Butalbital belongs to the class of medicine that are termed as barbiturates. Barbiturates have their action on the central nervous system. They depress brain activity. They act as sedatives (medicines that induce sleep). They have their action on specified areas of the brain by acting upon the receptors of neurotransmitters.
Neurotransmitter
These are the chemical mediators that are released by the neuronal cells at the site of action potential. The action of neurotransmitters can be excitatory or inhibitory.
In excitatory action, they boost up the activity of the given part of the brain or receptor on receiving the signal (action potential). While in cases of inhibitory activity they lower the activity of the brain by decreasing the firing of respective neurons in that area.
Pain
Pain is an unpleasant sensation that makes the body feel that something is going unusual or unwanted in the body. There are many types of pain ranging from mild pain to severe pain. It can be a simple as pin prick or complex as migraine (pain of half head) or kidney pain.
In cases of mild pain no medications are required. It goes away on its own and it is not such uncomfortable. When a person suffers through a severe pain or pain for longer durations that can make person exhausted, one needs for a medication to get relief out of it.
Effects of pain
- Pain Makes a person Uncomfortable and Restless
- It can cause exhaustion of body in cases of severe pain
- It can also lead towards insomnia(inability to sleep)
- Pain also diverts the attention of mind so the person cannot work with full concentration
- It can make person lethargic
Why you need to take butalbital?
Butalbital is a drug of choice for relieving pain. The threshold level of people to bear pain is different. Some people can tolerate mild to severe pain with little discomfort while others even cannot stay easy with the mild level of pain. So in order to get rid of this unfavorable body sensation medicines are taken.
Butalbital mechanism of action
Butalbital acts by increasing the levels of GABA neurotransmitter, that is one of the most important inhibitory neurotransmitters of brain. GABA stands for gamma amino butyric acid.
There are several GABA receptors located in brain. GABA binds to these receptors to perform its function. Increased release of GABA results in the lowering the brain’s activity. It causes brain depression or in simpler words it relaxes brain and induces sleep. It also helps in relieving pain.
What happens if one takes high butalbital?
Any medicine stays safe and more effective only when it is used within its prescribed doses. Decrease doses render drug ineffective, while increase dose or over doses of a medicine result in its side effects.
Butalbital when taken in high doses results in
- Drowsiness
- Forgetfullness
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Muscle cramps
- Headache
- Inactiveness
- Coma (in extremes of cases)
Conclusion
Each and every person has to encounter pain during his life. It is not a disease but a symptom or the outcome of some underlying disease or pathological process.
Before treating that disease, one may immediately demands to get rid of pain first. So use of such medicines that lower the intensity of pain or make the person pain free, are used to give the patient a comfort zone.
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