Drug Administration into the Body

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Drug Administration into the Body

The development of technology has brought with it the discovery of various mediums through which drugs can be administered. Drugs can be administered in the following distinctive ways; orally, Intravenous (IV) injection, subcutaneous injection, inhalation, snorting, topically, through the rectum, and through mucosal administration, among other mediums. The effects of the different modalities of administration of drugs into the body vary with respect to their effectiveness, toxicity and side effects. The three mediums of drug administration that will be discussed in this paper include; oral administration, IV injection, and inhalation.

Oral administration occurs when drugs are directly ingested through the mouth and into the digestive system (Hillery & Park, 2016). This is one of the most common mediums of drug administration. Most of the absorption takes place in the small intestines (Hillery & Park, 2016). After absorption the drug moves to the liver, then to the blood stream and from this point, it will be transported to the destination (Hillery & Park, 2016). As compared to other forms of administration, oral administration is advantageous because it is less painful and can be used with a wide range of drugs. The disadvantage, however, is that once the drug has been administered, altering the levels of sedation may be difficult (Hillery & Park, 2016). Another disadvantage (or side effect) is that the drug may cause taste disturbances and due to any irritation matted on the gastric mucosa, the recipient may experience nausea or vomiting.

IV is another form of drug administration. It occurs when using a syringe, the drug is injected into a vein, so that it is directly administered into the blood stream (Wang, Hu, & Siahaan, 2016). When drugs are administered in this manner, a 100% absorption is recorded. As a result of the direct absorption of the drug, the effects are often felt at a fast rate. This can be both advantages and disadvantageous. It is particularly disadvantageous because if the drug is illicit, its harmful effects will quickly be transported to various systems in the body. Another side effect is that repeated usage of the needles will cause scarring. It is also highly toxic since self-administration can easily result in an overdose.

Another common form of drug administration is inhalation (including smoking). This occurs when an individual causes smoke or vapor to go into the lungs so that it can be absorbed into the blood stream. In numerous circumstances, this absorption occurs as rapidly as it would have if the drug had been directly injected into the blood stream (Wang, Hu, & Siahaan, 2016). A substantial percentage of illegal drug users prefer this form of administration because it produces the much sort-for high. The effects, however, dissipate within a short period of time. This form of drug administration has numerous side effects. If the inhaled substance is particularly illegal or bad for the health, the side effects include; loss of sense of taste and smell, tooth decay, cancer of the lip, nose, tongue, and mouth, as well as, muscular degeneration (among other side effects) (Wang, Hu, & Siahaan, 2016).

The development of technology has brought with it the discovery of various mediums through which drugs can be administered. The three main ways through which drugs can be administered include; orally, through IV injection, and through inhalation. All the three forms of drug administration have advantages and disadvantages with respect to toxicity and side effects.