science

Nasal administration

Nasal administration is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Nasal administration rather than just read about it. In short: Nasal administration, popularly known as snorting, is a route of administration in which drugs are insufflated through the nose. It can be a form of either topical administration or systemic administration, as the drugs thus locally delivered can go on to have either purely local or systemic effects.

Key takeaways

Nasal administration belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Nasal administration to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Nasal administration from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Nasal administration, popularly known as snorting, is a route of administration in which drugs are insufflated through the nose. It can be a form of either topical administration or systemic administration, as the drugs thus locally delivered can go on to have either purely local or systemic effects. Nasal sprays are locally acting drugs, such as decongestants for cold and allergy treatment, whose systemic effects are usually minimal. Examples of systemically active drugs available as nasal sprays are migraine drugs, rescue medications for overdose and seizure emergencies, hormone treatments, nicotine nasal spray, and nasal vaccines such as live attenuated influenza vaccine.

Risks

Nasal septum perforation

A nasal septum perforation is a medical condition in which the nasal septum, the bony/cartilaginous wall dividing the nasal cavities, develops a hole or fissure. Nasal administration may cause nasal septum perforation by gradually injuring and ulcerating the epithelium, causing cartilage exposure and necrosis.

Risk factors for shared drug paraphernalia

Sharing snorting equipment (nasal spray bottles, straws, banknotes, bullets, etc.) has been linked to the transmission of hepatitis C. In one study, the University of Tennessee Medical Center researchers warned that other blood-borne diseases such as HIV could be transmitted as well.

Advantages The nasal cavity is covered by a thin mucosa which is well vascularised. Therefore, a drug molecule can be transferred quickly across the single epithelial cell layer directly to the systemic blood circulation without first-pass hepatic and intestinal metabolism. The effect is often reached within 5 minutes for smaller drug molecules. Nasal administration can therefore be used as an alternative to oral administration, by crushing or grinding tablets or capsules and snorting or sniffing the resulting powder, providing a rapid onset of effects if a fast effect is desired or if the drug is extensively degraded in the gut or liver. Large-molecule drugs can also be delivered directly to the brain by the intranasal route, the only practical means of doing so, following the olfactory and trigeminal nerves (see section below), for widespread central distribution throughout the central nervous system with little exposure to the blood. This delivery method to the brain was functionally demonstrated in humans in 2006, using insulin, a large peptide hormone that acts as a nerve growth factor in the brain.

Limitations Nasal administration is primarily suitable for potent drugs since only a limited volume can be sprayed into the nasal cavity. Drugs for continuous and frequent administration may be less suitable because of the risk of harmful long-term effects on the nasal epithelium. Nasal administration has also been associated with a high variability in the amount of drug absorbed. Upper airway infections may increase the variability as may the extent of sensory irritation of the nasal mucosa, differences in the amount of liquid spray that is swallowed and not kept in the nasal cavity and differences in the spray actuation process. However, the variability in the amount absorbed after nasal administration should be comparable to that after oral administration.

Nasal drugs The area of intranasal medication delivery provides a huge opportunity for research – both for specifically developed pharmaceutical drugs designed for intranasal treatment, as well as for investigating off-label uses of commonly available generic medications. Steroids, and a large number of inhalational anaesthetic agents are being used commonly. The recent developments in intranasal drug delivery systems are prodigious. Peptide drugs (hormone treatments) are also available as nasal sprays, in this case to avoid drug degradation after oral administration. The peptide analogue desmopressin is, for example, available for both nasal and oral administration, for the treatment of diabetes insipidus. The bioavailability of the commercial tablet is 0.1% while that of the nasal spray is 3-5% according to the SPC (Summary of Product Characteristics). Intranasal calcitonin, calcitonin-salmon, is used to treat hypercalcaemia arising out of malignancy, Paget's disease of bone, post menopausal and steroid induced osteoporosis, phantom limb pain and other metabolic bone abnormalities, available as Rockbone, Fortical and Miacalcin Nasal Spray. GnRH analogues like nafarelin and busurelin are used for the treatment of anovulatory infertility, hypogonadotropic hypogonadism, delayed puberty and cryptorchidism. Other potential drug candidates for nasal administration include anaesthetics, antihistamines (Azelastine), antiemetics (particularly metoclopramide and ondansetron) and sedatives that all benefit from a fast onset of effect. Intranasal midazolam is found to be highly effective in acute episodes of seizures in children. Recently, the upper part of the nasal cavity, as high as the cribriform plate, has been proposed for drug delivery to the brain. This "transcribrial route", published first in 2014, was suggested by the author for drugs to be given for Primary Meningoencephalitis.

Medicines

Recreational drugs/entheogens List of substances that have higher bioavailability when administered intranasally compared to oral administration.

Cocaine Insufflation of cocaine leads to the longest duration of its effects (60–90 minutes). When insufflating cocaine, absorption through the nasal membranes is approximately 30–60%.

Ketamine

Among the less invasive routes for ketamine, the intranasal route has the highest bioavailability (45–50%).

Snuff Snuff is a type of smokeless tobacco product made from finely ground or pulverized tobacco leaves. It is snorted or "sniffed" (alternatively sometimes written as "snuffed") into the nasal cavity, delivering nicotine and a flavored scent to the user (especially if flavoring has been blended with the tobacco). Traditionally, it is sniffed or inhaled lightly after a pinch of snuff is either placed onto the back surface of the hand, held pinched between thumb and index finger, or held by a specially made "snuffing" device.

Yopo Snuff trays and tubes similar to those commonly used for yopo were found in the central Peruvian coast dating back to 1200 BC, suggesting that insufflation of Anadenanthera beans is a more recent method of use. Archaeological evidence of insufflation use within the period 500-1000 AD, in northern Chile, has been reported.

Research

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Nasal administration

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Nasal administration claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Nasal administration before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Nasal administration ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Nasal administration

In research: Nasal administration appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Nasal administration in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Nasal administration is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Dosage forms, Medical treatments, Routes of administration, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Nasal administration outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Nasal administration in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Nasal administration means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Nasal administration out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Nasal administration in simple terms?

Why does Nasal administration matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Nasal administration?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Nasal administration.