[Music] sulfonamides are a class of antibiotics that are also called sulfa drugs in this video i will teach you a visual mnemonic to help you remember the important facts about sulfonamides let's get started for today's mnemonic video we're gathering some data from a hot spring with this field researcher if you've ever been to a hot spring before you know that they smell strongly of sulfur the same smell as rotten eggs this one seems to be extra smelly just look at that yellow steam coming from the hot spring and notice how the researcher is plugging her nose this sulfur-smelling hot spring is our anchoring symbol for this mnemonic about sulfonamides sulfur for sulfonamides sulfonamides are easily recognizable because they start with a sulfa in fact they are often called sulfa drugs it is important to note that sulfonamides are different from sulfonylureas which are diabetic drugs luckily sulfonylureas don't start with sulfa so if you see sulfa at the beginning of a drug name you can know that you are dealing with a sulfonamide some examples include sulfamethoxazole and sulfadiazine next let's talk about what sulfonamides do as part of her research this woman had to dip her hand into the dirty sulfury hot spring and now it smells really bad luckily she brought some hand sanitizer to hopefully get rid of the stench on her hand as well as any bacteria from the spring we all know that hand sanitizer kills bacteria which reminds me that sulfonamides also kill bacteria they are antibiotics and can help treat a wide variety of bacterial infections don't worry about memorizing all the different types of bacteria instead just focus on the fact that sulfonamides kill bacteria not viruses or fungi this bacteria killing hand sanitizer can help you remember that let's move on to potential side and adverse effects the field researcher came to this hot spring to study the ecosystem around the water and look she's found a tarantula we'll talk more about the tarantula later but for now focus on the way her arm and face are starting to swell normally tarantula venom is relatively harmless to humans but this field researcher is having an allergic reaction compared to other medications sulfa allergies are fairly common so you'll want to closely monitor for an allergic reaction especially if this is the first time the patient is receiving a sulfa drug if a patient has a sofa allergy not only should they avoid sulfonamides but also any type of drug that comes from a sulfa derivative like sulfonylureas and thiazide diuretics this hot spring has so much sulfur that it is starting to crystallize around the edges of the pool another interesting thing for the researcher to study these crystals are here to help you remember that one of the most commonly tested adverse effects is crystal urea or crystals in the urine crystals for crystal urea crystal urea when mild is relatively harmless but it can turn into kidney stones and cause kidney damage that's why it's so important for you as the nurse to teach your patients taking sulfonamides the importance of staying hydrated ideally they should be consuming two liters of fluid per day to reduce the risk of damaging crystal urea it was quite a trek to get out to this hot spring and the field researcher has been in the sun all day she must have forgotten her sunscreen judging by her sunburn here at pixar eyes we use a sunburn to symbolize photosensitivity photosensitivity means that your skin is more sensitive to light in other words more likely to get sunburned sulfonamides cause photosensitivity so patients taking sulfonamides need to be advised to wear sunblock and protective clothing and if possible to avoid direct sunlight between the smelly sulfur the tarantula and the allergic reaction the researcher isn't paying much attention to where she's squirting the hand sanitizer and it's getting all over her folder this folder contains all her research and now it's getting ruined this folder is our symbol for folate because folder sounds like folate sulfonamides work by blocking the synthesis of folic acid which is needed for bacterial growth by stopping the folic acid sulfonamides are able to stop bacterial growth while it's not likely that you'll be tested on the mechanism of sulfonamides this is important because there's a chance that sulfonamides will also interrupt the body's folic acid supply and cause a folate deficiency just use this ruined folder to remember folate deficiency people taking sulfonamides may need to take folic acid supplementation i told you we'd come back to this tarantula so let's touch on that and then wrap up here at pixer eyes we use tarantulas to symbolize that something is territogenic it's the teratogenic tarantula sulfonamides are teratogenic and can cause neural tube defects in the fetus sulfonamides should be avoided in pregnant women let's summarize sulfonamides also called sulfa drugs are easily recognized because they start with sulfa sulfonamides are antibiotics that treat a wide variety of bacterial infections sulfa allergies are quite common and it's important to remember that there is a cross sensitivity between other sulfa derivative drugs like sulfonylureas and thiazide diuretics one side effect is crystal urea so it's important that the patient stays well hydrated to avoid kidney damage sulfonamides can also cause photosensitivity so advise the patient to wear sunscreen and avoid direct sunlight sulfonamides may cause a folate deficiency so there's a chance that the patient will also be prescribed a folic acid supplementation and finally sulfonamides are teratogenic and should not be taken by pregnant women i better go give this girl a hand but i'll catch you in the next video see ya thanks for watching for more videos like this one subscribe to our channel and check out our newest lessons for more resources on this topic including fact lists and interactive review images click the image next to the more here 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