Exciting New Ways to Take Your Medicines | Consumer Health Information Corporation

Exciting New Ways to Take Your Medicines

Ryan Weller, PharmD Candidate 2008
Shenandoah University
Prepared during Consumer Health Information Corporation Clerkship
McLean, VA

Medicines were once only available in the form of tablets, capsules, liquids, or injections. Patients had to remember to take their medicines every 3 or 4 hours on the average. This made it difficult for many people to remember to take their medicines at the right time. When doses were forgotten or missed, the person never received the full benefit of the medicine. Researchers have been trying to discover new ways to administer medicines that are easier for people to take and which have fewer side effects.

Some people, especially children and the elderly, cannot tolerate oral (by mouth) medications. This is a big reason why patients don’t take their medication. This could be due to forgetting or not being able to take the medication, not getting refills when needed, taking the medication at the wrong time, or just using the medicine incorrectly. This problem is a major health and economic concern for patients and health professionals. It can lead to more visits to the hospital, missed work, and even death.

Here are some examples of how advancements of medicine now offer us different ways to take the medication we need.

Can I Really Inhale my Insulin?

Some patients with diabetes require insulin to control their blood sugar. Insulin has been given by injection for many years and patients, who have a fear of needles or just don’t like injecting themselves, may skip doses. This means they will not get the insulin they need and their diabetes may get out of control. This can lead to eye problems, feet problems, or even a stroke.

Researchers have now discovered how to administer insulin through an inhaler so those patients do not have to give themselves injections. Exubera® is the first approved inhaled short acting insulin and is being used to treat patients with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes. It works just like any short acting insulin that would usually require an injection. Inhaled insulin allows diabetic patients an alternative to painful or bothersome injections.

Medicine Patches

Medication patches have been developed as an alternative to taking medication by mouth. These patches are like Bandaids that contain medicine so it can be slowly released into the body through the skin. Patches can help reduce the possibility of unwanted side effects by acting only where the medication is needed in the body. Just like when we eat food, most medications are broken down or digested in our stomach, intestines, or liver. This process causes much of the medicine to be lost.

Medication patches are usually long acting and release the medicine at a constant rate through the skin. This makes it possible for the patient to take the medicine less often. Medicine patches also make it possible for drug manufacturers to bypass the stomach and get the medicine to the place in the body where it is needed. This helps avoid stomach upset and other side effects. Patches have been designed for many different uses including birth control, as a stop-smoking aid, motion sickness, pain, high blood pressure, and many others.

Medicine patches are easy for patients to use. It is important to use them correctly and to rotate the sites they are attached to the skin. Some patches must never be cut to get a lower dose. Always check with the pharmacist to find out how a specific medicine patch should be applied. Also, be sure to dispose of medicine patches correctly so that children and pets cannot touch them.

One-a-day tablets and capsules

New extended-release tablets and capsules have been made to decrease the amount of times you have to remember to take your medicine. Instead of taking blood pressure mediation four times a day these newer medications allow for once–a-day usage. This means you can spend less of your time trying to remember to take your medicine. It is also easier to store and keep track of 30 pills instead of 120 pills.

Imagine if you only had to take your blood pressure medication once a week, or once a month. One day this could be possible. If a medication is easier to use or if you don’t have to remember to take it as often, you might be more likely to use the medication properly. This means your disease or illness will improve. If you are feeling better or have better control of your disease, you will be able to spend less money in hospital or doctor office fees. You will also be able to miss less work, which can be costly to you and your employer.

Computer chips for the future?

Another exciting invention that is currently being studied is small computer chips that are placed into the body. These small computer chips have medication in them which can be released by a remote device or when a hormone in your body is high or low. This technology is still being researched but someday you just might go to your pharmacist to get a computer chip instead of tablets or capsules. With all the advancements being made in different types of dosage forms, there is also the possibility that medicines will have fewer side effects because the medicine will only go to the part of the body that needs the medicine.

When people walk into a restaurant they like to see many different options on the menu. Imagine if you only had one option to choose at a fast food restaurant. In this sense the health care profession and the food industry are similar. Drug makers are trying to give patients many to options on how to take their medicine. The new dosage form medicines listed in this article are just a few of the many new and exciting ways of taking medicine.