We are used to the fact that the doctor always prescribes tablets and medicines for oral administration to the patient, however, in medical practice there are many drugs that are administered rectally. What is it like? Yes, very simple. A rectal route of administration of a drug to the body suggests that the patient will receive the drug through the rectum. Now that we have understood the concept of what is “rectal”, we can consider the types of drugs intended for use through the rectum.
Means for rectal use can be of two types: special suppositories (suppositories), or enemas and microclysters. Suppositories are used both to affect the body as a whole, for example, antipyretic drugs are often released in the form of suppositories, especially for children, and for local treatment of emerging gynecological diseases or hemorrhoids. Microclysters are often resorted to as cleansing, enveloping, oily and antipyretic drugs. In the case of them (except for antipyretic), the liquid is injected into the body, preheating it to 30 ° C.
Rectal administration of the drug is especially indicated for patients who wish to reduce the load on the liver, stomach and kidneys. Cleansing microclysters are widely used in medicine to eliminate constipation. With diarrhea, on the contrary, the enveloping enema helps well, which includes starch and rice broth. If a foreign body suddenly enters the intestine, an oil enema from slightly warmed vegetable oil will help to remove it from the body.
To inject the drug rectally is how to give an injection. Only a syringe in this case is not needed. It will be replaced by a candle or enema. To introduce a candle into the patient’s body, you need to put it on the left side, bend its legs in the knees and squeeze it to the stomach, remove the candle from the package and push it into the anus with your finger as far as possible so that it does not suddenly jump out under natural pressure. For reliability, you need to let the patient lie down for several minutes, while squeezing the buttocks. Getting out of bed is recommended only after 20-30 minutes, after waiting for the drug to completely dissolve. Getting up for the first ten minutes is not recommended, just like going to the toilet. The rule of the "empty intestine" and the bladder is valid not only for suppositories, but also for enemas.
Before the introduction of the drug, you must go to the toilet. If it is necessary to put the microclyster rectally, this somehow complicates the process, because in this case the fluid from the syringe is introduced into the anus gradually, over a sufficiently long period of time, which causes some discomfort to the patient. It is important to consider that the one-time volume of microclysters cannot be more than 100 or, in extreme cases, 120 ml.
Despite the advantages listed above, there are negative aspects of the administration of the drug rectally - this is both the impossibility of using hypertonic solutions and the possibility of irritation and inflammation of the rectal mucosa after several doses of the drug, which is difficult to prevent by simultaneous or initial administration of enveloping agents, otherwise the absorption of the drug will be disturbed, and the effect will still be zero.
Negative aspects include the patient’s restriction of movement (in order not to provoke the release of the drug outside). That is why such procedures are advised to be carried out whenever possible before going to bed. The disadvantage is the fact that a certain amount of the drug substance is absorbed into the body. An alternative to the introduction of drugs into the patient's body may be subcutaneous injections.