Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2009 February 27

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February 27

What's the word for a medication that doesn't cure, only mitigates symptoms?

Resolved

What do you call a medication that doesn't cure the disease but only minimizes its symptoms? For example, virtually all medicine for the common cold falls under this category. There's a term for this, but I can't for the life of my remember what it is. A Quest For Knowledge (talk) 13:23, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

Symptomatic treatment. — Emil J. 13:56, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

Palliative? DuncanHill (talk) 13:57, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

Palliative! Yes, that's it. Thanks. A Quest For Knowledge (talk) 14:01, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

Isn't that just about every med ? Those which actually cure a disease are few and far between, as there's not much profit in curing people. StuRat (talk) 16:42, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

The fact remains that they're used as palliatives, and they may form only one element of a treatment regime. -- JackofOz (talk) 20:27, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

There's a difference in usage between the terms "palliative" and "symptomatic". "Palliative" is used when referring to treating the symptoms of severe diseases, often in terminal stages of the disease. Treating the pain of metastatic cancer with morphine would be palliative treatment, while taking paracetamol (acetaminophen) for treating the symptoms of a common cold would be symptomatic treatment. And Sturat, there's a lot of money in making drugs that cure common diseases, like antibiotics. The problem is getting the big pharma to look for drugs that might help people with rare (and often chronic) diseases. --NorwegianBlue ^talk 14:39, 28 February 2009 (UTC)