Session 2 introduced dosage forms. Many students had not heard of the variety of drug dosage forms available. I bet they will look around the medicine cabinet tonight to see what they have at hand!
Here is what they had to say.
I think today’s topic was so fascinating. My mind was blown by how many products are advertised daily but cause zero effects on the patients. For example, I knew a lot of beauty products ( like the collagen cream) did not do half the stuff they advertised but I did not expect them not to do anything. I also have never previously heard of dissolvable strips so it was cool to learn of the different ways drugs can be delivered.
I learned new things about different drug dosages, like how aspirin is probably the smallest drug on the market. I also find it interesting that there are technical terms for the types of dosage forms.”Inhalational”is pretty self explanatory, however, Topical interested me the most because of the definition of the term; “Applied to the skin or mucous membranes to enter circulation”. Powder being in the drug dosage form lecture only shocked me because I always thought that powder based stuff, for example: protein shake, were considered to be supplements and not drugs, aren’t drugs and supplements technically different?
Today’s session was so interesting because there were so many things I learned that completely changed my perspective. For example, the amount of marketable “miracle” products that don’t actually do anything because the dosage form doesn’t provide a proper way for the drug to be delivered is crazy, especially considering they’re so popular but can be debunked by basic science. Also, I was surprised to hear about the many drugs like anti-depressants that are very ineffective in reality, as they rarely work as well as they are branded to. This is really surprising especially because I feel like no one knows it even though there are many people who take drugs like this.
I think the fact that drugs can take on so many forms and routes of administration is incredibly fascinating. For example, you mentioned that adding HCl to a weak base allows the drug to crystallize and form a powder, and these kinds of mechanisms make drugs so diverse! It’s really cool that we can modify dosage forms, to an extent, in order to fit needs of patients (vegan capsules, etc.) and their situations (emergent vs. reoccurring). I liked the brief discussion we had about Aripiprazole toward the end as well. Yes, non adherence to medication can create significant side effects for patients, especially when mental illness comes into play. Though consent is an important part of that treatment, data breaches are an equally important concern. Things of this nature can make a paranoid society even more paranoid. So in these cases, the patient can absolutely benefit from a system in place to keep him/her on track, but the question also arises of whether or not the patient’s privacy and best interest are held.
As soon as class ended, I called my mom and talked to her about how absorption of different chemicals and such depend a lot on the size of they. It’s interesting that a large amount of products that we are told to use or that pushed on the public can’t work because of the size of its active ingredient and the type of dosage form.
The monitored medication topic that we ended class with was very interesting and I hope to look into it more for another class of mine.
Overall, just from the two class sessions I’m already very bummed that I graduate this semester and can’t take the other pharmacology classes.
I loved learning about the different types of dosage forms! I think it is so interesting that there are so many different ways to take a drug whether it is in a solid dosage form like a capsule or liquid form like an elixir. This session really brought to my attention the many different pathways we can use to take a drug such as rectal delivery, insufflation, and transdermal delivery.
Also, I was SO surprised to learn that there is no existing tattoo ink that is FDA approved! I have two tattoos so I was really intrigued by that piece of information!
I thought it was super interesting to learn about this different types of dosage forms for drugs. I think its fascinating that we are able to create different methods of delivering treatments to the body when it is often so difficult to work around the many natural factors influencing the pharmacokinetics of a drug in our bodies. One thing that caught my attention during this discussion was the dangers of slow release drugs. I never thought about how if you are allergic or OD on something that is slow releasing you are going to suffer symptoms for a much longer period of time than a drug that is quickly passed through the body.
A second thing that I found very interesting was how large molecules such as collagen are essentially useless when applied to the skin. I’d be fascinated to learn more about the science of these products and how the companies that sell them are able to fool millions of consumers into thinking there is any benefit to using them. In general it is astounding to me how there are so many “phony” products that are able to make it to market when its so difficult for real medications to get FDA approval.
I love all the science behind how medicine is created,ehy they come in the form they do, and how much you should take. From this session, I was really surprised that nitroglycerin is an explosive. I knew it was dangerous though. Where I work we have a special box with special gloves for when we come into contact with it. I haven’t heard of strips used for anything besides mouthwash so I’m curious to see what else comes in strips and such. I also didn’t know that there were certain medications that could be mixed with alcohol. I always just assumed you weren’t supposed to drink with meds.
After this week’s session, I was surprised to learn how much went into creating drugs as well as determining the form that they come in. One thing I found particularly interesting that I never really thought about because it does not concern me was the caution taken when prescribing a vegan, vegetarian, or diabetic a medicine that comes in a capsule because of the glycerin. It is nice to know that those professionals keep those factors in mind. It was also surprising to learn about how many supplements or drugs are practically useless to most people. Now I know how to save money and to watch what I put on or in my body.
Something we discussed that I hadn’t thought about before is that in order for a drug to be effective, it has to be able to survive the harsh environment of the stomach and also the liver attempting to take it in and metabolize it. Therefore, only a fraction of the drug taken gets to the small intestine where it can be absorbed and make it to it’s actual target. There are so many obstacles within the human body that drugs have to be able to avoid, so I can see why it is difficult to be able to develop a drug that actually works without causing harm to the body.
I thought Wednesday’s topic on dosage forms was so cool and informative! I had no idea there were so many ways to give people their medications. I also had no idea that they add sorbitol to different waters and that it could be harmful to dogs. I also thought it was very surprising that none of the inks used for tattoos are approved by the FDA, and that not even everyday drugs we take for headaches and fevers are, because they were grandfathered in. I’ve learned so much cool stuff from this class and we’ve only had two classes.
The Joy of Drugs 