Believe it or not, these two prescription medications use different doses of the same generic drug, Finasteride. But, they have two very different uses and can not be interchanged. These drugs can also do serious damage to an unborn fetus due to the finasteride being absorbed through the skin of the birth mother. If you are a woman, and you come in contact with broken off pieces of this medication in its pill form, quickly and immediately wash the area with soap and water. Both Propecia and Proscar are prescribed for men only.
The larger dose of finasteride is found in, Proscar, and is usually given in 5-mg tablets that have an apple shape to them. Propecia is the smaller dose of finasteride being only a 1 mg tablet. You can not split a Proscar tablet to gain the useable effects of Propecia since it is impossible to know the doses of each piece after cutting up the tablet. It is also not adviseable to take five Propecia tablets to gain the effects of Proscar because of other inactive and active ingrediants used in these medications.
So, what's the difference between the two. Proscar is used to treat BPH or more commonly known as an enlarged prostate in men. Proscar stops testosterone in men from becoming a chemical known as dihydrotestosterone or DHT. The chemical DHT has been shown to help cause a cancer known as BPH, or benign prostatic hyperplasia. This type of cancer is more commonly called prostate cancer. Proscar has been shown to effectivly prevent or delay prostate cancer by a range of just under one quarter, or twenty-five percent, of the men who were found to be good candidates for this type of cancer. Propecia, on the other hand, is used in the treatment of a condition known as male-pattern baldness. How Propecia does this is that the drug works along with the normal growth and shedding of human hair in men. After taking Propecia for a period of three months time, the hair loss will slow or stop. If you are taking Propecia and are getting positive results, you should consider continuing the prescription. If you stop taking the medication there are good indications that within a year the hair loss will begin to return; reverting to the pattern it followed before medical treatment.
Finasteride is a prescribed medication and must be ordered by a physician. This will usually occur after an office visit and consultation between doctor and patient. As with most medications, there are some side effects with Propecia and Proscar. Loss of sexual interest, decrease in semen, and hypersensitivity and minor rashes while the body gets used to the medication. So you would have to study and weigh the pros and cons of these medications before making a proper decision for yourself.
