Many medicines have a bitter or simply strange taste. To make the treatment a little more pleasant, it is tempting to drink your favorite drink with such a tablet or capsule. We explain whether it is actually possible to do so and what is the best way to drink medicines.
Tea, coffee, energy drinks
Black and green tea, coffee and energy drinks contain caffeine, a powerful stimulant. In combination with medicines, it can cause an increase in blood pressure and bleeding.
Caffeine reduces the effectiveness of anticonvulsants and sometimes antidepressants, worsens the absorption of iron and statins, and reduces the sedative effect of benzodiazepines. If you wash down the drug with tea, coffee or some asthma medicines, it will have a doubly negative effect on the cardiovascular system. And oral contraceptives and hypoglycemic drugs (metformin) prolong the time for which caffeine is eliminated from the body and increase its stimulant effect.
Green and black tea also contain the tannin theotannin. It forms insoluble compounds with nitrogen-containing agents. As a result, the active ingredients of many drugs simply precipitate instead of being absorbed. In particular, the absorption of vitamins, oral contraceptives, some analgesics, and antispasmodics is impaired.
Herbal drinks, teas, and medicines
Herbal teas and infusions should also be drunk a few hours before or after the drugs. And even then, they should be consumed in small quantities during treatment.
Many plants are used in folk medicine for a reason. So in this case it is worth treating such drinks in the same way as full-fledged drugs, which are not always well combined with each other.
Some herbal drinks increase the activity of liver enzymes. Because of this, the effectiveness of drugs can decrease. The body breaks down the active substances too quickly, and they simply do not have time to reach the necessary concentration.
Juices, compotes
Organic acids in juices and compotes can irritate the walls of the stomach. Drinking them with medicines, such as aspirin, increases their irritating effect. In addition, acids can react with the components of the drug, reducing its effectiveness.
Especially dangerous drinks from citrus fruits: substances naringin and hesperidin reduce the activity of liver enzymes, disrupting the breakdown and excretion of drugs. This increases the risk of toxic effects and adverse reactions. For example, women taking oral contraceptives have an increased risk of thrombosis. The highest amounts of these substances are found in grapefruit and orange. Grapefruit juice disrupts the action of more than 80 drugs, even if it was drunk 4 hours before the medication.
It should be taken into account that grapefruit can be part of multifruit juices, and cranberries have a similar effect. Exception – iron preparations: vitamin C from citrus fruits and cranberries helps its assimilation.
Mineral water and medicines
Mineral water is good for health in itself. But drinking it with medicines is undesirable, because they enter into a chemical reaction with mineral water. As a result, instead of a therapeutic effect, you can get undesirable “side effects”.
Water with a high level of acidity early dissolves the shell of tablets and capsules. As a result, the drug, which should be absorbed in the intestine, does not have time to reach its destination.
Alkaline waters impair the absorption of drugs with iron salts.
Sodium, contained in mineral waters, on the contrary, contributes to the fact that the cells better absorb any substances. But in combination with medications, this can end up with an excess concentration of certain compounds in the body.
Sweet sodas
Like mineral water, sweet carbonated beverages have increased acidity and prematurely destroys the shell of drugs. In addition, it is worth considering that some drugs, including painkillers, disrupt the work of the gastric mucosa. Sodas in this case contribute to increased production of hydrochloric acid. As a result, a person can get an ulcer or even internal bleeding.
It is also worth considering that sodas enter into a chemical reaction with the drug. In the best case, such drinks simply neutralize the drug, making it useless. But negative side effects can also occur. Particular care should be taken when drinking antibiotics, proton pump blockers, anti-inflammatory and sedatives.
Water and only water!
The only harmless liquid that can be used to take medicines is plain, clean bottled or boiled water at room temperature. It does not react chemically with medicines and does not affect their effectiveness.
Swallowing tablets and capsules without drinking them is not recommended. Contacting the mucous membrane of the stomach, they, like sponges, draw water from it. As a result, irritation can occur in this area due to dehydration, and subsequently inflammation.
In addition, without water, the medicine in dry form can damage the esophagus or stick to the mucosa. So, by drinking tablets and capsules with water, we reduce the risk of choking and injury to the esophagus.
How to take the medicines correctly
The volume of water should be at least 100 ml – about half a glass. In some cases, which are indicated in the instructions of the drugs, a whole mug is required – 200-250 ml. The medicine should be placed on the tongue, and then you drink in small sips, slightly tilting the head back.
It is important to follow the instructions for the drug and observe the regimen of intake. For example, if it is said that it should be drunk before meals, on an empty stomach, then this is mandatory. In case of error, such a drug simply can not be digested with food and will be completely useless.
The same applies to the recommendations regarding the time of day. It makes no sense to take a tablet in the morning, if the effect of it is needed at night. Until the evening, the active substance will have time to be excreted from the body.
You should also be careful to break tablets that do not have a special notch for this. Without it, the parts are often unequal, and then the body gets less or more active ingredients than required. This affects the effectiveness of treatment.
The integrity of the capsules should not be disturbed at all. The shell protects the contents from damage by hydrochloric acid in the stomach. Without it, the drug will not be able to get into the intestine to be absorbed.
