subject: Understanding Side Effects Of Warfarin [print this page] Warfarin is a popular medicinethat is used to increase the amount of time that is involved for blood to clot. The medicine is very helpful in preventing an individual from blood clots that can cause some serious problems like a stroke, heart attack or evenvein blockages. It is one of the best solutions for people who suffer from an ever increasing risk of forming blood clots and it is very helpful in reducing clots. Also in some cases, warfarin is given after a heart attack due to some other reasons prescribed by the doctor. This medicine has proved to be really successfulin sipping the obstacles involved with various medical conditions. Warfarincan bevery effective, but there are some important things that you need to keep in mind while using warfarin because you can end up dealing with warfarin side effects if you will take the medicine carelessly. On the other hand, if you stay informed, you can avoid any side effects.
You can easily avoid Warfarin side effects if you chose to take it as its prescribed and if you get your blood tested onregularbasis. Also, other than regular checking it is also of great importance to share all your lifestyle or diet changes to your healthcare professional. Bleeding is one of the most common side effects of warfarin and this will take place in cases when your International Normalized Ratio will be too high or in cases where you do some kind of injury to yourself. You can easily controlthe bleedingby simply taking the medicine according to the prescription and also by keeping your International Normalized Ratio inside your target range. Even though you manage to keep your International Normalized Ratio in control, there are chances that you may still experience bleedingmay be at times when you brush your teeth. You can keep in mind following signs that will give you signs of slight bleeding. These include, bleeding gums while brushing, irregular nose bleeding, staining, minor bleeding,and heavy menstrual bleeding than the usual. On the other hand,you need to check on following symptoms in case of serious bleeding-
1.Severe staining that gets worse.
2.Any bleeding that take a long time to stop.
3.Inexplicable bleeding or bruising
4.Menstrual bleeding that is much heavier than usual.
5.Red or dark urine.
6.Red or black bowel motions.
7.Coughing up blood, or anything red.
8.Bloody or dark stained vomit.
9.Severe headache or dizziness.
10.Weakness or lethargy.
11.Unusual pain or swelling.
Except from these symptomsthere are few other side effects that one many experience and they include, abnormal skin lesions and one may notice these after 3-10 days of taking warfarin. Other than this purple discoloration of the toes, hair loss and rashes are few other common symptoms. In case, if you tend to notice anything else, it is advised to consult your healthcare professional and seek immediate help to cure the problem.
