WHAT ARE DRUGS?

A drug, as defined, is a chemical substance used as a medicine or in making medicines, which affects the
body and mind and have potential for abuse. Without an advice or prescription from a physician, drugs
can be harmful.

There are also two forms of drugs, natural and synthetic/artificial. The natural drugs include natural
plant leaves, flowering tops, resin, hashish, opium, and marijuana, while the synthetic drugs are
produced by clandestine laboratories which include those drugs that are controlled by law because they
are used in the medical practice. Physicians prescribe them and are purchased in the legitimate outlets
like drugstores.

Drugs also help a person’s body and mind function better during an illness. But drugs have to be taken
correctly in order to do these things. The wrong drug or the wrong amount of the right one can make an
illness, worse, destroy blood cells, damage the body and many cause death.

A. THE PRESCRIPTIVE DRUGS These are drugs requiring written authorization from a doctor to
allow a purchase. They are prescribed according to the individual’s age, weight and height
and should not be taken by anyone else. The pharmacist should never allow the consumer
to request them knowingly without first consulting a doctor.
Once again strict emphasis of following directions needs to be stated. In addition to dosage,
the physician indicates both when and for how long the medicine should be taken. Theses
directions are intended to safeguard the patient from needlessly treating himself after his
illness has been brought under control or from prematurely stopping a drug because he
thinks he is well. Since the chemistry of the body is subtle and variable, only a physician
should have the responsibility of prescribing and directing the use of drugs in the treatment
of illnesses.

B. THE OVER - THE COUNTER - DRUGS (OTC) These are non-prescription medicines, which may
be purchased from any pharmacy or drugstore without written authorization from a doctor.
They are used to treat minor and short term illnesses and any persistent condition should be
immediately referred to a physician. It should be strongly emphasized that “directions” be
closely followed and all precautions necessarily taken to avoid complications. OTC drugs are
used for the prevention and symptomatic relief of minor ailments. The precautions that
must be observed when dispensing OTCs are the following: 1. the correct drug with the
correct drug content is given to the correct patient in the correct dosage form; 2. the
pharmacist must counsel the patient to make sure that he/she takes the drugs correctly;
and 3. the pharmacist must be aware of and know about the possible toxicity’s possessed by
the OTC drugs to avoid food/drug incompatibilities and overdoses.

OTCs must be used discriminately:

1. To avoid the dispensing of OTC to known identified habitual drug users.
2. 2. To avoid complications, this is done by inquiring from the buyer of the drugs as to
the identity of the patient, the patient’s age and other information such as
pregnancy, hypertension, etc.
 3. 3. Counseling the patient so as to avoid the “self-medication” syndrome by inquiring
about the buyer’s source of information about the drug.
C. The “Self-Medication Syndrome” The “self-medication” syndrome is found in users and
would be users of drugs whose sources of information are people or literature other than
doctors, pharmacists and health workers. These could be members of the family, relatives,
and/or neighbors, all of whom may have previously used the drug for their specific disease
or disorder. Self-medication may work against the good of the user because it can lead to
intoxication and other adverse reactions.

Possible outcomes of self-medication are:

1. Adverse reaction towards the drug, such as allergies that may be mild or severe.
2. Possible non-response of the patient to the drug effectively due to incorrect drug
usage.
3. Possible drug toxicities, through over dosage which may lead to severe reactions such
as nausea, vomiting, rashes, etc.
4. Possible habit-forming characteristics due to periodic use of the drugs even when
such are no longer needed.

HOW DRUGS WORK?

Most drugs act within a cell, rather than on the surface of a cell or in the extracellular fluids of the body.
Similar to normal body chemicals, a drug enters a cell and participates in a few steps of the normal
sequence of a cellular process. Thus, drugs may later, interfere with or replace chemicals of normal
cellular life, hopefully for the betterment of the person. The actual action of a particular drug depends
on its chemical make-up. When two drugs are taken together or within a few hours of each other they
may interact with unexpected results. This is one reason a physician should always know the names of
all drugs one is using. A dose of a drug is the amount taken at one time. The doses taken become an
extremely important part of drug abuse.

The amount of drug in a dose can be described as:

1. Minimal dose – amount needed to treat or heal, that is, the smallest amount of a drug that
will produce a therapeutic effect.

2. Maximal dose – largest amount of a drug that will produce a desired therapeutic effect,
without any accompanying symptoms of toxicity.

3. Toxic dose – amount of d rug that produces untoward effects or symptoms of poisoning

4. Abusive dose – amount needed to produce the side effects and action desired by an individual
who improperly uses it

5. Lethal dose – amount of drug that will cause death

HOW DRUGS ARE ADMINISTERED?

The common methods of administration are the following:

1. Oral – this is the safest most convenient and economical route whenever possible. There are
however, drugs, which cannot be administered this way because they are readily destroyed by the
digestive juices or because they irritate the mucous lining of the gastro-intestinal tract and induce
vomiting.

2. Injection – this form of drug administration offers a faster response than the oral method. It
makes use of a needle or other device to deliver the drugs directly into the body tissue and blood
circulation.

3. Inhalation – this route makes use of gaseous and volatile drugs, which are inhaled and
absorbed rapidly through the mucous of the respiratory tract.

4. Topical – this refers to the application of drugs directly to a body site such as the skin and the
mucous membrane.

5. Iontophoresis – the introduction of drugs into the deeper layers of the skin by the use of
special type of electric current for local effect.