B1.3 Medicines and Drugs Flashcards
What does alcohol cause?
Accidents, bad reputation, brain damage, mental problems,strokes, liver damage, liver cancer
What do drugs cause?
hallucinations, depressed, increases hr., blood pressure
What is an addiction?
Where you take a drug and you want to chase the feeling of pleasure so keep on taking it.
Where do drugs come from?
They usually come from natural resources but also add in chemicals
What are the drug withdrawal symptoms?
sweating, aching, shaking, headaches and craving.
What was thalidomide originally used as?
A sleeping pill
What was thalidomide used to treat that had negative consequences?
It was used to treat morning sickness but damaged the development of unborn babies.
What impact did thalidomide have on unborn babies?
It damaged their development causing limbs to be short or not fully formed. This led to it being banned.
What is alcohol?
It is a legal drug that impacts the nervous system. It is a depressant that slows you down so you feel more relaxed.
What are the stages a drug goes through when being trialled?
- Researchers target a disease and make lots of new drugs that could potentially treat it.
- These drugs are tested in a lab on cells to see if they do their job or are toxic. Many fail at this point.
- The small number of drugs left are tested on animals to see if they are effective and what the side effects are.
- Drugs that work on animals are then tested on healthy humans for side effects.
- Drugs that are deemed safe in healthy humans are then tested on people with the disease to see if it is effective.
- Finally, drugs that are shown to be effective and safe to use get a license and can be produced.
What is a stimulant?
It temporarily speeds up activity of one or more organs/parts of the body, increases heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature, brain activity and alertness.
What is a depressant?
It temporarily slows down the activity of one or more organs/parts of the body, slows down brain activity and makes you feel more relaxed.
What is a hallucinogen?
It affects the cognition and perception of someone taking it and causes an irregular heart beat, increased blood pressure and loss of co ordination.
Why should pregnant women avoid smoking?
Carbon monoxide (CO) from incomplete combustion binds to haemoglobin so is transported in the blood. As a result of this oxygen can’t travel through the blood as the haemoglobin is already blinded to the carbon monoxide. Thus the mother and baby are deprived of oxygen. This causes a higher chance of miscarriage or premature births. Also babies can be less developed so a smaller weight.
what is a drug?
a chemical that interferes with reactions in your body
