Drugs have different effects, and they differ from one individual to another. There are scenarios where two people the same quantity of drugs and still get different results. We often wonder why some people get addicted to drugs despite taking the same amount of drugs, and the big question is always why people have different responses to drugs compared to the rest. Often, the way we react to drugs depends on genetic causes. There have been instances where medication is useful to some patients while it fails for others. Other medications work, while others are harmful to some patients. Human variability concerning the effectiveness and safety of drugs has posed a significant challenge to clinical practice and drug development. Several factors are influencing the way a drug acts in the body.
Genetics can make someone absorb drugs at a high rate creating an inadequate response. Genetics is related to the environment. They are different ways in which strains such as yeast cells in one’s body respond to any drug administered to the body. This means that there will be a day where doctors will use one’s genome to predict how they will react to a particular drug. With this knowledge, it is easy to give a patient a personalized description according to their response. The genetic makeup influences the way they take in the drugs. The genes in one’s body are a determination of the enzymes that play a major in metabolizing the medications one takes. However, genes bring about changes in the body. Still, there are cases where the coding in one’s genes prevents the enzymes from working—besides, biological sex influences people’s body sizes and hormones. When we look at it clearly, men always have lower fat tissue proportions and larger body sizes than women. In this case, drugs affect women and men differently.
As people grow, they need fewer drugs to feel the effect compared to young people. This is triggered by the fat tissues in their bodies in the muscles. As a result, a drug is likely to last longer than that of a younger age. When one grows old, their liver reduces in both its effectiveness and size, and therefore its capacity to filter and absorb drugs lowers. In short, older person body receptors tend to be sensitive as they get older.
Additionally, is body mass. One’s amount of fat, size, and muscle play a significant role in reacting to drugs. Huge people tend to have large vascular systems, and therefore substances they take are more likely to travel in more blood. Since their volume of blood is higher, the drugs get diluted and thus have weak effects. When an individual has high-fat tissue, their bodies’ fat-soluble drugs are likely to stay in their systems for a longer time. This leads to less pronounced side effects. Alternatively, the non-fat-soluble substances in the body tend to focus on muscle mass, thus having a more substantial impact than those with less muscle.
Tolerance is a core thing for anyone who takes drugs. People who take medications regularly can build tolerance than those who take drugs occasionally. The body develops adaptation to the presence of drugs and calls for a higher percentage to feel the same results. When one develops tolerance, the drug has fewer effects on their body. It is important to note that understanding depends on the drugs one takes. Take, for instance, when opioids get into contact with the body, the body develops tolerance in a short time, an indication that drugs have different rates in developing tolerance.
Food taken causes psychological changes, especially in the GI tract, thus affecting the drug’s transit time.t the main things affected are the rates in which the drug dissolves and how fast it enters the system’s circulation. When a prescription is administered after meals, food plays a crucial role. Meals with high calories and high-fat content tend to affect bioavailability than the ones with less. Moreover, individuals with underlying conditions react differently to drugs compared to individuals with underlying conditions.
A good example is beta-blocker are eye drops often prescribed and recommended to treat glaucoma as they lower the eye pressure. However, the same eye drops aren’t prescribed to patients having both asthma and glaucoma. This is because the beta-blocker eye drops, making breathing difficult. In as much as the drug administration is made to keep the drug directed to the eye, chances are, it can be absorbed in the bloodstream. In most cases, drug response alterations occur when organs carrying out absorption, excretion, metabolism, and distribution are compromised. The organs are mostly kidneys, liver, and lungs, which play a significant role in breaking and eliminating most drugs. For cases with liver impairment issues, some medications may put them at risk to get serious effects.
Advanced age and female gender have proved to be at a better risk to respond to drugs and side effects. It is important to note that drugs differ depending on gender. Blood levels are also being linked to affect drug response. Age and liver impairment plays a big role in recommending a dose too. As a result, technicians have crossed the line in taking responsibilities that were initially done by pharmacists. Any technician needs to learn how different factors affect drug delivery. They include; underlying conditions, a drug to drug interactions, food age, and genetics. It sounds confusing and close to impossible to remember every drug interaction. There are new computer applications that affect the entry systems’ order and give warnings on dangerous drug interactions. As much as these prescriptions are complex, pharmacy technicians should ensure that they know the patient alerts on their safety. Lastly, the fact remains that medications won’t work for everyone. They can be useful for some and fall for others. Some of them work, while some of them may cause harm to individuals.