Every now and again, Wikipedia is useful. Wondering when sliced bread was introduced, the cloud tells us the greatest step forward in baking took place in 1928. The bread, of course, stayed the same, preserved in its waxed paper wrapping to preserve its moisture level. At the time, this was hailed as the best possible evidence of US inventiveness. The Brits still use the phrase,”The greatest thing since sliced bread!” in ironic fashion to describe any development of form rather than substance. But the marketers are immune to irony and are always quick to jump on even the smallest change as a major breakthrough. With its new woggle, the widget is now unbeatable. Something it’s always a relief to know. Thanks to the addition of Z2134, your toothpaste is better than before. This is a miracle ingredient, converting the ordinary into the spectacular.
So, by way of introduction to the latest wondrous development, we need to open a dictionary because, this time, those bringing the news have broken out into new ground. Meet the word, “orodispersible”. This usually refers to tablets that do something very clever (assuming you ever do find new technology clever). They are designed to melt in the mouth and not in the hand. No, wait a minute, that’s one of those candies. Well, this is a different application of the same principle. These tablets will disintegrate when they come into contact with saliva. The sweat from your fingers should not affect them (famous last words) but, with the right chemical mix of bonding agents, some are soluble in water, i.e. you can drop one in a glass of water and it will dissolve. Why bother to change? As it stands, the tablets are designed to melt in the hydrochloric acid lurking down in your stomach. Once broken down into the basic chemicals, the bits supposed to do us good are absorbed into the bloodstream. This is a steady process, very reliable and, if you have just eaten a heavy meal with a high fat content, it can take more than an hour before you start to feel the effect of the medication. If the pill disintegrates in the mouth, it is immediately absorbed into the saliva and swallowed. Some of the active ingredients will be absorbed through the tongue and through the esophagus before they reach the stomach. Thus, no matter how many burgers you might have wolfed down, the drugs will entering you bloodstream before you finish swallowing. more…