Chapter 36- Antihistamines, Decongestants, Antitussives, and Expectorants Flashcards
Adrenergics (sympathomimetics)
Drugs that stimulate the sympathetic nerve fibres of the autonomic nervous system that use epinephrine or epinephrine-like substances as neurotransmitters
Anticholinergics (parasympatholytics)
Drugs that block the action of acetylcholine and similar substances at acetylcholine receptors, resulting in the inhibition of the transmission of parasympathetic nerve impulses.
Antigens
Substances that, upon entering the body, can induce specific products of this response, such as antibodies and specifically sensitized T lymphocytes
Antihistamines
Substances capable of reducing the physiological and pharmacological effects of histamine, including a wide variety of drugs that block histamine receptors.
Antitussive
A drug that reduces coughing, often by inhibiting neural activity in the cough centre of the central nervous system
Corticosteroids
Any of the hormones produced by the adrenal cortex, either in natural or synthetic form
Decongestants
Drugs that reduce congestion or swelling, especially of the upper or lower respiratory tract
Empiricial therapy
A method of treating disease on the basis of observations and experience, without an understanding of the precise cause of or mechanism responsible for the disorder or the way in which the therapeutic drug or procedure produces improvement or cure.
Expectorants
Drugs that increase the flow of fluid in the respiratory tract, usually by reducing the viscosity of bronchial and tracheal secretions and facilitating their removal by the cough reflex and ciliary action
Histamine antagonists
Drugs that compete with histamine for binding sites on histamine receptors
Influenza
A highly contagious infection of the respiratory tract caused by a myxovirus and transmitted by airborne droplets.
Nonsedating antihistamines
Newer medications that work peripherally to block the actions of histamine and therefore do not have the CNS effects of many of the older antihistamines; also called second-generation antihistamines or peripherally acting antihistamines
Reflex stimulation
An irritation of the respiratory tract occurring in response to an irritation of the gastrointestinal tract
Rhinovirus
Any of approximately 100 serologically distinct ribonucleic acid (RNA) viruses that cause approximately 40% of acute respiratory illnesses
Sympathomimetic drugs
A class of drugs whose effects mimic those resulting from the stimulation of organs and structures by the sympathetic nervous system