Soothing Touch: Why consumers and physicians prefer pharmaceutical topicals

From allergy remedies, hair loss treatments, and antiseptics to skin infection treatment creams and transdermal patches, the range of topicals is vast and growing. Here are the primary reasons topicals are the pharmaceutical ingredient formulation of choice among medicine prescribers and treatment-seeking consumers.

1. Easier administration

Imagine a fidgety patient with dementia complaining of an aching shoulder. What is easier to administer to this patient – a pain pill or a pain relief cream? Easy application is vital for all patients but of greater importance among the growing elderly population, an age demographic predicted to triple in the next three decades.

2. Less dosing

Since topicals are usually applied directly to the area in need without being metabolized, absorption and stability are less impacted than an orally administered drug. These attributes can make the effects of a topical instant and long-lasting. Oral medications undergo multiple metabolic and chemical changes in the human body, which can diminish the drug bioavailability at its final action site, requiring more frequent dosing.

3. Less risks and side effects

Most consumers prefer treatments that avoid first-pass metabolism. Rising concerns around addiction and the implications of orally administered drugs turn consumers to topical alternatives. It’s known that topical analgesics have less likelihood of addiction than ingested analgesics. Additionally, topicals avoid the risk of irritating the gastrointestinal tract and harming the gastric lining.

4. Soothing and calming sensorial experience

For most consumers, a topical application offers calming and therapeutic inducing benefits such as helping relax muscles, lowering heart rate, and increasing the production of endorphins. Topical products may also incorporate fragrant aromatherapy scents or CBD to help soothe and calm the body and mind. In fact, CBD topicals are accelerating as a category of their own, with roll-ons, sprays, patches, and rubs among some of the growing number of CBD products on the market.