Purata

how safe is purata sleeping tablets?

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PURATA (Aspen Healthcare, South Africa) is not specifically used as a sleeping tablet; it is available in 10, 15 and 30mg strengths and is OXAZEPAM, one of the oldest and most commonly prescribed benzodiazepine anxiolytics. It is also used frequently in acute alcohol withdrawal.
Oxazepam has a relatively short half life and is normally taken on a qds (four times daily) basis. It is less as dating than diazepam, which is comparatively stronger (30mg oxazepam is roughly equivalent to 10-12mg diazepam).
There are brands available such as Serenid Forte and Seresta Forte which are of 50mg strength and are more suitable for aiding the onset of sleep.
Oxazepam is extremely safe, though as with all benzodiazepines, long term regular use can lead to dependence, which causes the classic BZD withdrawal syndrome on sudden cessation.
It is one of the active METABOLITES of many other benzodiazepines, including the aforementioned diazepam, prazepam, and medazepam.
Although not as strong as these other BZDs oxazepam has been reported to give a heightened sense of well-being (euphoria) and this is what prompts some people to continue taking it. After a period of a couple of months' continuous use, TOLERANCE will develop, causing the patient to feel that s/he requires more to achieve the same effect. This is the mechanism by which dependence occurs.
It is recommended to be used for a maximum of eight weeks in order to treat severe anxiety.
I would not worry about any dangers other than that of dependence. It is a perfectly safe drug when taken according to the doctor's instructions, and an extremely useful drug in the treatment of anxiety-related conditions.
If you have no tolerance to any drug which acts on the GABAa receptors, then using oxazepam in dosage of 50-60mg will have the desired effect of helping insomnia, although there are many other drugs of the same family which are specifically used for this purpose. May I recommend TRIAZOLAM and BROTIZOLAM for problems in the induction of sleep, and TEMAZEPAM (best used as the oral solution, as tabletting of temazepam inhibits the body's take-up of that particular drug), FLUNITRAZEPAM, MIDAZOLAM, FLURAZEPAM or LORMETAZEPAM as drugs to be used when MAINTENANCE off a full night's sleep is required? QUAZEPAM (Quiedorm, Doral) taken in 15-30mg dose, is the only drug of the BZD family which is proven to allow for Stage 4 REM sleep, the referees hung, natural sleep which is the ideal. However, for some reason, this is rarely seen or prescribed despite its advantages over the medications already mentioned. All of these sedative-hypnotic BZDs are specifically formulated for sleep problems, whereas oxazepam is first and foremost an anxiolytic.

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It contains the active ingredient Oxazepam, which is a benzodiazepine and they are often used to help treat insomnia that has not responded to other medications.

The NIH warns that it does carry the risk of being habit forming, and may cause side effects, such as nausea, dizziness, headache, insomnia, irritability, and drowsiness.

Is there anything else I can help with?

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