It’s normal to get some kind of shot or injection whenever you go to the doctor or visit a hospital. Most people assume that it’s the most effective way to get your medication. However, these medical facilities also use pills and tablets, which can then b prescribed to you for at-home use.
Injections deliver the medicine straight into your tissue or veins, while oral medications are absorbed through your digestive system. But which type of drug administration is better?
In this article
Pros and Cons of Oral Medications
Most medications come in the form of oral administration for a few different reasons.
First of all, it’s a convenient way to store and transport medications. They normally last much longer than a substance you inject, and it stores better as well.
Furthermore, oral medications are safer because they’re absorbed over time. If you take too many tablets or mix medications, you can always get your stomach pumped at the hospital.
One of the disadvantages of oral medication is that drug absorption can vary depending on the presence of food and an individual’s gastric emptying rate. You also can’t administer these drugs to unconscious patients.
Benefits of Injections
When a medication is given as an injection, it is applied directly into your body and bypasses your digestive system. The medication gets broken down much faster and can go straight where it needs to go.
For example, vitamins and nutrients need to travel the entire length of your digestive system before they can enter the bloodstream. Some of them may not get absorbed at all. Intravenous administration puts them straight into your blood, meaning you get all of the vitamins and nutrients.
Alternatively, there are other types of injections that don’t involve the veins. While these work slower than intravenous injections, they’re safer to perform at home.
Oral Medication vs. Injection
Oral medication is superior to injections in terms of safety. Whatever drug you ingest will take time to fully break down and get absorbed. As a result, it’s more difficult to overdose on them.
However, there are certain drugs that can’t be administered as a pill. Diabetics require insulin to survive, but insulin would break down in the stomach. They need to inject it straight into their skin to absorb it.
In most cases, injections work much faster and more efficiently than oral medications. All pills and tablets work over multiple hours, which is great for providing long-lasting relief. The problem is that you won’t get immediate relief unless a medication has been injected.
Injections are great if you need relief now and not later.
Get the Right Kind of Drug Administration
When it comes to injections vs oral medications, it all depends on the type of drug you need. In medical settings, injections work much faster and more efficiently than a tablet. At home, you’re much safer using pills that don’t require sticking a needle into your veins.
Take a look at some of our other articles to read more about related topics.
