Medicine Baby Quiz | Can medicines for sublingual use be swallowed directly?

Medicine Baby Analysis

Drugs for oral administration cannot be swallowed directly. Common drugs for oral administration include general lozenges and nitroglycerin tablets for emergency treatment. Lozenges (such as coral lozenges) refer to compressed tablets that are slowly dissolved in the mouth and can produce lasting medicinal effects on the mouth and pharynx. They are used for local anti-inflammatory, sterilization, and analgesia. Lozenges are added with strong adhesives to prevent the tablets from disintegrating quickly. The purpose of "taking it sublingually" is to allow the drug to slowly dissolve in the mouth and directly act on inflammatory lesions such as the throat and mouth.

Nitroglycerin tablets are placed under the tongue and taken orally. Due to the abundant capillaries under the tongue and oral mucosa, the drug can be quickly absorbed into the blood circulation system in 1 to 3 minutes to relieve angina pectoris. However, swallowing directly will reduce the bioavailability due to the first-pass effect of the liver, affecting the efficacy of the drug.