Sedative (redirected from Sleep medicine)

sedative /sed·a·tive/ (sed´ah-tiv)

1. allaying irritability and excitement.

2. a drug that so acts.

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sed·a·tive (sd-tv)

adj.

Having a soothing, calming, or tranquilizing effect; reducing or relieving anxiety, stress, irritability, or excitement.

n.

An agent or a drug that produces a soothing, calming, or tranquilizing effect.

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Sedative

Medicine that has a calming effect and may be used to treat nervousness or restlessness.

Mentioned in: Barbiturates, Muscle Relaxants, Sleep Disorders

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sedative,

n a substance that reduces excitability and calms the nervous system.

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sedative (sed´tiv),

n 1. production of sedation. A drug that can produce sedation.
2. a drug that produces cortical depression of varying degrees.
3. a remedy that allays excitement and slows down the basal metabolic rate without impairing the cerebral cortex.

sedative-hypnotic,

n a drug that reversibly depresses the activity of the central nervous system, used mainly to induce sleep and allay anxiety.

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sedative

1. allaying irritabiliy and excitement.

2. an agent that calms nervousness, irritability and excitement. In general, sedatives depress the central nervous system and tend to cause lassitude and reduced mental activity. They may be classified, according to the organ most affected, as cardiac, gastric, etc.

The degree of relaxation produced varies with the kind of sedative, the dose, the means of administration, and the mental state of the patient. By causing relaxation, a sedative may help an animal go to sleep, but it does not 'put it to sleep', a dangerous lay euphemism for euthanasia. Medicines that induce sleep are known as hypnotics. A drug may act as a sedative in small amounts and as a hypnotic in large amounts.

The barbiturates such as phenobarbital are the best-known sedatives. They are also widely used as hypnotics. Other effective sedatives are the bromides, paraldehyde and chloral hydrate.