Humira is the brand name of the generic biologic, Adalimumab and it is manufactured by Abbott Pharmaceuticals.
It is available as a single use pen containing a 40 mg single prefilled dose. It also comes as a syringe with a prefilled dose and this is available in 40 mg as well as in 20 mg for a pediatric dose.
Humira/Adalimumab is used for:
- Rheumatoid Arthritis
- Plaque Psoriasis
- Psoriatic Arthritis
- Ankylosing Spondylitis
- Crohn’s Disease
Action
Humira is an anti-inflammatory and it reduces the inflammation in the body. It binds itself to TNF alpha and it stops it from interacting with the cell surface TNF receptors. This brings the inflammatory and immune responses back to normal. In rheumatoid arthritic patients, there is an increased level of TNF and this is found in the patient’s synovial fluid.
Side Effects
You could expect a few side effects when you use this medication, starting from the time you inject it in. There could be itching, pain and swelling at this place and it could turn red. If it gets bad, tell your doctor. Other side effects could be chills, fever, thrush in the mouth, skin and eyes turning yellow, feeling very tired, pain in the joints, headache and stomach ache, weakness of the muscles, night sweats, frequent urinating, vaginal discharge, unsteadiness while walking and rashes on the skin. You could even experience irregular heart beat, mood swings, numbness and swelling, dark colored urine and breathing problems. Any symptoms of TB or tuberculosis must be reported to the doctor immediately.
Caution
You have to be careful if you have had a TB infection as these drugs sometimes cause a recurrence of the condition. You have to be cautious even if you have unknowingly come in contact with any bacterial infection, especially TB. Your doctor will no doubt test you for TB before he begins the medication. It would be prudent to tell your doctor where you have traveled to and if you have a history of any infections. You also need to be cautious because this drug will lower your immunity so you need to be careful not to put yourself at risk by exposing yourself to infection.
Make sure you tell the doctor exactly what medication or supplements you are taking so he can prescribe accordingly. These medications do interact with other drugs so it is always better to be safe than sorry.
Contraindications
This medication is contraindicated if you are allergic to it and you should not take it along with the drug anakinra. It is also to be avoided when you have any infection or when you are breastfeeding.