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xiledone t1_ivo0uta wrote

Are u asking about mechanism of action? Because it's the same as most nsaids.

If ur asking about absorption, topical application still gets absorbed. Your skin (keratin mainly) is hydrophobic, so it resists water and other charged substances from entering, but there is a hefty list of chemicals that, if touched, can be absorbed into your bloodstream and even be toxic (notable, methylmercury, as only a tiny bit is touched is needed to be lethal, the methyl means it has extra carbon and makes it more like an oil and bypasses the skin's hydrophobic effects easier).

Hydrophobic stuff will resist charged particles, such as water, from interacting, but will allow other hydrophobic stuff, such as oils and anything thats mostly carbon, to interact. For instance, pure lead (a metal, so its charged) isn't that toxic unless u inhale or ingest it, as the skin works well to resist it. However, tetraethyllead (lead with extra carbons) is very toxic via touch.

(Small edit for clarity, oil actually doesn't get absorbed that easily, as its a big molecule, but its the most easily recognizable hydrophobic liquid, so it was used as an example to make the concept easier to grasp. Just wanted to clear that up).

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ZSpectre t1_ivo3vfb wrote

Ah, tetraethyllead. The anti-knocking agent used in gasoline that caused the whole world to get dumber. And hearing this explained while knowing how the inventor of leaded gasoline straight up inhaled the stuff for a full minute in front of the press in order to ease the public's concern of toxicity (his health didn't fare very well afterward).

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SharkLaunch t1_ivo7nll wrote

Don't worry, it definitely didn't affect him when he went to go work for Frigidaire. Nothing important, he didn't break anything, please ignore the hole in the Ozone layer.

(Anyone who's confused, please Google "Thomas Midgley Jr" to learn why many of our problems are his fault)

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ZSpectre t1_ivoc9eu wrote

Yeah, to those passing by, I recommend the video by veritasium that I think was titled something along the lines of " the man that accidentally killed the most people in history." And I just looked up the timeline and it turns out that you were correct on how he was still mentally functional enough after his stunt inhaling the gas (1924) in order to streamline and mass market freon / CFCs in 1928.

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[deleted] t1_ivo7lty wrote

[removed]

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open_door_policy t1_ivohx8z wrote

It's a valid theory. Especially when you realize that it gets released back into the blood as old people shrink.

So as they've gotten older, all the paint chips they ate and the gasoline they smelled is probably coming back to bite us.

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Saint_Oliver t1_ivo2qzk wrote

When molecules are absorbed, do they go into cells or in between cells (eventually to the blood stream I suppose?)

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xiledone t1_ivo3jix wrote

Both, but heavily depends on the molecule and the cell. The question is more nuanced, so unfortunately so is the answer, cuz the body is so complex there's rarely a straightfoward answer.

But if allowed to overgeneralize, most of it goes inbetween and "through" the wall that the cells make.

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freakydeku OP t1_ivr14ym wrote

thank you! yes i was wondering about absorption. i’ve had really bad peroneal nerve pain for a couple years that i’ve had trouble getting relief from. i never used topical ointments because it feels like a “deep” pain and i assumed it wouldn’t work but recently i tried and it did. i found it a bit confusing so i was wondering how it affected my nerve

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