Administration of Drugs through the Skin

Administration of Drugs through the Skin Name: Course Title: Date: In modern medication, drugs can now be administered into the body through the skin. The process is facilitated by porosity of the skin and heat produced by the body. The drug molecules pass through the skin by diffusion process and are carried into the blood stream through the rich network of blood capillaries. One of the key factors that affect diffusion is the size of molecules of the substance involved. Although this process has been viewed as an effective mode of medication, some drugs cannot be administered through the skin. Substances that can easily pass through the skin are those whose molecules are smaller than skin pores. Nicotine has tiny molecules hence it can easily be administered skin-wise. Others include Estrogen and some vitamins. Some drugs cannot be administered through the skin due to the size of their molecules. As noted earlier, the size of the molecules affects the rate of diffusion of substances. Therefore, for drugs to be administered through the skin, the molecules have to be smaller than the skin pores. Most protein drugs such as insulin may pass through the skin but the process usually takes a longer time. Instead of getting to the blood stream through the blood capillaries, protein drugs usually diffuse into the lymphatic vessels, a process that quite slow compared to the capillaries. Some drugs are not easy to change into transdermal patches that are commonly used to achieve this goal. These are soft-layered patches that are attached to the skin during administration. The main difficulty lies in the size of molecules compared to skin pores. Frostbites Frostbite is a condition that causes damage to body tissues and organs due to extreme cold conditions. This condition af...