What Problems are Caused by Nicotinic Acid Deficiency?

By Natalia Rocon

The deficiency of nicotinic causes many serious health complications such as pellagra. Pellagra is the disease of four Ds that includes diarrhea, dermatitis, dementia, and death. Dermatitis is a disease where you will notice a rash on the exposed areas of your mouth. Dementia is a mental disorder that creates confusion, mental disorientation, depressions, and delusions.

Nicotinic acid is used to prevent and treat niacin deficiency. This deficiency usually results from some unhealthy lifestyle and medical conditions such as poor diet, alcohol abuse, Hartnup disease, malabsorption syndrome, and the long-term use of certain medications.

How it works

Nicotinic acid lowers the production of the VLDL (the low-density lipoprotein that converts into LDL in the blood) and triglycerides. That can cause a reduced level of LDL or bad cholesterol, increased level of HDL or good cholesterol, and reduced triglycerides. It can increase good cholesterol more effectively than any other drug.

When should you use Nicotinic acid?

Nicotinic acid is usually used to treat triglycerides and high levels of Cholesterol. But it should not be used without the doctor’s recommendation. You should avoid nicotinic acid if you have the following medical complications.

• Active stomach ulcer
• Type 2 diabetes
• Gout
• Oversensitivity to nicotinic acid
• Liver disease
• Glaucoma
• Clotting disorders
• Alcoholism

Nicotinic acid is normally used to improve cholesterol levels, but this is not that helpful to treat heart problems such as heart stroke and heart attack.

What are the side effects?

Like any other medicine, nicotinic acid has some side effects. Some side effects will go automatically after your body will be familiar with the medication. If it persists or if you notice some severe side effects then you should stop the medication immediately and consult your doctor to treat the side effects if it does not go away automatically.

Some of the common side effects of the nicotinic acid are shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, rash, hives, and itching on the skin, and swelling of the face, tongue, lips, or on other parts of the body. You should stop this medicine straight away if you experience severe liver problems, heart problems, and bleeding of any blood vessel.

You should avoid this medication if you are pregnant or breastfeeding. If you are planning to take nicotinic acid to treat some health complications, then consult your doctor. Give the details of your health complications if you have any.

How to take it

Before starting nicotinic acid, follow the instructions contained in the leaflet carefully. If you are an adult and you are suffering from pellagra, you should take one tablet two times a day. For the triglyceride and cholesterol level, you should take one tablet three times a day. You can increase it depending on the severity of the condition. But it is always suggested to consult your doctor to know how and when to take it. More importantly, if you have any health complications, then talk to your doctor before taking the nicotinic acid.