Different types of tablets

Increasingly tablets are being made which are suitable for patients who cannot swallow normal tablets. These are listed below with examples provided.

Dispersible or effervescent tabletsare designed to be added to water just prior to swallowing. They are frequently quite large and can contain large amounts of sodium. The size prevents patients from taking many of them, which is helpful for soluble paracetamolproducts for instance however the sodium content can cause problems in patients where sodium intake is restricted.

Sub-lingual tablets are designed to be dissolved under the tongue, are rapidly absorbed through the tongue and therefore work quickly. This is why some tablets for the treatment of angina pain and others for general pain are formulated in this manner. The disadvantages are that they require sufficient saliva production and due to quick absorption are more likely to cause side effects and are more quickly removed from the body.

Buccal tablets are intended to be placed on the gum or in the cheek to allow the drug absorbed. Because the medicine can be held for a longer period of time on the gum, medicines which need to be released at a slower rate than sub-lingual tablets can be given via this route. This route is used for anti-nausea drugs and nicotine replacement gums. Anti-nausea medicines are particularly suitable for buccal administration as the nausea itself can cause swallowed tablets to be vomited and therefore rendered ineffective.

Melt tablets are placed on the tongue and are designed to dissolve directly in the mouth's saliva. The contents are then swallowed with saliva and consequently water does not have to be administered with these medicines. This is particularly useful in patients who are at risk of aspiration and therefore unable to swallow tablets with water concurrently.

Oro-dispersible tablets are similar to melts and are designed todisperse in the mouth and to be washed down with saliva. As with sub-lingual, buccal and melts, oro-dispersible products require an adequate amount of saliva production. Some oro-dispersible tablets consist of coated granules and therefore it is not appropriate to crush the oro-dispersible product prior to dispersion.

Ointments

Yesterday the students of the University attended the lecture on the theme “Ointments”. If they had not come to this lecture yesterday they wouldn’t know about the ointment basis, usage and package now.

A professor said that ointments are soft, semisolid preparations usually containing medicaments and are intended to be applied externally to the body or to mucous membranes. There are several types of ointment basis. Ointment basis containing animal fats, vegetable oils or hydrocarbons such as petroleum jelly or liquid petrolatum are designated as oleaginous basis. A base consisting primarily of a mixture of animal sterols with petrolatum jelly is classified as an absorption base. Ointment bases which are prepared from the higher ethylene glycol polymers and are soft, waxy solids similar in consistency to petroleum jelly are known as a water soluble type.

Based on their penetration, ointment bases have been placed into three classes: epidermic (petrolatum, waxes, and their combinations), endodermic (vegetable oils, wool fat, lanolin and their combinations) and diadermic (emulsions and water soluble bases).

Until recently, ointments and ointment type products were packaged in glass, stoneware, porcelain, polyethylene, or plastic wide-mouth jars. Since a large area of the ointment was exposed to the effect of air, those ointments containing easily oxidized medicinal were packaged in collapsible metal tubes. These containers did not take into account such factors as ease of application, cleanliness, contamination from an infected area or with foreign materials, maintenance of sterility, oxidation waste due to the method of application on, and stability.

And also the professor said that if they use the aerosol containers (metallic, glass, or plastic) tomorrow during their practice it will give the following advantages: 1.the method of application is convenient, fast and efficient; 2.since the medicinal is applied directly from the container to the effected area of the skin there is no waste through the use of an applicator; 3.there is no danger of contamination of the product.