1. Medicine & Drugs
Medicines are divided into classes & have different effects on different people.
Medicines are only safe if they are used for the intended purpose & according to the directions on the label.

2. Types of Medicines
Main Idea: Medicines are classified on how they work in your body.
Medicines = drugs that are used to treat or prevent diseases or other conditions.
Drugs = substances other than food that change the structure or function of the body or mind
Medicines that treat or prevent illness can be classified into 4 broad categories:
Help prevent disease
Fight pathogens
Relieve pain & other symptoms
Manage chronic conditions, maintain/restore health, & regulate body’s systems.

3. Preventing Disease
95% of children receive vaccines, a preparation that prevents a person from contracting a specific disease.
Some vaccines have to be updated every year or several years

4. Fighting Pathogens
Antiobiotics = class of drug that destroy disease-causing bacteria
Effective only against bacteria, not viruses
Body can develop resistance if
overused
Don’t finish taking them
Antivirals = available to treat viral illness, such as flu
Suppress the virus but do not kill it
People will still have virus in their body
Antifungals = suppress or kill fungus cells, such as ringworm

5. Relieving Pain
Most commonly used drugs are analgesics, or pain relievers
Can be relatively mild (aspirin or Tylenol®)
Aspirin should not be taken by youth under age 20—can cause life-threatening disease
Can be a narcotic (morphine, codeine)
Can become addictive & require a doctor’s prescription

6. Managing Chronic Conditions
Allergy medicines: Antihistamines reduce allergy symptoms by blocking chemicals released by the immune system that cause an allergic reaction
Body-Regulating medicines: regulate body chemistry
Insulin-regulates sugar in blood
Inhalers-regulate oxygen flow to lungs
Antidepressant & Antipsychotic medicines : help people suffering from mental illness by regulating brain chemistry or stabilizing moods
Cancer Treatment Medicines: can treat or cure cancers by reducing rapid cell growth & help stop the spread of cancer cells.
Chemotherapy: uses chemicals to kill fast-growing cancer cells
Immunotherapy: uses body’s immune system to fight the cancer cells

7. Taking Medications
Main Idea: Medicines enter the body in a variety of ways.
Oral medicines = taken by mouth in form of tablets, capsules, or liquids
Topical Medicines = applied to the skin
Inhaled Medicines = delivered in a fine mist or powder
Injected Medicines = delivered through a shot & go directly into the bloodstream

8. Reactions to Medications
Main Idea: The effect of medicine depends on many factors.
Side Effects = reactions to medicine other than one intended
Medicine Interactions
Additive Interaction = occurs when medicines work together in a positive way.
Synergistic Effect = the interaction of two or more medicines that results in a greater effect than when each medicine is taken alone
Antagonistic Interaction = the effect of 1 medicine is cancelled or reduced when taken with another.
Tolerance and Withdrawal
Tolerance =
condition in which the body becomes used to the effect of the medicine.
Body requires increasingly larger doses to produce the same effect.
Withdrawal =
Occurs when a person stops using a medicine on which he/she has become physiologically dependent
Symptoms: nervousness, insomnia, severe headaches, vomiting, chills, and cramps

9. Using Medicines Safely
Prescription Medicines = medicines that are dispensed only with the written approval of a licensed physician or nurse practioner
Over-the-counter (OTC) = medicines you can buy without a doctor’s prescription
Medicine Misuse = using a medicine in ways other than intended use
Medicine Abuse = intentionally taking medications for nonmedicinal reasons
Drug Overdose = strong, sometimes fatal reaction to taking a large amount of a drug.