All sick people have one thing in common - they dream of a speedy recovery. And for this, it is necessary to successfully complete the necessary course of treatment, which is prescribed by the doctor. When contacting a medical institution, the patient will certainly receive recommendations on taking a particular pharmaceutical product, as well as on the dosage of its use.
The specialist will choose for his patient and the optimal dosage form. The fulfillment of the latter condition in modern medical practice plays a particularly prominent role.
Forms of Medicines
Medications can have a different consistency. The form of their release is:
- gaseous (aerosols and gases);
- liquid (medicines and suspensions, extracts and decoctions, tinctures and solutions);
- soft (suppositories and plasters, ointments, liniments and pastes);
- solid (dragees and fees, powders and tablets, capsules and granules, pills and powders).
Current requirements for forms of medicines
In what form should the medication prescribed by the doctor be? It is necessary that its form is optimal for this patient. This will allow the drug to exert a pharmacological effect on the body, not only in full, but also with a minimum of side effects. In addition, an important characteristic of a therapeutic agent is the convenience of its form. Moreover, everyone should be comfortable: both sick and medical workers. And if the drug is intended for children? Then it should be convenient for relatives of small patients.
And here it is worth considering. Are injections, pills that are sometimes divided into four parts, and other dosage forms familiar to us convenient? Of course not! And this question is especially acute when young children become patients. Yes, the problem of an uncomfortable dosage form is big, but thanks to the development of modern science it is completely solvable.
Innovative invention
The doctor will certainly propose to the average patient pharmaceutical preparations in the form of tablets. Agree that such a consistency of a medicinal substance is most familiar to us. We have been accustomed to take pills during illness since childhood, and we are well aware that for a more comfortable reception they have to be broken or divided, and sometimes crushed. Yes, all these actions for better absorption of the drug, patients had to perform until recently. However, to date, the pharmaceutical industry has developed a revolutionary dosage form - dispersible tablets. What it is? This is a new innovative form of such pills we know.
Currently, it is used only for a limited number of prescription and over-the-counter pharmacological preparations, in particular, for vitamins and antibiotics. Dispersible tablets differ from conventional tablets in that they do not require swallowing. They are able to dissolve directly in the oral cavity. In addition, they can be placed in water, then taking the solution in the form of a suspension. And this is the main advantage of a dispersed tablet.
Operating principle
Most people are not yet familiar with this form of medication, like dispersible tablets. What does this mean? Such a question is not uncommon.
The new and yet obscure and not well-known form is not a solution or syrup, which people have known for several millennia. How do these tablets differ from other drugs?
The word "dispersion" means grinding. It turns out that tablets with such a name are crushed in a certain way by themselves. How does this happen? The fact is that the active substance of the tablet, which may be, for example, a molecule of any antibiotic, combines with the filler, forming a special microsphere. An innovative tool is thousands of such entities. Upon contact with the aqueous medium, the dispersible tablet disintegrates into its constituent microspheres. These “smart” formations hold and protect the active substance until the moment it falls into optimal conditions. So, in the stomach, the microsphere protects the therapeutic component from hydrochloric acid, and already in the duodenum, the connection with the filler is broken. At this stage, the active substance is released and absorbed into the blood.
Who are they for?
The doctor has prescribed dispersible tablets to his patient. What does this mean? Specialists recommend drugs in this form to those who, for whatever reason, refuse to use the usual drugs. A similar tablet is also needed for someone who takes a pharmacological agent in this form will become as comfortable as possible. In addition, dispersible tablets are also prescribed for people suffering from dysphagia (dysfunction of the swallowing act). What does the invention mean to them? This is an alternative form of taking drugs that allows the patient to undergo the necessary course of treatment. It is worth noting that patients with dysphagia are found in all age groups. According to US medical statistics, an act of swallowing is observed in 35% of the country's population. 60% of elderly people suffer from it. Dysphagia is also observed in 18-22% of patients in inpatient medical facilities.
Dispersible tablets do not need to be washed down with water. That is why they are great for those who are paralyzed and bedridden. Such means are preferred by busy people and travelers. After all, both those and others do not always have a glass of water at hand.
Dispersible tablets are also important in treating children. How to take such a drug? The tablet can be swallowed whole or dissolved in any amount of water. And for babies, the medicine can be given along with breast milk. It is an optimal, convenient and excellent solvent for babies.
Initially, the creators of such pills thought about the convenience of treating children. However, the dispersible form was very versatile. And today it is not considered only as a nursery. Convenience and comfort in the treatment should be for everyone.
Appearance story
Before dispersible tablets, people used buccal, or buccal. In this form, drugs were produced that, during normal use, had low bioavailability and were inconvenient to use. These pharmacological agents were analgesics and steroids.
Dispersible tablets were further invented. What were these funds? In this form, vitamins were originally produced. The tablets were well dissolved in water, which was pleasant to children.
Subsequently, this form began to find wider application in the pharmacological industry. The technique has been improved and combined with the process of drug delivery through microparticles released during dissolution.
The first dispersible tablet, which could dissolve in the oral cavity, was released in 1990 in the United States. It was immediately approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The benefits of innovative pills
In order to appreciate the revolutionary invention of the pharmacological industry, you need to get to know it better. If we consider such a parameter as the rate of absorption, then dispersible tablets have a higher compared to conventional ones. What does this mean? This form of the drug will dissolve faster in the digestive tract. An ordinary tablet with a low absorption rate sometimes damages the gastrointestinal mucosa, and this is not possible in the case of dispersible agents.
What other benefits does the innovative form have? Specialists note the high bioavailability that dispersible tablets have. What does this mean? This characteristic in modern medicine plays an important role in describing the properties of a particular medicine. Bioavailability is understood to mean the ability of the drug to be absorbed in the body. The quality of the therapeutic course directly depends on the values of this characteristic. For example, medicines in the form of liquid for injection have complete bioavailability. With other methods of use, the drug has to travel too long, as a result of which a certain part of it does not reach the goal at all. The innovative form of the drug, when dissolved, breaks up into microgranules. This is the main feature that dispersible tablets possess. What does this mean? Crushing into microgranules increases the bioavailability of the product. It is absorbed already in the small intestine, producing a therapeutic effect similar to the use of injections.
The positive side of such tablets is their pleasant taste and increased safety, which is created by reducing the risk of suffocation when taking the medication.
The disadvantages of innovative pills
Have pharmacists found the perfect dosage form? Nearly. And these pills are not without some drawbacks. The main one is the high cost of the dispersible agent. The price of such pills is increasing due to the complexity of the technological process of their production. In addition, this form of the drug requires special packaging quality. She should not allow the product to come into contact with water until the person needs to take it.
Amoxiclav
Consider the effect of dispersible agents on the example of tablets, which are a combination of clavulanic acid and amoxicillin. This is Amoxiclav, a semi-synthetic penicillin, that is, an antibiotic.
The drug is produced by the Sandre company, which allowed patients to receive a dosage form with maximum availability. Amoxiclav has all the registered indications characteristic of conventional tablets. Its administration allows an effective course of treatment of chronic and acute sinusitis, otitis media, various infections and pharyngeal abscess.
A similar form of the drug "Amoxicav" is prescribed for patients who are in a state of moderate severity. A great help for them is dispersible tablets. How to take the usual remedies for difficulty swallowing? Complicated! And here the dispersible form of Amoxicav is simply irreplaceable. In addition, in addition to all the advantages of dispersible tablets, this product was created taking into account the dose of the active substance necessary for the patient. Treatment becomes more effective and does not require correction.
Amoxiclav Dispersible Tablets are highly soluble in water, tea or juice. As a result, the patient receives a drug suspension. For one tablet, 1-2 glasses of liquid, but not less than 30 ml. Before taking the solution is thoroughly mixed. Amoxiclav Dispersible Tablets can simply be dissolved in the oral cavity. Preliminary dissolution is not required.
The packaging of the drug is also very convenient. The tablets are placed in a blister with a simplified access system. In other words, the drug does not need to be picked out from the package. In one blister is two tablets. This amount corresponds to the daily dosage.
Nise
This effective medicine is familiar to many of us. Its use allows you to relieve pain and relieve fever.
Today in the pharmacy you can find dispersible tablets "Nise". Each of them contains 50 mg of the active element - nimesulide. In a blister pack of 10 tablets.
An innovative product must be dissolved in water before use. Moreover, 1 teaspoon of liquid is taken per tablet.
It is especially convenient to give the dispersed Nise drug to small patients.
Conclusion
Modern science has allowed each of us to undergo an effective course of treatment, without resorting to injectable forms of pharmacological agents. The injection will perfectly replace dispersible tablets. In this case, the patient can be sure that he is taking a medicine that is not only pleasant to the taste, but also has a very high efficiency, as well as comfortable to use.