1
00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:07,080
Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff from how Stuff Works, Hey, brain Stuff,

2
00:00:07,120 --> 00:00:10,600
Speaker 1: lauring vocal bomb. Here people turn to medications to help

3
00:00:10,640 --> 00:00:13,800
Speaker 1: them feel better, but sometimes the inactive ingredients found in

4
00:00:13,840 --> 00:00:16,920
Speaker 1: prescriptions can have just the opposite effect. While you might

5
00:00:16,960 --> 00:00:19,600
Speaker 1: assume that only the active ingredients in a prescription are

6
00:00:19,600 --> 00:00:22,520
Speaker 1: going to have any impact, the inactive components, which often

7
00:00:22,560 --> 00:00:24,800
Speaker 1: make up more than half of every dose, can affect

8
00:00:24,840 --> 00:00:29,440
Speaker 1: you as well. The inclusion of inactive ingredients isn't optional, however,

9
00:00:29,680 --> 00:00:33,000
Speaker 1: they perform necessary functions. They can help extend the life

10
00:00:33,000 --> 00:00:35,600
Speaker 1: of the drug on the shelf or make drugs more palatable.

11
00:00:36,640 --> 00:00:39,879
Speaker 1: Enactive ingredients are also necessary to simply hold the components

12
00:00:39,880 --> 00:00:42,360
Speaker 1: of a tablet together, and there are critical part of

13
00:00:42,360 --> 00:00:46,480
Speaker 1: many sustained and immediate release capsules. The actual active drug

14
00:00:46,600 --> 00:00:49,600
Speaker 1: ingredients are usually only a small percentage of the complete drug.

15
00:00:51,479 --> 00:00:56,200
Speaker 1: Many times potentially problematic inactive ingredients are everyday allergens like lactose,

16
00:00:56,280 --> 00:01:00,400
Speaker 1: peanut oil, dyes, sugars, and preservatives. Lactose and other types

17
00:01:00,400 --> 00:01:02,960
Speaker 1: of sugars appear in about half of all medications and

18
00:01:03,000 --> 00:01:06,800
Speaker 1: can cause gastro intestinal distress and patients. Other ingredients like

19
00:01:06,920 --> 00:01:09,520
Speaker 1: gluten and peanut oil are less common, but can cause

20
00:01:09,600 --> 00:01:14,080
Speaker 1: much more severe reactions. So here's the good news. If

21
00:01:14,120 --> 00:01:16,360
Speaker 1: you think you have an allergy, and especially a severe

22
00:01:16,400 --> 00:01:19,000
Speaker 1: allergy to any of these components, you can consult an

23
00:01:19,040 --> 00:01:21,480
Speaker 1: allergist to obtain a diagnosis, and then work with your

24
00:01:21,520 --> 00:01:25,440
Speaker 1: doctor or pharmacy to identify what commercial medications contain inactive

25
00:01:25,560 --> 00:01:29,080
Speaker 1: ingredients that you're sensitive to and what alternatives are available.

26
00:01:30,040 --> 00:01:32,600
Speaker 1: Another option for people with specific requests who want an

27
00:01:32,640 --> 00:01:35,319
Speaker 1: added layer of security is to turn to a compounding

28
00:01:35,319 --> 00:01:39,160
Speaker 1: pharmacy to fill their prescriptions. Before drugs were manufactured in mass,

29
00:01:39,200 --> 00:01:43,080
Speaker 1: one size fits all quantities, all medications were compounded. That is,

30
00:01:43,160 --> 00:01:46,280
Speaker 1: when a prescription came in, the active ingredient was handweighed

31
00:01:46,319 --> 00:01:50,360
Speaker 1: and packaged specifically for the individual patient. So if you

32
00:01:50,400 --> 00:01:52,960
Speaker 1: want to avoid gluten, or dyes, or peanut oil or

33
00:01:53,080 --> 00:01:55,600
Speaker 1: all of the above, a compounding pharmacist can put it

34
00:01:55,640 --> 00:01:57,280
Speaker 1: all together in a way that's in line with your

35
00:01:57,360 --> 00:02:01,800
Speaker 1: needs and preferences. Gelatine capsules have become something of a

36
00:02:01,840 --> 00:02:04,240
Speaker 1: sticking point for people who wish to avoid animal products

37
00:02:04,240 --> 00:02:07,280
Speaker 1: for personal or religious reasons. This is because gelatine is

38
00:02:07,320 --> 00:02:10,760
Speaker 1: typically derived from mammal products, and often from cows. But

39
00:02:10,840 --> 00:02:14,320
Speaker 1: these days alternatives made from other sources are available, capsules

40
00:02:14,360 --> 00:02:18,359
Speaker 1: made from fish or vegetable products like seaweed. Our bodies

41
00:02:18,400 --> 00:02:20,840
Speaker 1: are not one size fits all, and our medication doesn't

42
00:02:20,840 --> 00:02:28,160
Speaker 1: have to be either. Today's episode was written by Ali A.

43
00:02:28,240 --> 00:02:30,680
Speaker 1: Hoyt and produced by Tyler Clang. Brain Stuff is a

44
00:02:30,680 --> 00:02:33,160
Speaker 1: production of iHeartMedia's How Stuff Works. For more on this

45
00:02:33,280 --> 00:02:35,320
Speaker 1: and lots of other topics, visit our home planet, how

46
00:02:35,360 --> 00:02:37,840
Speaker 1: stuff Works dot com. And for more podcasts from my

47
00:02:37,880 --> 00:02:40,880
Speaker 1: heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or

48
00:02:40,880 --> 00:02:42,560
Speaker 1: wherever you listen to your favorite shows.