It is the consensus of everyone that you should drink water when taking medicine. But what are the criteria and requirements for drinking water, many people may not be able to answer. I do not know, this small detail, contains a big question of taking medicine!
Drinking the wrong water, your medicine may be in vain
Some patients tend to take their medication, and not pay much attention to this detail. A pill and a sip of water? Two capsules half a glass of water? Or a lot of people think that it is good to swallow the medicine with water, and what is the relationship between how much water to drink?
Drinking water is very important for taking medicine. Improper use of water can make the drug not achieve its maximum effectiveness, and in serious cases, it may cause adverse reactions to the drug.
Today, the pharmacist will tell you how much water is most appropriate to take each drug from the perspective of drug dosage form, drug metabolism, as well as listing special drugs.
Of course, the pharmacist still recommends that you should take the drug under the guidance of a doctor or pharmacist, and be sure to read the drug instructions carefully before taking the drug.
The more water you drink, the better? Not necessarily
We all know that it is not possible to swallow the medicine raw, so why not drink more water? The problem is, not all drugs are better to drink more water. We need to analyze each case on its own.
Drugs to relieve diarrhea: such as montelukast, if too much water is consumed after taking it, it will affect the fixation of the drug to inhibit viral germs in the digestive tract. For example, for a bag of montelukast, 50ml of water should be poured into the bag and then mixed and finished quickly. Even after such drugs are taken, drinking water should be reduced within an hour.
Drugs that protect the gastric mucosa: such as aluminum thioglycollate, aluminum hydroxide gel, etc. If you take a lot of water afterwards, it will only dissipate the gel formed by such drugs to protect the gastric mucosa, resulting in acidic ions diffusion. So try to drink less water and control the water intake during taking such drugs.
Some herbal syrups: In order to provide a laxative effect, honey is added during the production process to cover the mucous membrane surface after taking the medicine, which is beneficial to the efficacy of the medicine. Therefore, when taking herbal syrup agents, it is generally recommended to drink less water.
Drugs to prevent angina attack: such as nitroglycerin tablets and musk heart pills should be taken directly under the tongue and absorbed through the sublingual vein, and you should not drink water within 30 minutes after taking them.
Anti-diuretics: such as pressin, desmopressin, should not drink water during taking, otherwise it may cause water retention or hyponatremia and its complications.
There is a big difference in the amount of water used for different drug dosage forms
Punch and traditional Chinese medicine granules
Water quantity: 150 to 200 ml
When taking a dose, you can refer to the method of decocting soup, using 150 ml of water each time. Nowadays, the common Chinese medicine in the market is often in the form of granules, and these granules themselves need to be taken with warm water. For example, for cold and fever granules, take them with 150 to 200 ml of brewed water, and then gargle with a mouthful of water after drinking.
Note: According to the traditional Chinese medicine soup dosage, it is best to brew it into 150 to 200 ml of soup, not too thin or too thick.
Capsule dosage form
Water dispensing: at least 300 ml
Capsules are made of colloid and will become soft and sticky when they meet water, so they cannot be washed down with less water and remain in the esophagus slowly dissolving and causing adverse irritation to the esophageal mucosa, which can cause esophagitis in serious cases. If this kind of bad stimulation exists for a long time, it may even cause cancer of esophageal mucous membrane cells.
Caution: To ensure that the drug is delivered to the stomach and to avoid damaging the esophagus, drink at least 300 ml of water when taking the capsule. Moreover, when swallowing after taking the medicine, you should lower your head slightly so that the medicine can be taken more smoothly and choking reaction can be avoided.
Tablets
Water intake: 150 to 200 ml
Most tablets, such as Day & Night Pepto-Bismol and Crestor, are usually taken with 150 to 200 ml of water. If you drink very little water, it is difficult for the drug to disintegrate completely with only a small amount of gastric juice.
Caution: Do not drink too much water, otherwise it will dilute the gastric juice and speed up gastric emptying, which is in turn detrimental to the absorption of the drug.
Stimulant drugs
Water dispensing: 500 ml or more
Some irritating drugs, if not diluted with enough water in the stomach, can not be completely disintegrated into small particles, will lead to inflammation or ulcers due to the local concentration is too high to stimulate the gastric mucosa. Such as tetracyclines and other irritating drugs, regardless of the dosage form taken, the amount of water delivered should be increased, and drinking 500 ml of water can reduce its stimulation of the digestive tract.
Metabolic process of special drugs
Water dispensing: 1500 ml or more
Drugs such as benzbromarone, compound sulfamethoxazole, salazosulfapyridine tablets, etc. can increase the amount of uric acid in the urine and lead to uric acid crystals. Please drink more water during the medication to increase the amount of urine and help uric acid to be excreted. Please do not drink less than 1500 ml of water when you first start using the medication.
You need to take these medicines in the right position
We all know how to drink water when taking different medicines. However, there are some drugs that have more detailed requirements for the posture of the person taking the drug.
A representative drug: alendronate sodium.
This drug should be taken in the early morning on an empty stomach with a full glass of white water (175 to 250 ml), and do not eat, drink (including mineral water) or take other drugs within half an hour after taking the drug, so as not to reduce the absorption of alendronate. In addition, do not lie down for half an hour after taking this medication or before eating for the first time on the day of administration, because alendronate is irritating to the esophagus and lying down while taking the medication can increase this irritation.
Usually, the majority of medicines are recommended to be taken with the upper body upright, so that the medicine is brought directly to our stomach through the action of water, in order to achieve the maximum effect of the medicine.
