Valium

Valium Uses
Valium (Diazepam) is a prescription drug that is commonly used for the treatment of the following conditions:

Valium and Alcohol Withdrawal
Stopping alcohol on your own without any additional medicine is not a bright idea. In fact it can be very harmful and chances of reclusion are very high. If an individual is consuming excessive amounts of alcohol and stops immediately this usually leads to alcohol dependency withdrawal. In case of a mild withdrawal one can experience such symptoms as shakiness, nervousness, alcohol cravings, depression, or clammy skin. In more severe cases the following symptoms may occur:

Alcohol withdrawal often requires hospitalization and close monitoring from a healthcare professional. When uncontrolled, withdrawal can even be life-threatening. Valium helps overcome some harmful withdrawal side-effects and relax the body.

Valium and Anxiety
Anxiety is something most of us are used to. When a big event comes our way such as exams, important meeting, first date we all experience anxiety. However, persons with clinical forms of anxiety experience fear and agitation for the most part of their lives and they cannot control it. Furthermore, the condition usually progresses making the symptoms even worse. Some of the symptoms of anxiety disorders include:

Valium is used for treating anxiety disorders on the shirt-term scale. It should not be used for every day anxiety.

Valium and Muscle Spasms
Muscle spasms are characterized by involuntary contractions of a muscle, which are usually not very harmful but a certainly uncomfortable and painful. Muscle spasms can be cause by a series of conditions and Valium is can be used in cases of:

Valium is used for treating seizures. However, it is always used in a mix with other special anti-seizure drugs to make them more effective or help avoid certain side-effects. Valium is typically used in cases of sever seizures.

How Does Valium Work?
Valium makes part of a drug class called benzodiazepines. These drugs have certain effects over the human body that include:

All drugs from this category provide such effects on a different scale. These chemicals work by enhancing the effects of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in the brain, which has natural calming effects. GABA slows down or stops some nerve signals in the human brain. Due to this Valium and other benzodiazepines are classified as mild tranquilizers, sedatives, or central nervous system depressants (CNS depressants).
 
It is not known whether Valium is safe for children of less than six months of age so avoid using the medication in these cases. If you feel an extreme need to use Valium with such a young child talk to your healthcare assistant to consult on the possible dangers of using it.
 
Sometimes, Valium can be recommended for treating other conditions, different from those it is officially approved for. Your healthcare provider can recommend using Valium "off-label." Currently, the off-label use of Valium includes cases of:    

In some cases, Valium is used before certain surgical procedures as a sedative.

Valium side-effects and interactions
As any other prescription medicine, Valium has certain side-effects, which may occur during its use. The usual side-effects with Valium include drowsiness, muscle weakness, fatigue and ataxia. The following side-effects have also been observed:

Antegrade amnesia can be observed with therapeutic dosages of Valium, and the risk increases at higher dosages. 

In rare cases Valium has caused neutropenia and jaundice, so it is recommended to undertake periodic blood counts and liver function tests during long-term courses of Valium.

It is strongly recommended to not use Valium while taking other centrally acting agents for they may interact and result in unforeseen and sometimes quite unpleasant side-effects. Be extremely cautious and consult with your doctor about using Valium with the following groups of drugs: sedatives, anticonvulsants, phenothiazines, antipsychotics, hypnotics, anesthetics, sedative antihistamines, narcotics, barbiturates,  antidepressants.

Using Valium with alcohol is not recommended for it may increase the sedative effects of both substances.

Certain medicines can prolong the sedative effects of Valium. So be cautious when using Valium in conjunction with cimetidine, ketoconazole, fluvoxamine, fluoxetine, and omeprazole.

Short History of Valium
Diazepam (Valium) was developed by the Swiss pharmaceutical giant Hoffmann-La Roche in early 1960's and approved for use in 1963. Its predecessor, chlordiazepoxide, was two and a half times less effective and diazepam has quickly surpassed it in sales. When Valium saw a huge success on the market other pharmaceutical companies have started to introduce their own benzodiazepine derivatives to compete with the new drug.

The benzodiazepines have quickly become a suitable substitute for barbiturates among healthcare professionals because of their wide potency and almost harmless effects. In therapeutic doses diazepam has much stronger sedative effect as compared to barbiturates. It is also much safer to use with very rare cases of lethal overdose, which has usually resulted from mixing Diazepam with other depressing substances such as alcohol or sedatives.

Since 1969 Valium was the most sold drug in the United States with a peak in 1978 when 2.3 billion tablets were sold. For the last forty years Valium remains to be one of the most prescribed drugs all over the world. It has also entered the list of core medications by the World Health Organisation, which means it is mandatory for any basic healthcare system. During its history, diazepam has shifted its primary use between different areas of pharmacology. First it was used mainly by psychiatrists for the short-term treatment of anxiety. Today Valium is mainly used by neurologists who prescribe it for treating certain types of epilepsy and spastic activity. Valium is also one of the main drugs that is used for treating a rare condition called stiff-person syndrome.