drug treatments

Medications commonly used to treat skin conditions and diseases include topical drugs, oral drugs, and transdermal drugs. Topical drugs are applied directly to the area of concern and are intended to affect only that area. Topical medications come in different forms: creams, lotions, gels, ointments, foams, and shampoos. Oral drugs are given by mouth. Depending on the type of drug, they may be swallowed, chewed, or dissolved under the tongue. Oral medi- cations affect the body systemically as they travel throughout the body. Transdermal drugs travel through the skin and into the bloodstream. The transdermal patch is a medicated adhesive patch applied to the skin to ease pain or to promote healing of a sore or injury. The patch slowly releases a specifi c dose of medication. Drugs commonly used to treat skin disorders, along with their phar- macodynamics (actions in the body), are briefl y described below. Drug Effect on Body anesthetic AN-us-THET-ik Drug that causes a reversible loss of sensation or pain; used to temporarily deaden pain. antibiotic AN-tee-bigh-AH-tik Drug used to fi ght off or prevent infection. antifungal AN-tee-FUNG-uhl Drug used to fi ght off fungal infections, such as athlete’s foot and ringworm. antipruritic AN-tee-proo-RIT-ik Drug used to inhibit itching. Itching is a symptom associated with many skin disorders. antiviral AN-tee-VIGH-ruhl Drug used to treat viral infections, such as herpes. biologic BIGH-oh-LAH-jik Drug derived from living organisms through molecular biology techniques. Biologics work like parts of the immune system. They can disrupt the autoimmune response that occurs in diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA).orticosteroid KOR-ti-koh-STEER-oyd Drug used to treat skin conditions linked to autoimmune diseases, such as vasculitis, and infl ammatory diseases, such as eczema and psoriasis. immunosuppressant IM-yoo-noh-suh-PRESS-ent Drug used to treat certain conditions (such as psoriasis and eczema) by suppressing the immune system