How do medications work?

Question

if i have a ache how does the tylenol know to go there?

please answer in the shortest most simple explanation possible

thanks

Answer 1

to put it very simply medications usually block or amplify signaling in the body at receptors to cause a reponse, like blocking pain, lowering blood pressure, etc.. drugs usually have chemical affinity to receptor sites, its kind of like a lock and key

Answer 2

the functioning of your body is effected by the chemicals in your blood, drugs work by getting chemicals into your blood during digestion. Tylenol doesn't "know" to go there it just dulls the pain response coming from a range of different sources, which is why over the counter medication has a number of listed uses as well as side effects, because the effect it has isn't specific to one part of your body.

Answer 3

The simple answer is we don't know.  Brains are enormously complicated.

Believe it or not, tylenol (paracetamol) works on the same neural receptors that cannabis does.

It blocks the uptake of the body's natural cannabinoid, anandamide, in the same way SSRIs do with serotonin.

Cannabis is only a mild pain killer btw.

The effect isn't localised to a particular part of your body.  When you feel an ache, you're actually interpreting it in your brain.  Painkillers mostly work on the brain although you get things like ibuprofen gel.

Answer 4

All of the above answers are quite correct.  Pharmacology is a ridiculously complicated area of study, or at least it can be.  You are not going to understand much from an answer on Y!A.  You would also do much better asking this in another section such as chemistry or medicine.  Not very many of the alties have much understanding of actual science (some do..most don't have a freaking clue)

You need an understanding of chemistry, biochemistry, physiology, neurology to really understand it.  

"Pharmacology Made Ridiculously Simple" was an enormous help to me in medical school, and I still review it now and then for a refresher. (Yes, it's a real book, I'm not making it up)