Taking ondansetron to reduce nausea during chemotherapy

Ondansetron is one of the highly effective antiemetic drugs which helps in the prevention of nausea and vomiting. It is the medication that is highly safe and comes up with minimum adverse effects. This potent drug finds its application in controlling nausea due to
• Chemotherapy
• Alcohol consumption
• Radiation
• Acute gastroenteritis
• Surgery
In this short post, you are also going to find the troubles caused by Ondansetron and Alcohol!

Nausea During Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is quite a painful procedure that treats cancer patients. It involves killing cancerous cells while preventing healthy body cells. The medulla of the brain comprises two vomiting centres. These are known as the integrative centre and chemoreceptor trigger zone (CTZ). These are responsible for triggering the sensation of nausea and vomiting in the human body and are located in the medulla.

Mechanism of Action:
Anti-nausea medication is recommended to the patient to combat the nausea condition and vomiting—these work through blocking the sensation of nerves that approaches the vomiting centre located in the brain. Ondansetron belongs to the serotonin 5-HT3 receptor antagonists class of medication. The mode of action includes serotonin action, which is involved in causing vomiting and nausea.

Dosage Form:
Ondansetron comes in both injectable and oral dosage form. However, most often, it is administered for the chemotherapeutic patient in injection form. It is administered to the cancer patient before initiating the chemotherapy session. The intravenous dose for chemotherapy patients is 0.15 mg/kg. Administering more than 8mg is prohibited.

For Children:
The dose for the children varies and is often less than the adults. Children having cancer are subjected first for their body weight, and then their dose is calculated as per their peculiar weight. It is the mandatory step to avoid any disastrous issues. Administering the adult dose for ondansetron in cancerous children can lead to adverse events.

Side Effects:
As it is a relatively safer drug, it is most commonly used for cancerous patients. It is a highly tolerated drug that can lead to mild to moderate side effects. These include drowsiness, chills, tiredness, weakness, constipation, or headache, which eliminates time.

Ondansetron and Alcohol
Consumption of alcohol leads to irritation in the stomach lining. The more alcohol consumption will be, the more irritation would become. It leads to more and more production of the stomach acid HCl (hydrochloride). As a consequence of it, there is delayed stomach emptying. Such processes lead to vomiting, nausea and abdominal cramps. Administration of ondansetron can treat nausea and vomiting in alcoholics.