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Oral health problems have become a common issue these days, whether you ask for young ones or the elderly. You may be surprised to know that the reasons and the remedies are different in different age groups. The elderly people generally face various issues due to their aging. Precautionary measures can always be taken to delay the situation. Daily brushing and flossing of natural teeth do help in keeping them in good oral health but certain medical conditions, say, arthritis in the hands and fingers may refrain them from taking care of their health even if they want to. This way, certain circumstances can't be avoided. Darkening of their teeth, reduced saliva flow causing dryness in the mouth, sense of taste getting diminished, decaying of roots and gums, loss of teeth, stomatitis, and thrush are just to name a few. If not taken care of, plaque can be built up easily on the elderly teeth that may lead to tooth decay and gum problems.
Various reasons very clearly state us that the oral health care of elderly people is as important as the care of the rest of the body is.
Intake of medicines by elderly people is not as easy as it is for others. Elderly people have been taking medicines traditionally in the form of tablets and liquid. It may not be easy and convenient for everyone. Conventionally taking medicines can cause various problems for older people. Pediatric and geriatric patients, bedridden, emetic patients and those with Central Nervous System disorders confront difficulties in swallowing tablets and capsules. Secondly, financial constraint is also there.
The market consists of numerous expensive medicines that everyone can't afford. As a result, their medication remains incomplete and so is their treatment. Thirdly, the bitter taste of some of the medicines restrains the patients from its consumption. Also, carrying a huge kit for all the medicines is mind-boggling. Also, the patients need to schedule which medicine to take at what time and that's disturbing. The disease compiled with the medicines tortures the patients all the way more.
Oral Thin Films are thin, flexible, and soluble films that are formulated to administer drugs by absorbing in the mouth. This ensures that the drug enters the bloodstream directly instead of passing through the gastrointestinal tract.
Oral films are stuffed with such active substances that enable quick drug delivery. These are taken orally and dissolve immediately in the mouth when placed on the floor of the tongue. When placed, the film gets wet by the saliva and disintegrates. Various latest Long Term Support (LTS) Oral Thin Films (OTF) technologies are used that enables quick and sustained release of the active substance, thus ensuring the precise dosage.
Now, let's have a look at the components of such Oral Soluble Films which improves its consumption over its counterparts.a) Active Pharmaceutical Ingredientsb) Strip Forming Polymersc) Sweetening Agentsd) Coloring Agentse) Flavoring Agentsf) Plasticizersg) Saliva Stimulating Agentsh) Stabilizing and Thickening Agents
Today, most of the pharmaceutical companies are switching their product line from tablets to Orally Dissolving Films due to its obvious reasons and benefits. Such films have got all the advantages of both the kinds of medicine, tablets as well as liquid one. If it carries meticulous dosage and is easily administered just like the tablets, then it's easily swallow able like the liquid ones. 90% of the patients, today, prefer Orally Dissolving Films over the conventional solid or liquid dosage forms. Unlike most conventional drugs, these Oral Soluble Films don't just act rapidly but also, are way more convenient especially for pediatric and geriatric patients who encounter the problems of swallowing or nausea.
For companies, the invention of these drugs is a boon as packaging and transportation of these are comparatively easier than those traditional dosage forms, thereby, reducing the loss-in-transit as well. Although this technology is being used only for a restricted number of drugs till now, intense research is going on to enable various other types of drugs to be formulated into such strips and to overcome certain challenges that are faced at various stages.
It's a commendable invention for the patients as well. As aforementioned, Oral Soluble Films are thin and elegant strips that don't even need water for administration, drugs in this form overcome swallowing difficulties that prevail in the case of tablets and capsules. These Orally Dissolving Films are manufactured through indigenous technology, thereby enabling these films to be economically feasible for everyone. Moreover, due to the sweetening agents , these strips don't taste bitter the way conventional dosage forms do. These Orally Dissolving Films are space-savers as well. Due to its small size, you can even keep those in your pocket; need not to carry the whole kit along with you.
Thus the Oral Soluble Films overcomes the drawbacks associated with conventional oral dosage forms and thus it’s a preferred choice of clinicians and patients, as better adherence and compliance ensures effective relief.
ZIM Labs is an innovative drug delivery solution provider focusing on improving patient convenience and adherence to drug intake. We offer a range of technology-based drug delivery solutions and non-infringing proprietary manufacturing processes for production and supply of innovative and differentiated generic pharmaceutical products to our customers globally. ZIM provides its customers with a comprehensive range of value-added solid dosage differentiated generic products in semi-finished and finished categories/formulations. These include granules, pellets (sustained, modified, extended-release), taste-masked powders, suspensions, tablets, capsules and it’s recently developed Oral Thin Films (OTF).
