Adverse effects of Methotrexate in Psoriasis

Methotrexate is a conventional medicine used for diseases such as cancer, autoimmune diseases, Psoriasis, Ankylosing Spondylitis, rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn's disease, etc. It is administered either oral or by injection. Usually, it is supposed to be administered after failure with milder medicines.

Methotrexate produces a range of adverse effects in different patents. Some of the adverse effects can be extremely severe and even life-threatening.

The adverse effects could be listed here :

Mouth :

inflamed stomach, ulcers in mouth, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, bleeding from stomach and intestines

Blood, bone-marrow and lymphatic system :

Anemia, low white cells, low platelets cells

Heart and cardiovascular system :

low blood pressure, cerebral thrombosis, deep vein thrombosis.

Brain and CNS :

Vertigo,Headaches, drowsiness, speech disorder

Infections :

Use of Methotrexate may make one prone to certain infections such as  pneumonia, sepsis, nocardiosis; histoplasmosis, cryptococcosis, Herpes zoster, Herpes  simplex, hepatitis, etc.

Lungs :

Pulmonary fibrosis, lung failure, pneumonitis

Skin :

Erythematous skin rashes, itching, urticaria, photosensitivity, pigmentary changes, alopecia, ecchymosis, telangiectasia, acne, furunculosis, erythema multiforme, toxic epidermal necrolysis, Stevens-Johnson syndrome, skin necrosis, skin ulceration, and exfoliative dermatitis.

Kidney :

Kidney failure, inflamed bladder, bleeding from urinary tract, defective sperm formation

Hormonal :

Menstrual dysfunction, vaginal discharge, enlargement of breast in males, infertility, abortion.

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