Good Question: How Do Pills Work?
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- It could be a headache or heartburn or high blood pressure - there always seems to be a pill for that. So, that has Kathleen wanting to know: How do pills work? Good Question.
"There are many, many ways different medicines work," says Jason Varin, an assistant professor at University of Minnesota's College of Pharmacy.
Once we swallow pills, they make their way to our stomach. In some cases, like Tums which neutralize stomach acid, the pills stop there. But, in most cases, they make their way to the intestines and liver and eventually dissolve into the bloodstream.
"Most drugs will go through the entire circulatory system," says Varin.
For example, pain relievers like Ibuprofen or Acetaminophen work by reducing prostaglandins, chemicals that are released when a body part is hurt or injured. Those chemicals can lead to inflammation and pain. So, even though the pain relievers are spread throughout the entire body, they only reacting with the chemicals that are produced by the hurt and injured area.
Other medications, like blood pressure pills, also circulate through the body, but act differently than pain relievers.
"If you think of a chemical or drug as a jigsaw puzzle and you go around until you find the right part and it's in there and does the effect," says Varin.
There are some exceptions to drugs that move through the entire circulatory system. Many are blocked before they get to the brain by the blood brain barrier. For example, allergy medications like Claritin or Allegra don't make people tired because they're blocked from the brain. But, Benadryl will make people sleepy because it passes through the blood brain barrier.