How do medicines work, how can they be administered, what are the names of medicines, what are toxic reactions and many more questions are answered in this article. In short: everything about medicines and medicines!
The naming of medicines
Every medicine actually has 3 names, namely a chemical name, a substance name and a brand name.
Chemical name
The chemical name of a drug is an accurate description of the chemical composition of the drug and a description of the arrangement of the atoms in the drug. It is therefore a very difficult, long name.
Substance name
The substance name is an internationally accepted name derived from the chemical name, for example paracetamol.
Brand name
Every manufacturer comes up with a brand name for his medicine , and he also applies for a patent for this.
The administration of medicines
Medicines can be administered in many different ways, I will discuss 4 ways here;
Sublingual administration
The medicine is quickly absorbed into the bloodstream through the mucous membrane in the mouth. A major advantage of this method of administration is that it does not have to pass through the liver before it reaches its target. A large part of the drug is already broken down in the liver, so the concentration is subsequently lower.
Rectal administration
Through the rectum, the anus. This has the same advantages as sublingual administration.
Administration via the small intestine
Administration of medicines via the small intestine has the advantage that it can also happen if someone is very nauseous or something, but the disadvantage is that the medicine first passes through the liver and is therefore largely broken down too early.
Administration via the gastric mucosa
This has the same advantages and disadvantages as administration via the small intestine.
Biotransformation
As I wrote above, a large part of the drug is broken down in the liver . This happens through biotransformation . This means that the usually lipphilic (i.e. likes to bind to fat) medications are converted into hydrophilic (likes to bind to water) medications. Then they can no longer be absorbed into tissues or your fat layer, but can be excreted via urine or bile.
Toxic reactions
In the wrong concentration, a medicine can become toxic , i.e. poisonous. This can happen in 3 ways;
Acute toxicity
Due to sudden administration of too high a quantity of a medicine.
Subacute toxicity
For hours or several days, someone is administered a substance that does not cause any damage upon single contact, but does in some patients (for example kidney or liver patients) if administered for too long.
Chronic
If someone repeatedly comes into contact with a substance that is absorbed into the body more quickly than it is excreted, the concentration builds up and can be very fatal. For example, in the past with plumbers, when it was not yet known that lead was not healthy.
Drug interaction
If someone uses different medicines at the same time, they can interact with each other in 3 different ways;
Additive interaction
The total effect of the 2 medicines together is the same as the sum of the effect of the medicines separately.
Antagonistic interaction
The total effect of the 2 medicines is smaller than the effect of both medicines separately.
Potentializing interaction
The total effect of 2 medicines together is greater than the sum of the effect of both medicines separately.
