Schizophrenia is considered to be a kind of mental disorder resulting in perception abnormalities. It is a chronic disease affecting human brain activities which are characterized by hallucinations, delusions, and disorganized behavior. According to the statistical data, about 1.1% of Americans suffer this severe disease, in most cases at the age of 18-30.
Psychosocial treatment is one of the most important aspects in the fight with schizophrenia because it helps patients to overcome communication difficulties and cope with some social problems. Very often this disease is treated with the help of haloperidol, a kind of injection used as a medicine against brain disorders and psychotic states.
Haloperidol is an active ingredient that is considered to be antipsychotic. It is used in schizophrenia treatment as it blocks a variety of brain receptors which is very important for dopamine overactivity prevention. This kind of medicine is helpful for the control of psychotic illness. Haloperidol positively affects the human brain improving distributed thoughts and a patient’s mental condition. It provides a calming effect on the general state of the patient and brings some relaxation to the human psychological system. But it should be noted that despite all the positive effects produced by haloperidol, it can cause some abnormal symptoms after its usage. The patient should compulsorily consult the doctor if he feels the following symptoms instead of activity rate increase:
- Drowsiness;
- Abnormal movements of jaw, tongue, face, or lips;
- Fever, fast breathing, sleepiness or muscle stiffness;
- Depression and passiveness;
- Lethargy and restlessness.
Haloperidol may cause a very severe rate of depression and low interest in social activities. It is usually can be observed during long-term treatment. It is important to stress that this psychiatric medication causes different symptoms which in most cases depend on the general patient’s state and the term of his treatment. If the symptoms are too dangerous and abnormal the doctor should either stop its usage or increase the dose.
The patient usually feels complete antipathy to all kinds of activities and the great depression. These symptoms are usual and are observed very frequently. In such cases, the doctor should try to control the mental and emotional condition of his patient because sometimes haloperidol depression rate results in suicide.
Thus, effects caused by haloperidol can be serious enough and lead to abnormal actions of the patient. But the usage of this medication is vital for schizophrenia treatment. It is important to establish a proper dose for the patient for him not to suffer sharp medication effects. The patient is not to start or stop using haloperidol without consulting the doctor as very often wrong medicine usage results in aggression and dangerous behavior.
Patients who suffer from schizophrenia should always be under the doctor’s control in order to reach effectiveness in the treatment process. The mental disorder caused by schizophrenia cannot be completely cured but haloperidol usage leads to patient’s general mental and physical condition improvement.
References
Joy, B. (2006). Haloperidol versus placebo for Schizophrenia. Cochrane Database Syst.
Granger, B. (2005). The Haloperidol Story. Annals of Clinical Psychiatry. Volume 17, Number 3.