Teens often start drug use to feel less stressed, to fit in with their friends or because they are bored. Some drugs, such as stimulants (say: STIM-uhlants) and hallucinogens, make people feel high and energized, while others cause sleepiness or sickness.
Some anti-drug efforts focus on preventing drug abuse through education. These efforts inspire life-changing conversations and equip people with the knowledge and refusal skills they need to avoid illicit drugs.
Antibiotics
Antibiotics are medicines that treat sickness caused by bacteria, such as strep throat or urinary tract infections. They can kill the bacteria or prevent them from multiplying and spreading, either by attacking the bacteria’s cell wall or by inhibiting their protein production. They are available in liquid, tablet and capsule form. They are also used in eye drops and ointments.
Antibiotics may be narrow- or broad-spectrum, with the latter targeting many different groups and strains of bacteria. The effectiveness of antibiotics is limited by the emergence of resistant bacteria. This results from the misuse of antibiotics (when they are not taken as prescribed), causing bacteria to develop resistance over time.
It is important to finish the entire course of antibiotics to ensure that the infection is completely cured and to avoid developing resistance to the drug. It is also important to wash hands properly, as germs can still cause illness even if you do not have any symptoms.
Antifungals
Antifungal medications (also called fungicides or fungistatics) kill or prevent fungal infections of the skin, hair, and nails. These medications typically work by targeting structures or processes that are unique to fungi. They can be taken orally, or applied to the skin, nails, or scalp as creams, gels, lotions, nail lacquers, ointments, or powders.
The azole antifungals amphotericin B, itraconazole, fluconazole, and ketoconazole inhibit cytochrome P450-dependent enzymes (particularly C14-demethylase) involved in the biosynthesis of ergosterol, a fatty acid that’s essential for fungal cell membrane structure and function. The allylamine antifungals naftifine and terbinafine interfere with ergosterol biosynthesis at a later step, by inhibiting squalene epoxidase.
Newer antifungal medications, called echinocandins, target a different part of the fungal cell wall. By blocking (1,3)-b-D-glucan synthase, echinocandins cause severe cell wall stress that leads to death of the fungus. They also bind to the fungal cell and block its ability to absorb nutrients. They are primarily used for serious systemic infections in immunocompromised patients such as cancer survivors and transplant recipients.
Antimalarials
Antimalarials are drug-based medicines used to treat or prevent malaria. These are mostly chemically derived and act by inhibiting the growth of parasites, preventing their reproduction and causing them to die in the bloodstream or liver.
To be effective, an antimalarial drug must reach high plasma levels, enter the infected parasite cell, access its intracellular target, and kill the parasite. Drug resistance can develop if the drugs fail to achieve these targets or they are unable to reach them in sufficient concentration.
The most effective antimalarials include artemisinins, which attack all asexual stages of the parasite, and artemisinin-based combinations such as artemether-lumefantrine (CoartemTM) and atovaquone-proguanil (MalaroneTM). They are also effective against chloroquine-resistant P. falciparum, whose resistance has mainly resulted from single-point mutations that alter the gene encoding cytochrome b. Drugs that attack folates are also effective against malaria, but some parasites have developed resistance to the antifolate drugs sulfadoxine and pyrimethamine. These drugs are therefore usually only recommended for use in combination with another antimalarial medication.
Antiprotozoals
Protozoa are unicellular eukaryotes that have parasitic lifestyles and cause significant human infectious diseases such as malaria (Plasmodium spp.), African sleeping sickness (Trypanosoma brucei gambiense and Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense), visceral leishmaniasis (Leishmania spp.), and intestinal amebiasis (Entamoeba histolytica). A number of antiprotozoal drugs have been developed, including atovaquone, tinidazole, fenprozil, metronidazole, and benzylpenicillin; as well as the endoperoxide artemisinin derivatives.
Our questionnaire survey of veterinary professionals and farmers indicates that a few antiprotozoal drugs are readily available in veterinary drug pharmacies in the study area. They are mainly the Chinese-imported amprolium and diminazene diaceturate. These drugs are not stocked in government-owned veterinary clinics. Instead, they are commonly obtained from private drug shops and open markets. This could result in improper handling and management of the drugs from acquisition to end use. It also affects the drug’s safety, quality, and effectiveness. This is because a lot of people who are not trained to handle drugs are involved in these activities.