Orencia
Orencia is a medication that is doctors prescribe to help prevent the body’s immune system from attacking itself as it does when a patient is suffering from an autoimmune disease. Orencia is one of the medications physicians often prescribe to treat rheumatoid arthritis.
Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease that attacks the joints. Orencia treats the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis and slows the progression of joint damage and can improve overall joint function in people suffering from rheumatoid arthritis.
Physicians usually have patients try other arthritis medications prior to starting them on Orencia. A physician may prescribe more than one arthritis medication to treat a patient’s symptoms. Patients can take Orencia with other arthritis medications while under a physician’s supervision.
Orencia Warnings and Precautions
Orencia works by impacting the body’s immune system and making the immunes system weaker. It is important for physician’s planning to treat a patient with Orencia to be fully aware of a patient’s medical history including chronic reoccurring infections such as tuberculosis or hepatitis. Patients should also tell their physicians if they suffer from COPD, diabetes, have other immune diseases such as HIV or a bone marrow disease, or if they currently have cancer or an open sore or cut.
Patients taking Orencia should not have vaccines while taking Orencia or within three months of stopping the medication. Children need to be current on all their childhood vaccinations prior to starting Orencia.
Patients must be careful about washing hands regularly to avoid infection and should take care to avoid people currently suffering from communicable illnesses such as chicken pox and the flu.
Orencia Uses
Orencia is a medication that physicians administer intravenously to patients in the physician’s office. The dosage of medication given depends on the patient’s weight. Patients receive the initial dose of medication and the wait two weeks for their second dose. Most patients receive an Orencia injection every four weeks after that or as their doctor recommends for the patient’s treatment.
