Very often, after reading the instructions for a certain drug, a person asks himself a simple question: "Orally - how is it?" And this is quite natural, because not all people are familiar with medical terminology. In fact, everything is very simple.
Medication: varieties
There are many ways that help a medicine enter the human body. The main methods:
- intramuscular injections;
- intravenous injection;
- rectal administration;
- sublingual administration of drugs;
- buccal medication;
- oral medication.
Intramuscular injections imply the introduction of a substance directly into the muscle. This method is advisable to apply in cases where a different method of drug delivery to the body is not available.
Intravenous administration of drugs allows you to most quickly reach the bloodstream. The most important thing to remember when using this technique is strict adherence to all aseptic measures. The rectal method is based on the absorption of drugs by the blood vessels of the rectum. The main advantages are the quick effect, as well as high bioavailability. In addition, with the introduction of the drug into the rectum, nausea almost never occurs. Sublingual administration of drugs implies their administration by placement under the tongue. Thus, the drug is absorbed into the bloodstream. Barbiturates, steroids, and also some drugs for the cardiovascular system are taken buccally. Access is through the mucous membrane of the oral cavity.
What is oral medication?
Taking medications orally is a direct oral administration. That is, swallowing the drug, usually for convenience it is washed down with a small amount of liquid or dissolved in advance. Oral treatment is very suitable if the medicine is easily absorbed by the gastric mucosa. This also applies to those drugs that are not significantly affected by the acidic environment of this organ, otherwise they will be destroyed to the final point of transportation. However, like any other method, taking drugs by mouth, which means orally, has its drawbacks.
- Relatively slow healing effect.
- Inability to use this method with vomiting or in an unconscious state.
- The inability to assess the completeness of absorption of the drug, since it is individual for each patient.
- Difficulty in using those drugs that have poor absorption in the gastrointestinal tract.
Dosage Forms
The main dosage forms that are used orally are:
- powders;
- pills
- tablets;
- capsules;
- solutions.
In addition to the above, there are some drugs that have special properties. One example is a multi-coated tablet. The essence of their use is that they do not allow the drug to be released too quickly. It must be remembered that most of the drugs used orally are tablets that need to be washed down with plenty of water. This is due to the fact that some of them may linger in the gastrointestinal tract, causing heartburn.