Doxazosin and its Uses
Doxazosin is in a class of drugs called alpha-adrenergic blockers. Doxazosin is used alone or in combination with other medications to treat high blood pressure.
Doxazosin is used to treat the symptoms of an enlarged prostate (benign prostatic hyperplasia or BPH), which include difficulty urinating (hesitation, dribbling, weak stream, and incomplete bladder emptying), painful urination, and urinary frequency and urgency.
Doxazosin relieves the symptoms of BPH by relaxing the muscles of the bladder and prostate. It lowers blood pressure by relaxing the blood vessels so that blood can flow more easily through the body.
|| Top || Working Mechanism of Doxazosin
Doxazosin works by blocking alpha-receptors in certain areas of the body.
Alpha-receptors are found on the muscle in the walls of blood vessels. When Doxazosin blocks these receptors it causes the muscle in the blood vessel to relax and the blood vessel to widen. This lets the blood pass more easily through the blood vessels and hence reduces the pressure in the blood vessels. Doxazosin can therefore be used to treat high blood pressure.
Alpha-receptors are also found on the muscle in the prostate gland. This gland is found only in men and lies at the top of the tube connecting the bladder to the outside (urethra). The prostate gland often enlarges with advancing age (benign prostatic hyperplasia), pressing on the urethra and obstructing the flow of urine from the bladder. This can cause various urinary symptoms such as difficulty passing urine. By blocking the alpha-receptors, Doxazosin causes the muscle in the prostate gland to relax. This allows urine to flow freely past the prostate and relieves the urinary symptoms of this condition.
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Doxazosin Dose
Missed Dose
Take the missed dose as soon as you remember. However, if it is almost time for the next dose, skip the dose you missed and take only the next regularly scheduled dose. Do not take a double dose of Doxazosin. A double dose could cause severely low blood pressure.
Excess Dose of Doxazosin
Doxazosin in excess dose may show symptoms such as weakness, dizziness, and fainting; a weak, fast pulse; cold, clammy skin; and possibly loss of consciousness or coma.
Conditions for storage of Doxazosin
Store Doxazosin at room temperature away from moisture and heat.
Potencies of Doxazosin
Doxazosin Tablets Doxazosin 1 mg, Doxazosin 2 mg & Doxazosin 4 mg
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Food and Drug Interactions with Doxazosin
If Doxazosin is used in combination with other medicines that reduce blood pressure, for example beta-blockers, ACE inhibitors or thiazide diuretics, there may be an enhanced blood pressure lowering effect.
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Contraindications with Doxazosin
Doxazosin is contraindicated in the following
- Allergy to related medicines (quinazolines)
- Pregnancy & Breastfeeding
- People with a history of obstruction of the food pipe (oesophagus), stomach, or intestines, or narrowing of the gastrointestinal tract (applicable to Doxazosin XL brand of Doxazosin only)
- Allergic to one or any of its ingredients.
|| Top || Precautions with Doxazosin
Doxazosin should be used with caution in people with decreased liver function.
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Adverse effects with Doxazosin
The adverse effects associated with Doxazosin are
- Headache
- Impotence
- Increased need to pass urine
- Sleepiness (somnolence)
- Weakness or loss of strength (asthenia)
- Inflammation of the lining of the nose (rhinitis) causing a blocked or runny nose
- Dizziness or loss of balance
- Skin reactions such as rash and itch
- Liver disorders
- A general feeling of being unwell (malaise)
- A drop in blood pressure that occurs when going from lying down to sitting or standing, which results in dizziness and lightheadedness (postural hypotension)
- Disturbances of the gut such as diarrhea, constipation, nausea, vomiting or abdominal pain
- Disturbance in the components of the blood
- Excessive fluid retention in the body tissues, resulting in swelling (oedema)
- Persistent painful erection of the penis (priapism)
- Blood in the urine (haematuria)
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