What is pilocarpine used to treat?
Pilocarpine tablets are used to treat dryness of the mouth and throat caused by a decrease in the amount of saliva that may occur after radiation treatment for cancer of the head and neck or in patients with Sjogren’s syndrome.
What is the action of pilocarpine?
Pilocarpine belongs to a class of drugs known as cholinergic agonists. It works by stimulating certain nerves to increase the amount of saliva you produce, making it easier and more comfortable to speak and swallow.
What are the contraindications of pilocarpine?
Who should not take PILOCARPINE HCL?
- mental problems.
- detachment of the retina of the eye.
- inflammation of the iris – the colored part of the eyeball.
- closed angle glaucoma.
- high blood pressure.
- low blood pressure.
- asthma attack.
- bronchospasm.
What type of drug is pilocarpine?
Pilocarpine is in a class of medications called cholinergic agonists. It works by increasing the amount of saliva in the mouth.
Which is better pilocarpine and Cevimeline?
Conclusion: Both drugs showed efficacy in increasing the salivary flow in healthy volunteers, but cevimeline was more effective than pilocarpine.
How long does pilocarpine take to work?
Although the data show that pilocarpine-induced stimulation of salivary flow occurred within 30 minutes of ingestion of the first dose and was maintained through week 12, the onset of subjective benefit for various symptoms took 6 to 12 weeks.
How long does it take Cevimeline to work?
You may start to feel some benefit in 1 to 2 weeks. However, it may take up to 6 weeks to feel the full benefit. Tell your doctor if your condition persists or worsens.
Is there an alternative to pilocarpine?
Cevimeline is a capsule that is usually taken three times a day; whereas pilocarpine is a tablet that is taken 4 times a day. As an alternative route, there are also saliva substitutes available as a prescription, including Caphosol as an oral solution, Aquoral as a spray, and NeutraSal as a powder.
What drug is most similar to pilocarpine?
Pilocarpine Alternatives Compared
- Saliva substitutes topical.
- Biotene Oral Balance.
- Caphosol.
- Biotene Mouthwash.
- Aquoral.
- SalivaMAX.
Which is better pilocarpine and cevimeline?
What is the difference between pilocarpine and cevimeline?
Pilocarpine is a nonselective muscarinic agonist, whereas cevimeline is a specific M1/M3-receptor agonist. Therefore fewer cardiac and pulmonary side effects are expected.
Does dilute pilocarpine cause denervation hypersensitivity in diabetic patients?
CONCLUSIONS Denervation hypersensitivity to dilute pilocarpine is a result of damage to the pupillary parasympathetic supply of diabetic patients. This occurs before the pupillary sympathetic pathway is affected, it can be detected early in the disease, and it may be a possible explanation for the small pupil size seen in diabetic patients.
What is the percentage of pupillary dilatation with pilocarpine?
Taking each individual baseline pupil size as 100%, if pupil size halved with pilocarpine, the percentage pupillary constriction was recorded as 50%, if it doubled with cocaine the percentage pupillary dilatation was 100%.
What should I know about pilocarpine hydrochloride before taking it?
Patients should be informed that pilocarpine may cause visual disturbances, especially at night, that could impair their ability to drive safely. If a patient sweats excessively while taking pilocarpine hydrochloride and cannot drink enough liquid, the patient should consult a physician. Dehydration may develop.
How many mg of pilocarpine should I take for dry mouth?
After 4 weeks of treatment, 2.5 mg of pilocarpine hydrochloride tablets three times a day was comparable to placebo in relieving dryness. In patients treated with 5 mg and 10 mg of pilocarpine hydrochloride tablets, the greatest improvement in dryness was noted in patients with no measurable salivary flow at baseline.