Many smokers want to get rid of nicotine addiction, but, as a rule, when the addiction has already done its job - it has negatively affected the health and functioning of many organs and systems. But better late than never. Today there are many ways to help you quit smoking.
These include medications, alternative medicine, coding and hypnosis. Quite often, in the fight against addiction, the Nicorette patch is used, the instructions indicate that this product helps both to get rid of smoking forever and to minimize the number of cigarettes smoked.
However, every person who decides to get rid of addiction must understand that no medicine will help if there is no desire. Only with great zeal and motivation can you eradicate the habit.
Smoking has the most negative impact on all systems and organs. Scientists have proven that in more than 70% of cases, smoking is the cause of lung cancer. And it’s not just nicotine that’s harmful. No less harmful is tobacco smoke, which contains carcinogenic chemicals. If this type of oncology develops, the doctor may prescribe Vinorelbine.
It should be understood that the sooner a person comes to his senses and decides to get rid of addiction, the sooner the body will recover and the lower the risk of developing dangerous pathologies, in particular cancer and infertility.
Today, many methods are used to combat addiction. Quite often, specialists prescribe the use of nicotine-containing medications, aversive drugs, and acupuncture. One of the simplest, but at the same time effective way is to use the Nicorette patch, which, according to the instructions, helps to quickly get rid of addiction. This drug can be purchased at any pharmacy at a very affordable price. As can be seen from the reviews of former smokers, it was the transdermal patch that helped them eliminate cravings for cigarettes.
Composition and form of production
According to the instructions, the Nicorette patch is a product intended both for complete elimination of the habit and for partial elimination, that is, reducing the number of cigarettes. In addition, as indicated in the description, the patch helps in the fight against withdrawal symptoms and helps minimize the symptoms of withdrawal: dizziness, headaches, depressive disorders, apathy and irritability.
The main active ingredient of the drug, as can be seen from the instructions, is nicotine. In addition, the product is equipped with acrylic copolymer, acrylic adhesive solution, croscarmellose sodium, polyethylene terephthalate film, aluminum acetylacetonate, potassium hydroxide.
For the Nicorette patch, the instructions indicate that the product has a surface area of 10 square meters. cm, rectangular shape. A patch is produced with different amounts of the active component (from 5 to 25 mg) in cardboard packages No. 7 and 14.
Action
The use of an anti-nicotine patch helps eliminate cravings for cigarettes, as well as significantly minimize the manifestations of withdrawal syndrome. The medicine is intended for replacement therapy in the treatment of nicotine addiction. Relief from withdrawal occurs due to the fact that the body is provided with the nicotine present in the medicine, but already ionized. The maximum concentration of the active substance is reached after approximately ten hours.
Advantages of the drug
This medication, unlike other drugs designed to eliminate addiction, has many advantages:
- The patch is easy to use. You need to glue it once a day, it is not visible under clothes.
- Possibility of controlling the release of the active ingredient. With the help of a patch, you can achieve not only a gradual release of the active component, but also maintain the required concentration in the blood throughout the day.
- There is no need to adjust the dosage. The patch contains a strictly measured amount of the substance.
- Minimal number of side effects and contraindications.
- Quick effect.
How does the Nicorette patch work?
Those who have tried to quit smoking on their own are very familiar with the unpleasant withdrawal symptoms.
The Nicorette patch contains therapeutic concentrations of nicotine that help you get through withdrawal periods much easier and faster. If it is not used, the person will be tormented by the following phenomena:
- irritability, anxiety;
- memory impairment;
- low labor productivity, decreased concentration and thinking abilities;
- Bad mood;
- change in heart rate;
- "jumps" in pressure;
- insomnia.
Using the patch gently alleviates these symptoms. The nicotine from the patch is absorbed by the skin and enters the bloodstream. Its quantity is not enough to poison the body, but it is quite enough to eliminate the signs of smoking withdrawal.
Where to apply the Nicorette patch
Nicorette is almost transparent, its outer part is flesh-colored, it is small in size and almost invisible on the skin. Its use will not be made public unless you choose to talk about it.
You can attach the patch almost anywhere, but most often it is done on the upper arms. This makes it much easier to control, remove and stick on; usually these parts of the body are covered with sleeves.
But if desired, the patch can be used on any part of the body, you just need to avoid contact with mucous membranes and wash your hands thoroughly after using the product. Apply the product only to clean, dry, intact and non-inflamed skin, as hair-free as possible.
special instructions
The area of skin to which the product is attached should be thoroughly washed, and the hair should also be removed for a more comfortable separation of the product from the dermis. Most often, the product is applied to the surface of the thigh, chest or shoulder.
Hands should be sanitized before applying the patch to the skin. When separating the product from the substrate, do not touch the active surface of the product. After applying the patch to the skin, it must be pressed firmly against the surface of the body for effective absorption of nicotine.
There was no direct effect of taking the Nicorette patch on driving, but it is worth keeping in mind the possibility of developing side effects.
Nicorette treatment regimen
Watch this video about using the nicotine patch:
Breaking a long-term habit may not be immediate. Most people who wanted to immediately quit smoking could not stand it and returned to their harmful activity. It's all about forming a stable habit and physical dependence on the intake of a certain amount of nicotine into the body. An abrupt interruption causes real “withdrawal”, in which the body simply suffers without the usual dose of nicotine. The Nicorette patch and other products in this series make it much easier to quit smoking, making it smooth and almost unnoticeable for a person. This happens through the use of several stages of treatment. At each stage, patches with different concentrations of nicotine are used.
1 (first) stage
At the initial stage of quitting smoking, the patient is asked to use patches with a maximum nicotine content of 25 mg. This type of patch is used in people with a high nicotine dependence who previously smoked more than 20 cigarettes per day. The product is capable of releasing nicotine for 16 hours, so it is applied early in the morning immediately after waking up and removed before going to bed. This procedure is carried out for 2 months in a row or as prescribed by a doctor, after which they move on to the next stage.
2 (second) stage
After completing the first course of treatment, it is recommended to switch to using the Nicorette patch containing 15 mg of nicotine for 14 consecutive days.
If a person smokes less than 20 cigarettes a day, treatment begins immediately from the second stage and lasts 2 months.
3 (third) stage
With high nicotine dependence, the patient needs the third stage using a patch containing 10 mg of nicotine. This contributes to a softer addiction and an easier transition to a healthy life without smoking. This stage lasts another 14 days. For those who smoked moderately and started immediately from the second stage, treatment with 10 mg patches continues for 4 weeks.
Thus, for all ex-smokers, the total duration of recovery from nicotine addiction is 3 months.
If withdrawal is difficult, the doctor may allow you to extend the period of use of the product, but its use for more than six months in a row is not allowed.
Also, to enhance the effect of the patch, the parallel use of Nicorette chewing gum containing 2 mg of nicotine is allowed. The maximum quantity of this product is 24 pieces per day.
Other forms of release
The license to produce the entire line of nicotine replacement products of this brand belongs to two large brands based in the United States of America. All of them are listed by the World Health Organization. A wide range of NRT products under the Nicorette brand allows you to choose the most suitable one for a particular case.
Spray
The most modern and effective product format. According to the manufacturer, the spray begins to act within one minute after injection. The product should be used when the desire to smoke a cigarette arises. However, experts agree that you should not spray the spray more than 64 times a day.
Nicorette products
Sublingual tablets
They are made on the basis of nicotine, like other products in the Nicorette line. The use of tablets involves dissolving under the tongue until completely dissolved. Designed to gradually get rid of a bad habit or reduce the number of cigarettes smoked daily. To achieve results, it is usually recommended to dissolve one tablet per hour, reducing the amount over time.
Chewing gum
The most popular form of the drug. The advantage of chewing gum is its pleasant taste. You can choose from sweet fruity or refreshing mint. Since 2009, sales of chewing gum with a whitening effect began. To get rid of addiction, it is recommended to use no more than 9-12 pads per day.
Which is better - Nicorette patch or spray?
The use of the Nicorette smoking cessation patch is convenient because nicotine enters the bloodstream slowly but constantly. This product is perfect for those people who are used to smoking a lot and quite often during the day.
Thanks to its form, Nicorette spray almost instantly suppresses the acute, sometimes unbearable desire to smoke. That is why it will be a very good helper for those people who suffer from the desire to smoke after stress, for example, during troubles at work, but in ordinary life they smoke moderately or lightly. The spray quickly stops the craving for smoking, and the patch develops the habit of doing without cigarettes.
Indications and contraindications
Use the drug if there is a harmful addiction to smoking. They treat this dangerous habit by delivering nicotine into the body without the use of tobacco, and reduce or eliminate withdrawal symptoms when they temporarily stop smoking.
The patch, like other medications, has limitations in its use. It is not prescribed in such cases as:
- allergic reaction to components;
- diseases of the cardiovascular system (cardiovascular system);
- suffered a stroke, heart attack, hypertensive crisis;
- unstable angina;
- previous surgery on the heart or blood vessels;
- disruptions in the functioning of the heart muscle (arrhythmias), hypertension;
- pregnancy and breastfeeding;
- renal and liver failure;
- stomach or duodenal ulcer;
- skin diseases;
- serious diseases of the endocrine system (primarily the thyroid gland).
Side effects of using Nicorette
There are a number of contraindications to the use of the drug:
- High sensitivity to nicotine or patch components.
- History of myocardial infarction.
- The presence of some forms of angina.
- Arrhythmia in severe forms.
- Stroke.
- Chronic skin diseases.
- The presence of damage or inflammation of the skin at the site of application of the product.
In addition to obvious contraindications, the following side effects may be detected during use of the product:
- Some users (about 20% of all who used the patch) experienced minor skin irritations at first after starting to use the product, which went away after the body got used to it.
- Dizziness and headache.
- Urticaria or local inflammation of the skin, itching.
- Drowsiness, lethargy, apathy.
- Overexcitement, increased irritability, nervousness.
- Palpitations, arrhythmia, shortness of breath, feeling of tightness in the chest.
- Indigestion, discomfort, diarrhea or constipation, flatulence.
- Increased appetite and associated weight gain.
- Cough, dry mouth, changes in taste.
- The appearance of aphthous ulcers on the mucous membranes of the mouth.
- Muscle and joint pain, trembling limbs, back pain.
- Sleep problems, insomnia.
- Attention disorders.
- Vision disorders.
In most cases, these problems arise at the very beginning of using nicotine patches and most often they are associated precisely with the dosage of the product used. Sometimes quick elimination of side effects can be achieved by simply changing the patch to another one containing less nicotine. If unpleasant symptoms do not disappear, and even more so if they intensify, the use of the drug will have to be discontinued. The doctor will be able to choose another remedy that does not cause such side effects. It should be noted that most of the above adverse reactions are extremely rare and are not always clearly and noticeably expressed, therefore, in the vast majority of cases, the Nicorette patch is well tolerated and does not provoke any negative effects, or they do not cause much concern to the person.
Using the Nicorette patch for ulcerative colitis
There is evidence that the nicotine contained in Nicorette patches can help in the treatment of a complex and extremely unpleasant disease - ulcerative colitis, or chronic intestinal inflammation.
This occurs due to the anti-inflammatory properties of nicotine, which improves intestinal motility and stimulates the formation of a fairly dense and effective protective layer of mucus. It has also been confirmed that nicotine is a provitamin, which in the human body can be converted into vitamin B3, which is important for health and normal functioning, also called “vitamin PP”. Nicotinamide or nicotinic acid is the only vitamin in existence that is recognized by official modern medicine as a self-administered medicine. Conclusions that made it possible to link the positive effect of nicotine on the condition of patients with ulcerative colitis were made using a statistical method.
Doctors noticed that in smoking patients the number of cases of ulcerative colitis is much less than in people who have never used tobacco in any form. At the same time, when previously ill people quit smoking, relapses and exacerbations of the disease are observed, and the number of cases of colitis increases sharply.
Since the remaining components of tobacco are carcinogens or toxic products, it was concluded that nicotine is a limiting factor in the development of ulcerative colitis. The content of pure nicotine in the Nicorette patch is sufficient to reduce and even completely eliminate the signs of this extremely unpleasant disease.
Reviews from psychologists
The opinion of psychologists agrees on the high effectiveness of the Nicorette patch. Replacement therapy provides relief from withdrawal symptoms, making it more likely to quit a bad habit. In addition, a systematic approach builds a logical connection in the patient’s subconscious, the end of which is the elimination of a bad habit from everyday life.
The greatest effect is observed when the patient is in the right mood. Without the desire to quit smoking, most attempts at therapy end in failure.
With a long history of smoking, combined treatment with other forms of the drug helps. This allows you to more smoothly relieve a person from the usual ritual of bringing a cigarette to your mouth, and also reduces the symptoms of withdrawal syndrome.
