, and fractures.

What are the side effects?

Just like other drugs, side effects are almost always guaranteed. Patients may experience some common or serious side effects during medication or while taking it. If these side effects persist and cause discomfort, consult a doctor for proper treatment.

Here are some common side effects:

• Stomach pain, heartburn, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, indigestion, loss of appetite
• Headache, dizziness, vertigo
• Skin rash
• Increased level of liver enzymes
• Constipation
• Sleepiness

How Do I Use?

Taking this medication depends on the patient’s medical condition and other factors such as:

• your age
• the severity of the patient’s condition
• other medical conditions you might have and other medicines you are taking
• how you react to the first dose

If you are prescribed to take tablets than the other forms of Diclofenac, swallow the tablet whole and do not crush, chew, or break it.

To reduce the risk of side effects, use this medication at the lowest effective dose for the shortest possible time. Do not increase your dose more than what is prescribed.

For certain conditions like arthritis, sometimes it would take 2 weeks of using this drug regularly until you appreciate the effect of the medicine. If you are using this drug irregularly, remember that pain medications work best if they are used when the first signs of pain occur. If you wait until the pain has worsened, you might not get the complete benefit of the medicine.