Symptomatic treatment
Medical treatment that only affects a condition's symptoms
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Related on Lably
Through Therapy, Disease and Signs and symptoms
For more detail, see supportive therapy. For conditions like cancer, arthritis, neuropathy, tendinopathy, and injury, it can be useful to distinguish treatments that are supportive/palliative and cannot alter the natural history of the disease (disease modifying treatments).
Examples
Examples of symptomatic treatments:
- Analgesics, to reduce pain
- Anti-inflammatory agents, for inflammation caused by arthritis
- Antitussives, for cough
- Antihistaminics (also known as antihistamines), for allergy
- Antipyretics, for fever
- Enemas for constipation
- Treatments that reduce unwanted side effects from drugs
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Uses
When the etiology (the cause, set of causes, or manner of causation of a disease or condition) for the disease is known, then specific treatment may be instituted, but it is generally associated with symptomatic treatment, as well. When the etiology is unknown, then symptomatic treatment may be the only realistic option. Symptomatic treatments are often used to manage side effects, such as drug withdrawal syndromes.
Symptomatic treatment is not always recommended, and in fact, it may be dangerous, because it may mask the presence of an underlying etiology which will then be forgotten or treated with great delay. Examples:
- Low-grade fever for 15 days or more is sometimes the only symptom of bacteremia by staphylococcus bacteria. Suppressing it by symptomatic treatment will hide the disease from effective diagnosis and treatment with antibiotics. The consequence may be severe (rheumatic fever, nephritis, endocarditis, etc.)
- Chronic headache may be caused simply by a constitutional disposition or be the result of a brain tumor or a brain aneurysm.
Finally, symptomatic treatment is not exempt from adverse effects, and may be a cause of iatrogenic consequences (i.e., ill effects caused by the treatment itself), such as allergic reactions, stomach bleeding, central nervous system effects (nausea, dizziness, etc.).