Medicines and Drugs Well-targeted answers for improved results.
4 views 0 purchase
Course
MEDICINE
Institution
MEDICINE
Lesson 1: The Role of Medicines - Answer Big Idea: Medicines are divided into classes
and have different effects on different people.
Types of Medicines - Answer - Main Idea: Medicines are classified based on how they
work in your body.
- People use medicines to help restore their health when t...
Medicines and Drugs Well-targeted answers for
improved results.
Lesson 1: The Role of Medicines - Answer Big Idea: Medicines are divided into classes
and have different effects on different people.
Types of Medicines - Answer - Main Idea: Medicines are classified based on how they
work in your body.
- People use medicines to help restore their health when they are ill.
Medicines Def: Drugs that are used to treat or prevent diseases or other conditions.
- All medicines are drugs, but not all drugs are medicines.
Drugs Def: Substances other than food that change the structure or function of the body or mind
- Drugs are effective in treating illness when taken as directed by a physician or according to the
label instructions.
Four Categories of Medicines that Treat or Prevent Illness
- Medicines that help prevent disease
- Medicines that fight pathogens
- Medicines that relieve pain and other symptoms
- Medicines that manage chronic conditions, help maintain or restore health, and regulate body's
systems
Preventing Disease - Answer - Today, we have medicines that prevent disease. About 95
percent of children receive vaccines.
- Vaccines Def: A preparation that prevents a person from contracting a specific disease
Vaccines
- Vaccines contain weakened or dead pathogens that cause the disease.
- When injected into your body, the vaccine produces antibodies that fight those pathogens.
, 2|Page
Antitoxins
- Antitoxins prevent disease and neutralize the effects of toxins.
- Antitoxins fight the bacteria that produce substances toxic to the body.
Fighting Pathogens - Answer - Medicines can also help your body fight the pathogens that
cause illness.
Antibiotics
- Antibiotics are a class of drug that destroy disease-causing microorganisms, called bacteria.
- Antibiotics work either by killing harmful bacteria in the body or by preventing bacteria from
reproducing.
- The bacteria that antibiotics kill have adapted to the drug over time.
- Bacteria can develop a resistance to antibiotics when antibiotics are overused, and when the
patient does not finish taking the full prescription.
- If you do not finish taking all of a prescription, you may not kill all of the bacteria.
- The remaining bacteria may develop a resistance, or immunity, to treatment.
Antivirals and Antifungals
- Antiviral drugs are used to treat some viral illnesses, such as the flu. They suppress the virus,
but do not kill it. - Like bacteria, viruses can develop a resistance to medications.
- Fungi are another type of pathogen that can infect the body.
- Antifungals can suppress or kill fungus cells, such as athlete's foot and ringworm.
Relieving Pain - Answer - The most commonly used medicines are analgesics, or pain
relievers.
- Aspirin is used to relieve pain and reduce fever. Other analgesics fight inflammation, or
redness, swelling, and pain.
- Children who take aspirin when they have a fever risk developing Reye's syndrome, a
potentially life-threatening illness of the brain and liver.
- For that reason, aspirin should not be given to anyone under the age of 20 unless directed by a
health care professional.
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller hamedbash. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $8.49. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
