Important: How to take medications correctly? (“on an empty stomach”, “before meals”, “after meals”, “during meals”). When is it better to take medications or each medicine has its time? Taking tablets 2 times a day

Date of publication or update 01/02/2017

Before or after meals?

“Dear doctor,” one of the readers addresses me, “I read in an article by Professor A. N. Kudrin that it is better to take aspirin on an empty stomach, and the magazine “Rabotnitsa” writes that during meals. Who is right?

Let's pose the question more broadly.

Does the timing of taking medications matter for the effectiveness and safety of medications?

Without a doubt. But are there any rules here?

And there are rules and numerous exceptions.

Let's start with general patterns. The ancient principle of “do no harm” has become especially relevant for doctors in connection with the advent of highly effective drugs, because they have greater opportunities to actively intervene in the course of the disease and strive to make the most of drugs so that they act as quickly and powerfully as possible. Is this always justified? Knowing the administered dose of the drug and recording its entry into the blood, one can determine the degree of absorption, or, as they now say, the bioavailability of the drug. Naturally, in some conditions it can approach 100 percent, and in others - to 0.

Healthy volunteers were given the same dose of tetracycline on an empty stomach. One half of them were asked to take the medicine with milk, the other half with water. In the first group of subjects, the bioavailability of the antibiotic dropped sharply - it formed an insoluble compound with milk protein.

Now imagine that the drug is taken during lunch. First, second course, third. Or, for example, traditional Spanish cuisine grandkulinar.ru, which is very diverse and rich in unique culinary traditions, the diversity of which has developed on the basis of both the unique geographical location and the culinary delights of individual regions of the country.

Proteins, fats, carbohydrates, salts, acids, metals, non-food additives that are obligatory in our time, various preservatives, antioxidants, stabilizers, dyes. Among all these substances, there is one that will either bind or destroy the medicine. This is probably also because they interact in gastric acidic and intestinal alkaline juices. In addition, there are many different enzymes that speed up all these reactions.

Many drugs adversely affect the digestion and absorption of food.

Aspirin, by the way, is one of the first such drugs.

Medicines can suppress the activity of enzymes, stimulate the secretion of hydrochloric acid and mucus, prevent the proliferation of microbes involved in food digestion, etc. These, in addition to aspirin, include bromides, laxatives, hypnotics, antisclerotic, sulfonamide drugs, antibiotics, anticonvulsants, cardiac glycosides and many diuretics.

So, all the arguments favor taking medications on an empty stomach. However, when it comes to each specific drug, everything becomes more complicated.

Let's return to the ill-fated aspirin. Unfortunately, it has some very unpleasant properties. Firstly, it irritates the mucous membranes, which is easy to see from the burning sensation that remains in the mouth after chewing the tablet.

Secondly - and this is the main thing - it has a special “ulcer-forming” effect, which manifests itself mainly in the stomach. One of the main reasons here is that aspirin increases the secretion of hydrochloric acid and at the same time suppresses the formation of protective mucus.

Therefore, it is quite natural to recommend drinking aspirin with some alkaline mineral water (Borjomi, Essentuki No. 4, Smirnovskaya, Slavyanovskaya and others) or any other neutralizer used for high acidity. It was studied how aspirin enters the blood of subjects if they take a regular tablet, a tablet with a buffer mixture of magnesium and aluminum oxide added to it, and a solution of aspirin neutralized with soda. It turned out that the best option was the last one. And you can prevent irritation of the mucous membranes by aspirin with any mucous decoction, jelly or porridge without oil. This is an elementary lubricant that does not stimulate the appetite at all, but is digested without difficulty. Chronic patients should from time to time replace soda with other neutralizers, say magnesium trisilicate or milk.

After absorption in the stomach, aspirin reappears in the stomach after about half an hour, but now with the bloodstream. And again provokes increased secretion of hydrochloric acid. This is where it’s time to eat, remembering that the food should not be irritating.

In some people, as the staff of the Institute of Rheumatism of the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences noted, when taking aspirin for a long time, even in the recommended way, stomach irritation still occurs.

There's nothing you can do about it; you have to sacrifice both the completeness of the medicine and the completeness of its digestion and switch to taking it with food. The requirement not to swallow the tablet whole, but to first crush it in a spoon or glass, adding a little water, is completely preserved. Moreover, it is useful to do this while taking any pills. However, with some exceptions.

Do not dissolve, chew or even bite coated tablets.

They are prepared just to protect the stomach from the pill, and the pill from the stomach.

Tablets consisting of small capsules, such as sustak and nitrong, are also swallowed whole. These drugs are designed in such a way that the active principles are gradually released from their mass, by dissolving one capsule after another. Coated tablets can be taken with meals, but the dosage on an empty stomach will be more accurate.

Unfortunately, it happens, especially in chronic patients, that it is also necessary to switch to taking it with meals when treating with quinidine, novocainamide, thiazide diuretics, aminophylline, enteroseptol, chloramphenicol, nitrofuran antiseptics (furadonine, for example), etc.

Some medications must be taken on an empty stomach, not because it is more profitable, but because it is impossible otherwise.

For example, erythromycin and penicillin are destroyed in the acidic environment of the stomach.

Calcium supplements taken after meals can form insoluble precipitates with food acids. Neomycin, nystatin and polymyxin form the same precipitates with bile. Preparations of lily of the valley and strophanthus are very sensitive to digestive juices - taken with food, they are digested along with it.

All tablets must be washed down. Warm water is best. But not always. Aspirin, about which there is so much talk, erythromycin and phenobarbital should be washed down with alkaline mineral waters or milk. Griseofulvin, indomethacin and reserpine - preferably with milk as they are fat soluble. Caffeine, theobromine and theophylline - with acidic juices, and medications containing iron (even aloe with iron) - with hydrochloric acid.

At the same time, calcium supplements, amidopyrine (pyramidon) and erythromycin should not be taken with sour juices, and tetracycline, as already mentioned, should not be taken with milk. Strong tea contains tannin, which causes the formation of sediment with many alkaloids: codeine, strychnine, etc.

Therefore, it is even used as an antidote. However, these drugs are now used less and less. In practice, you only have to deal with papaverine, theobromine, aminophylline and even amidopyrine.

The drug taken on an empty stomach is not only better absorbed, but also acts faster and more “acutely”. In a short time, a very high, sometimes excessive, concentration of the substance in the blood is achieved. This is very important in emergency care, but may not be desirable in the treatment of chronic diseases.

Nowadays, hypertension is rarely treated with ganglion-blocking drugs (dikolin, dimecoline, pyrylene), but they continue to be used in the treatment of other diseases, as well as to relieve unexpected surges in blood pressure. The essence of their action is that they seem to interrupt nerve impulses going from the brain to the executive organs, in particular to the blood vessels. When prescribing such a medicine, the doctor will definitely warn the patient that it can cause an excessive decrease in blood pressure and even fainting. Naturally, an undesirable effect is all the more likely if you take the medicine on an empty stomach.

There are many drugs whose action is directly related to the various phases of digestion.

For them, of course, a strictly defined reception time has been established.

For gastritis, combined enveloping and antacid agents are very popular and effective: almagel and phosphalugel.

Take them half an hour before meals (see “Science and Life” No. 7, 1982). They can also be used as antacids, in which case they should be taken after meals.

You can increase your appetite with a variety of herbs with a bitter taste. I.P. Pavlov, who began his scientific career as a pharmacologist, showed that bitterness causes special reflexes connecting the oral cavity with the stomach and intestines. Therefore, when you take this medicine into your mouth, do not rush to swallow it.

It needs to be savored and drunk in small sips.

This should be done five to ten minutes before meals.

The reflex will increase the separation of digestive juices and increase the motor activity of the entire gastrointestinal tract. These drugs include centaury infusion, wormwood extract and infusion, dandelion root infusion and tea, oregano herb infusion, and a delicious collection.

As you know, bile is constantly formed in the liver and gradually accumulates in the gallbladder. Its contents are poured into the intestines just at the moment when the first portion of food arrives there and creates a specific, actively digesting environment.

Therefore, choleretic drugs should be taken before meals. They need time to get into the intestines.

Acting on its wall and using the reflex connecting the duodenum with the gallbladder, they must ensure the release of bile in a timely manner.

Such choleretic drugs include magnesium sulfate (usually taken as part of mineral water), cholecin, cyclone and berberine bisulfate, as well as preparations of immortelle flowers and corn stigmas. All of them are taken 10-30 minutes before meals.

These medications should not be confused with those that are themselves bile preparations. For example, allochol, lyobil or cholenzyme.

Since they act immediately, they should be taken immediately after meals. Dehydrocholic acid acts both on its own and as a stimulator of bile secretion. Therefore, it can be taken up to an hour after meals.

Together with choleretic drugs, pancreatin, a pancreatic enzyme, is also taken before meals. The point is not only that he must get to his place on time, but most importantly, he must avoid the adverse effects of gastric juice. He needs to get through his stomach before it starts to “cook.”

There is a group of medications taken directly with meals. They help the stomach digest food. This includes the gastric juice itself, and its substitutes (acidin-pepsin, equine), and preparations containing part of the juice - pepsin or hydrochloric acid.

There are also preparations that contain a whole complex of enzymes and bile. These are Panzinorm tablets.

They are taken, like other “directly involved” ones, along with food. The same applies to mexase, an even more complex drug that contains an antimicrobial agent.

Medicines that need to be digested should be taken with food. It is after this that laxative substances hidden in complex compounds appear from senna leaves, buckthorn bark, rhubarb root and joster fruits.

Fats are practically not used as medicines - in the intestines they break down into individual fatty acids. Fish oil is medicinal due to vitamin D. However, linetol is valuable precisely as a fat - it does not consist of simple fatty acids that are found in food, but of unsaturated ones. This property gives it the ability to delay the development of sclerosis. The drug linetol is known as vitamin F. (Edible vegetable oils are also rich in unsaturated fatty acids.) Linetol is taken 15 minutes after meals. It has an irritating effect, and its absorption requires not only enzymes, but also bile, which is completely poured out only at the end of digestion.

It is quite difficult to ensure complete absorption of fat-soluble drugs, for example, vitamins A, D, E and K. Both fat and bile are needed here at the same time. They dissolve in fats, and bile turns the resulting solution into tiny droplets - an emulsion. Such droplets can penetrate not only into the intestinal wall, but also into the blood. Vitamins are taken after fatty foods.

Vitamins A and D are usually found in animal fats and meat, so to get them you just need to eat normally. And for carotene - a precursor of vitamin A, found in carrots, pumpkin, vitamin E - in oatmeal and buckwheat, vitamin K - in cabbage, spinach and tomatoes, fats and oils are needed.

In addition to fat-soluble vitamins, they also require fat for their activity and volatile oils, which are used to treat inflammation of the upper respiratory tract. These are turpentine, anise, eucalyptus oils, camphor.

There are so-called anti-acid (antacid) drugs, the use of which should be timed to coincide with the moment when the stomach is empty and hydrochloric acid continues to be released, that is, an hour or two after finishing a meal.

Every adult should know how to take pills correctly. This will be useful to any of us in life.

You need to do this competently, understanding what you are doing. We take most tablets orally and their effectiveness, and the therapeutic effect on the body largely depends on how we take it, with what, when and why.

How to take pills correctly, where does the pill go:

When you take a tablet, it begins to be absorbed in the oral cavity, then begins to dissolve in the juices of the digestive organs and then enters the blood.
The main place where absorption of the active substances of the drug occurs is the intestine.
In the intestine, due to its villi, the absorption surface is more than 100 m2. Absorption is greatly influenced by the rate of gastric emptying, and depends on the composition of the food eaten.

How to take pills correctly, nutrition rules:

Carbohydrates:

Slow gastric emptying, resulting in impaired absorption:

Sulfonamides.
Antibiotics of the cephalosporin and macrolide group: (erythromycin, oleandomycin, Klacid, Rulet, etc.).

Fats:

Especially refractory fats reduce the secretion of gastric juice and slow down peristalsis. Eating too much fat reduces the effectiveness of:
Nitrofurans (furazolidone, furagin).
Sulfonamides.
Antihelminthic drugs.

At the same time, fat is beneficial:

Pushcha enriched with fats should be taken to improve the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E).
Metranidazole (Trichopol).
Tranquilizers (nitrazepam, seduxen).

When to take the pills when taken correctly:

The regimen of drug administration in relation to food intake significantly changes the absorption of drugs.

On an empty stomach and before meals:

Before meals and on an empty stomach, the reaction in the stomach is slightly acidic. At this time, you need to take tablets that quickly break down in an acidic environment. They are absorbed faster and their adsorption occurs faster.
There are drugs that, when taken on an empty stomach or before meals, have a damaging effect on the mucous membrane of the digestive organs.
These are the following drugs: non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (Nise, diclofenac, analgin, indomethacin).
Glucocorticoids (prednisolone, etc.).

During and after meals:

IN At this time, the acidity of the stomach reaches its maximum value, at the same time, the environment in the small intestine has an alkaline reaction. The strongly acidic environment of the stomach and the alkaline environment of the intestines affect the ionization and stability of drugs.

In the acidic environment of the stomach:

Antibiotics (erythromycin, penicillin, oleandomycin, lincomycin, clindamycin) lose their activity.

After meal:

You should take antacid medications that reduce pain before the onset of pain (30-60 minutes after eating) and again (about 3 hours after eating) to neutralize the acid remaining in the stomach after food leaves it.

During meals:

Take medications containing components of pancreatic and gastric juices.
Multienzyme preparations with an acid-resistant coating (enzistal, festal, panzinorm-forte).
Hepatoprotectors.

A change in stomach acidity can occur when taking medications with various juices, dairy products, and tonic drinks.

Milk:

Has a weak antacid effect. It is recommended for patients with increased secretion of gastric juice as the main component of dietary nutrition. You can drink milk with those medicinal substances that irritate the mucous membrane, but will not change their activity.
The calcium contained in milk forms unnecessary compounds: caffeine, tetracycline, iron supplements, thereby interfering with their absorption. Do not take medications that have an acid-resistant coating with milk.

Acidic liquids:

For example, juices: neutralize the effect of some antibiotics, slow down absorption (amidopyrine, piroxicam, furosemide). Strengthen the effect of salicylates, barbiturates, nitrofurans.

Tonic drinks, fruit and tea:

Such drinks contain tannins, which form poorly soluble and non-absorbable compounds with many drugs.

Boiled water:

Most tablets should be taken with 100 ml of boiled water.

When purchasing a new medicine, read carefully, check with the pharmacy or doctor about the specifics of its use and study the insert in the box that comes with the medicine.

Cardiovascular diseases:

Regulatory functions of the digestive organs:

Regulatory functions of the respiratory organs:

In this article, we looked in detail at the question of how to take pills correctly. This rule must be strictly followed to effectively treat your body.

And I, as always, look forward to seeing you on my website.

Watch the video on how to take the pills correctly:

Any medications should be taken only as prescribed by a doctor. But even with the correct prescription, you need to know how to take pills correctly and understand the general rules for taking medications.

First of all, you need to remember that it is recommended to take different tablets separately, at least with a short break, and not all at once, by the handful. The fact is that taken all at once, they can not only act worse, but also have an undesirable effect.

The drugs must be compatible. If one doctor prescribes different drugs, he will certainly make sure that they do not interfere with each other. But if, for example, a therapist prescribed you some medications, a neurologist - others, and an endocrinologist - others, then be sure to go back to the therapist or consult with a pharmacist who will explain how to take the pills correctly. It is possible that some medications will have to be replaced with safe analogues.

Do not hope for a quick result and do not increase the dose of the drug yourself without waiting for the desired effect. Most tablets begin to work within 40-60 minutes.

Do not take medications while lying down. They can linger in the esophagus, causing heartburn, nausea and vomiting.

Do not chew capsule medications. A shell made of gelatin, agar or other substances ensures delivery of the drug to the stomach, where it dissolves without a trace. In addition, many capsules are long-acting medications that do not need to be taken several times a day. The shell ensures the gradual release of the contents and cannot be damaged.

For many medications, it matters when to take them - before or after meals. Usually the doctor who prescribes the drug specifies the time of administration. The package of tablets contains instructions that indicate the time of taking the drug and how to take the tablets correctly. Here are examples of taking some medications.

Acetylsalicylic acid and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

These medications should be taken only after meals. It is better not to swallow soluble tablets whole, but to dissolve them in the amount of water indicated in the instructions; regular tablets should be crushed or chewed and washed down with milk or still mineral water - then they enter the blood faster and do not irritate the mucous membranes. If the amount of liquid is not indicated, remember that one tablet should be taken with at least half a glass of water.

Antibiotics.

It is better to take these medications with water only, not milk or tea with milk. Calcium, which is contained in milk, reacts with antibiotics (especially tetracycline) and forms poorly soluble compounds.

Sulfonamides.

Wash it down with a glass of mineral water without gas. These drugs often cause kidney problems, and alkaline drinking eliminates this problem.

Nitroglycerin and glycine.

Take under the tongue, dissolve until completely dissolved, without drinking anything.

Oral contraceptives.

These tablets should not be taken with any type of tea, coffee, cocoa, Coca-Cola or Pepsi-Cola. If this is not done, hyperactivity and insomnia occur, since contraceptives reduce the body's ability to break down caffeine. It is best to drink them with plain water.

Pure water at room temperature or still table mineral water is the best liquid for washing down most tablets. But there are people who like to take their medicine with something tasty. Special recommendations for them.

First of all, remember that in an acidic environment, most drugs lose their properties or they are significantly weakened. Therefore, you should not take the tablets with sour juices.

Grapefruit juice is not compatible with drugs that reduce blood cholesterol, immunosuppressants, erythromycin, oral contraceptives, some anticancer drugs, Viagra and its analogues. In addition to all of the above, grapefruit juice reduces the effect of antibiotics and does not remove drugs from the body, which often results in an overdose.

Cranberry juice is not compatible with anticoagulants; if taken simultaneously, gastrointestinal bleeding may occur.

The instructions for most drugs contain a warning about incompatibility with alcohol. Don't try to ignore it. The combination of alcohol with antihistamines, insulin, tranquilizers and antihypertensives leads to increased drowsiness. Antibiotics with alcohol cause a rush of blood to the head, dizziness, and nausea. Nitroglycerin under the influence of alcohol changes its effect and does not provide the necessary reduction in heart pain. Antipyretic tablets together with alcohol give a strong blow to the gastric mucosa.

Regarding how to take pills correctly depending on the time of meals. Enzyme preparations that improve digestion, such as the popular mezim, should be taken directly with meals.

Spicy foods and citrus fruits should not be taken an hour before or after taking the pills, so as not to irritate the stomach and intestines.

It is better to take antidepressants with a diet that does not contain cheese, soy sauce, yeast, caviar, or avocado. Otherwise, you will be guaranteed severe drowsiness and high blood pressure for the whole day.

Hormonal medications must be taken with protein foods.

Knowing how to take pills correctly, you can help your health and improve the health of your family and friends.

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As long as a person is healthy, he does not think about pills. But when illness occurs, you have to use a wide variety of medications, the administration of which has its own rules, time and order. It is necessary to take into account all the subtleties of their interaction with each other, and also know everything about medications and food intake - before, after eating, what to do after eating and taking medications. After all, success in treating the disease depends on the correct use of drugs.

Today on the pages of the website www.site, we will talk to you about how taking medications interacts with eating food.

Taking medication before meals

Most medications are taken 30-40 minutes before meals. During this period they are best absorbed. Sometimes it is permissible to take the medicine 15 minutes before meals, but not earlier.

While eating

When eating food, the acidity of gastric juice increases. This circumstance has a significant impact on the absorption of drugs into the blood. For example, the action of some antibiotics slows down in an acidic environment.

Preparations based on gastric juice and digestive enzymes are usually used with food. they help the stomach digest food efficiently. It is advisable to drink laxatives with food. Some diuretics and antiarrhythmic medications are taken during meals. Antimalarial and antiasthmatic medications are also used before meals. The antibiotic chloramphenicol is also used with meals.

Taking medication after meals

If the drug is recommended to be taken after meals, the best time to take it is 1.5-2 hours after meals. Immediately after eating, it is recommended to take medications that irritate the mucous membrane of the stomach and intestines. Some medications, such as sulfonamides, are recommended to be taken with alkaline mineral water, such as Borjomi.

A prerequisite for the action of drugs based on bile components is to take them after meals. Only in this case will they begin to act in the body.
After eating, when the stomach begins to produce hydrochloric acid, it is recommended to take aspirin and askofen. In this case, the irritating effect of acetylsalicylic acid on the gastric mucosa is suppressed. You need to remember this when you take these tablets for a cold or headache.

Regardless of meal

Regardless of food, they usually take bronchodilators, drugs to improve cerebral circulation.

On an empty stomach

On an empty stomach - this is about half an hour before breakfast. When the acidity of the gastric juice is low, heart medications, sulfonamides, and also medications that do not irritate the mucous membrane are usually prescribed. When taking medications on an empty stomach, they are absorbed and absorbed by the body much faster. If you use them at other times, the destructive effect of gastric juice affects, which significantly reduces their effectiveness.

For example, acidic gastric juice neutralizes the therapeutic effect of antibiotics: erythromycin, ampicillin. Cardiac glycosides, lily of the valley and strophanthus preparations do not have the proper therapeutic effect.

Taking medication 2-3 times a day

This condition does not mean that you should take pills after breakfast, lunch, or dinner. To maintain the concentration of the drug in the blood, it should be taken every 8 hours. Most medications should be taken with plain purified or boiled water.

To cleanse the body in case of poisoning, sorbents are most often used, including activated carbon, polyphepane, etc. They have the property of attracting and removing toxins. They are recommended to be used 2 to 4 times a day between meals. At the same time, be sure to increase your water intake and use herbal infusions with a diuretic effect.

If the instructions for use do not contain clear instructions, take this medicine half an hour before meals. This recommendation applies to most drugs.

Very often, patients ignore the advice of doctors and pharmacists and take medications as “God bestows upon them,” or even skip the next appointment altogether. Therefore, it must be recalled that non-compliance with the use of drugs leads to a decrease in absorption into the blood, reducing their effectiveness.

It should also be borne in mind that the food itself can also change the effect of medications. For example, sweets and fatty foods significantly increase the absorption time of medicinal components into the blood. And some other dishes enhance their effects, causing an overdose.

Therefore, you should read the instructions for use very carefully and strictly follow its recommendations. Also, be sure to consult with your doctor about taking this or that drug. If you have problems taking medications or eating, ask your pharmacist. Be healthy!

After all, when prescribing certain medications, the doctor expects that they will be used correctly.

Rule 1. Multiplicity is everything

When prescribing taking pills several times a day, most doctors mean a day - not the hours that we are usually awake, but all 24. Because the heart, liver and kidneys work around the clock, and, therefore, microbes work without a break for lunch and sleep. Therefore, taking tablets should be divided into equal intervals as much as possible, this especially applies to antimicrobial agents.

That is, with a two-time dose, the interval between taking each dosage should be 12 hours, three times - 8, four times - 6. However, this does not mean that patients should jump out of bed every night. There are not so many medications, the accuracy of administration of which is calculated minutely, and they are usually not prescribed in tablet form. But nevertheless, 2, 3, 4 times a day - this is not when it is convenient for the patient (“now and in an hour, because I forgot to drink in the morning”), but at certain intervals. To avoid interpretations when taking twice a day, for example, it is justified to prescribe specific times for taking the tablet: 8:00 and 20:00 or 10:00 and 22:00. It’s more convenient for the patient, and it’s impossible to understand in both ways.

Rule 2. Compliance, or commitment to acceptance

With short courses of pills, things are more or less normal: we usually don’t forget to take them for a couple of days. It gets worse with long courses. Because we are in a hurry, because we are stressed, because it just slipped our minds. There is another side to the coin: sometimes people take medicine mechanically, half asleep, and then forget about it and take more. And it’s good if it’s not a potent drug.

Among doctors, before complaining about this to patients, they suggest conducting an experiment on yourself: take a dark glass jar with 60 harmless tablets (glucose, calcium gluconate, etc.) and take one daily. There were many experimenters, but there were only a few of those who, after two months, had 2 to 5-6 “extra” tablets left.

Everyone chooses ways to combat such “sclerosis” for themselves: someone puts medications in a visible place, ticks on the calendar help pedants, and alarm clocks, reminders on a mobile phone, etc. help those who are especially forgetful. Pharmaceutical companies even produce special calendars where you can mark each appointment. Not so long ago (though, as usual, not in Russia) hybrid alarm clocks and mini-first aid kits appeared, ringing and dispensing a tablet at a certain time.

Rule 3. Before or after eating - this is important

According to their relationship with meals, all tablets are divided into groups: “anyway”, “before”, “after” and “during meals”. Moreover, in the doctor’s mind, the patient eats strictly according to the schedule, does not snack during breaks and does not drink tea. But in the patient’s mind, an apple, banana and candy are not food, but food is borscht with a cutlet and compote with pies. Unfortunately, these beliefs also contribute to improper medication use.

"Before meals". To begin with, it’s a good idea to understand what the doctor means when he says “take 30 minutes before meals.” Does this mean that after taking the pill you need to eat a lot, or is the medicine just taken on an empty stomach?

In most cases, when prescribing medications “before meals”, the doctor means:

that you did not eat anything (nothing at all!) before taking the pill;
that at least for the specified period after taking the medicine, you will also not eat anything.

That is, this tablet should go into an empty stomach, where it will not be interfered with by gastric juice, food components, etc. From our own practice, we can say that this has to be explained many times. Because, for example, the active ingredients of drugs from the macrolide group are destroyed by an acidic environment. In this case, eating candy or drinking a glass of juice two hours before taking the medicine or an hour after can dramatically affect the result of treatment. The same applies to many other drugs, and it’s not just about gastric juice, but also about the timing of the drug getting from the stomach into the intestines, absorption disorders, and simply the chemical reaction of the drug’s components with food.

There are, of course, exceptions to this rule when you need to eat exactly within the specified period after taking it. For example, for gastrointestinal diseases or endocrinopathies. Therefore, for your own convenience, it is better to clarify what exactly the doctor had in mind when prescribing the drug “before meals”.

“While eating”: everything is clear here. Just again, check what to do and how much to eat with the pill, especially if your meals are organized according to the “Monday-Wednesday-Friday” principle.

“After meals” a significantly smaller amount of drugs is taken. As a rule, these include drugs that irritate the gastric mucosa or help normalize digestion. “Food” in this case often does not mean a change from three courses, especially if the drug needs to be taken 4-5-6 times a day. A limited amount of food will suffice.

Rule 4. Not all tablets can be taken together

Most tablets should be taken separately, unless taking a “bulk lot” is specifically approved by your doctor. This is not very convenient, but it is impossible to conduct research on the interaction of all drugs in the world, and swallowing tablets by the handful can easily result in an unpredictable effect already at the initial stage. Unless otherwise specified, at least 30 minutes should pass between taking different medications.

Now about compatibility. Patients often like to bring their own creativity to treatment. For example, “I’m taking the medicine prescribed by the doctor, and since it’s probably harmful, it’s a good idea to take some vitamins or something else at the same time.” And the fact that vitamins can neutralize the medicine or lead to unpredictable consequences while taking the main drug is not taken into account.

Hepator rotators, vitamins, combined cold remedies and herbs recommended by your beloved grandmother can be taken during treatment only after consulting with your doctor in advance. If you are being treated by several specialists for different reasons, they should know about each other’s prescriptions.

Rule 5. Not all tablets have fractional dosages

There are different tablets, and not all of them can be broken to divide into several doses. Moreover, some tablets are coated, damaging which can affect the properties of the medicine. Therefore, the absence of a “dividing strip” should be alarming - most often such a tablet cannot be divided. And dosages of one-fourth or even one-eighth of a tablet also raise questions - it is almost impossible to measure correctly in such cases. If such a prescription was made by a doctor, you can ask him what the consequences are. Well, let’s not even talk about self-medication again.

Rule 6. Medicines, with rare exceptions, are taken only with water.

Not tea-coffee, not juice, not, God forbid, sweet soda, but personalized water - the most ordinary and non-carbonated one. There are even separate studies devoted to this issue.

True, there are certain groups of drugs that are washed down with sour drinks, milk, alkaline mineral water and other separately specified drinks. But these are exceptions, and they will definitely be mentioned when prescribing and in the instructions.

Rule 7. Chewable tablets are chewed, dragees are not crushed.

Direct prohibitions, as well as indications of special methods of use, appear for a reason. A chewable or suckable tablet that you swallow whole will take a different time to work or may not work at all.

The release form of the drug is also not chosen by chance. If the tablet has a special coating, it should not be crushed, broken or bitten. Because this coating protects something from something: the active substance of the tablet from stomach acids, the stomach from the active substance, the esophagus or tooth enamel from damage, etc. The capsule form also says that the active substance should be absorbed only in the intestines and for a certain time. Therefore, capsules can only be opened as prescribed by a doctor, with an eye to the instructions.

Rule 8. There are special cases, but they must be assessed by a doctor

Different doctors have their own treatment regimens that have been tested over the years, and sometimes the dosage and method of taking drugs may differ for different groups of patients. In the same way, if there are characteristics of the patient (comorbidities, individual reactions, etc.), the prescription can be adjusted specifically for this case. At the same time, the choice of a drug and the method of its use are influenced by factors that are not always obvious to a person without a medical education. Therefore, if your grandfather with hypertension took the same medications according to a different regimen prescribed by the best doctor in the world, this is not a reason to take them the same way. You need to take pills, like any other medicines, without doing anything on your own, and absolutely any innovations that have not been agreed upon with your doctor are unnecessary.

Leonid Shchebotansky, Olesya Sosnitskaya

Is it possible to take pills by the handful? And why?

This means that the doctor prescribed several different medications and according to the rules for taking them, it turns out that you end up taking several tablets at once, and they are collected in 4-6 pieces. Should I take it all at once or not?

Different tablets must be taken at different times unless otherwise prescribed. That is, if the doctor prescribed pit pills 3 times a day after meals, then you should drink it that way. He may prescribe taking some tablets before meals, others after meals, and others during meals. all this must be observed. If the doctor has not specified or written down the time for taking the medications, then they should be taken as written in the instructions included with the tablets. For example, tablets such as aspirin and diclofenac should not be taken on an empty stomach, as you can spoil the stomach and get an ulcer. Some tablets must be taken half an hour before meals, since in order to have the desired effect they must enter and be absorbed in the intestines.

As for 4-6 tablets at a time, this is not a lot; previously, with pulmonary tuberculosis, patients took Pask tablets a piece at a time

How to take medications correctly?

Regardless of whether you take an analgin tablet once every six months or swallow a whole handful of pills three times a day, it is important to follow the rules for taking medications. After all, the quality of treatment and the absence of side effects depend on this. And often complaints that the medicine does not help are associated precisely with violation of the rules for taking medications. Therefore, you need not only to have a well-formed home first aid kit in your home (the “My Years” website has already described how to do this), but also to take the prescribed medications correctly.

Taking medications: basic rules

According to statistics, no more than 20% of all patients take medications correctly, and the rest either forget about the doctor’s recommendations or simply do not pay attention to them.

The instructions always write how often you should take the drug. It is very advisable to take medications strictly according to the clock, this allows you to maintain the desired concentration of the drug in the blood constantly. This is important for many medications, for example, antihypertensives, antibiotics, hypoglycemic drugs, and hormonal drugs.

If it is written that the tablets should be taken twice a day, then this means 24 hours, that is, the drug is needed every 12 hours. For example, at 8 am and pm.

An exception is made for immediate relief medications: they are taken as needed, without any schedule.

For many drugs, the time of day is also important - this is due to the body’s biorhythms. Such features will also be written in the instructions or the doctor will tell you about it.

For example, antihistamines are taken in the evening. Painkillers are also taken in the evening, because the pain is always felt worse at night. Tonic medications are taken in the first half of the day, and sedatives in the second.

If there are several medications and they must be taken at a certain time, then you need to organize the process as conveniently as possible. A pill box will help out, where you can put all the necessary medications by time and day of the week. You can also set an alarm or reminder on your phone. This will help not only older people, because in the bustle of the day anyone can forget about the necessary pill.

You can print out a medication schedule and hang it in a visible place, remembering to mark the pill taken and the time.

By the way, recording the time of administration and dose is very helpful when it comes to medications for immediate relief. For example, in the case of antihypertensive drugs, antipyretics and painkillers. This will protect against accidental overdose, because many of these drugs can only be taken after a certain time. These records will also help doctors. If you had to call an ambulance, you will be able to clearly tell the doctor when and what you took.

If there are a lot of medications and you need to take them several times a day, it makes sense to buy a convenient pill box

What to do if you forgot to take your medicine on time?

If a little time has passed, then just drink the drug. And if the time for the next dose is already approaching, then wait for it and take the usual dose. You should never take a double dose of medicine instead of the missed one!

3. No “medicinal cocktails”

This applies to those who are forced to take several medications at the same time. This often happens in the presence of some chronic diseases.

What to do in this case? Of course, it’s easier to swallow all the pills in one fell swoop, but you can’t do this. Each drug is taken separately with an interval of 30 minutes.

If you take adsorbents, for example, polysorb, enterosgel, activated carbon, smecta and the like, then you must take a break between this drug and other medications, since otherwise the sorbent will bind and remove the drug from the body. This is always written in the instructions. It is usually recommended to wait between 30 minutes and 1.5 hours.

Medicines always come in a form that facilitates their better absorption. Therefore, if the instructions say “chew”, “crush” or “put under the tongue until completely dissolved”, you need to do just that. For example, it is better to chew or crush regular aspirin, so it gets into the blood faster and causes less trauma to the stomach.

Lozenges should not be swallowed or washed down.

Coated tablets cannot be crushed, as the coating protects the contents from gastric juice.

The capsules are also not opened, since the gelatin shell ensures the safety of the drug and its prolonged action.

Naturally, effervescent tablets must be dissolved in water, and use the amount specified in the instructions.

Tablets that can be divided are equipped with special notches.

Do not swallow tablets while lying down - this may lead to nausea, vomiting or heartburn.

Yes, it really does matter. There are several reasons for this: some drugs irritate the gastric mucosa and, taking them on an empty stomach, you can give yourself gastritis or an ulcer. Another reason: the degree of absorption of the drug. Stomach contents can greatly reduce the effectiveness of the pill you take.

And the interaction of medications with different foods and drinks is a separate topic for discussion.

Not all medications indicate a relationship with food intake. If the doctor has not given any special instructions, then it is better to take the medicine half an hour before meals, then the degree of absorption will be high.

Many people wonder what this means: before, after and during meals.

Before meals - usually a maximum of 30 minutes before meals

After eating - after a maximum of 60 minutes

On an empty stomach - one minute before eating

If the medication schedule does not coincide with the diet, and the drug needs to be taken after or during meals, this can be solved simply: you can drink kefir, yogurt, milk, or eat something small. The main thing is that the medicine does not go into an empty stomach.

General recommendation: it is best to take any tablets with water, and clean water at that. For example, boiled, settled or filtered. There are also exceptions to these rules, but they are usually written about in the annotation for the drug and the doctor can also tell you about it.

All about medicine

popular about medicine and health

Do not hope for a quick result and do not increase the dose of the drug yourself without waiting for the desired effect. Most tablets begin to work within minutes.

Do not take medications while lying down. They can linger in the esophagus, causing heartburn, nausea and vomiting.

Acetylsalicylic acid and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

Wash it down with a glass of mineral water without gas. These drugs often cause kidney problems, and alkaline drinking eliminates this problem.

Take under the tongue, dissolve until completely dissolved, without drinking anything.

First of all, remember that in an acidic environment, most drugs lose their properties or they are significantly weakened. Therefore, you should not take the tablets with sour juices.

Cranberry juice is not compatible with anticoagulants; if taken simultaneously, gastrointestinal bleeding may occur.

Regarding how to take pills correctly depending on the time of meals. Enzyme preparations that improve digestion, such as the popular mezim, should be taken directly with meals.

Spicy foods and citrus fruits should not be taken an hour before or after taking the pills, so as not to irritate the stomach and intestines.

Hormonal medications must be taken with protein foods.

Knowing how to take pills correctly, you can help your health and improve the health of your family and friends.

How to take several tablets

Do you, when you leave a therapist who has just prescribed you a course of treatment that includes several drugs, completely forget how and when to take them? If you forgot, you are not alone. These are the majority. Result: medications do not help and even cause harm. If you want the pills to provide health benefits, take them correctly.

1. Take different pills separately, rather than all at once. This way you will avoid many side effects.

2. Check medications for compatibility. For example, if a therapist prescribed you one medicine, a urologist prescribed another, a cardiologist prescribed a third, and a gastroenterologist prescribed a fourth, be sure to return to the therapist or consult a pharmacist. This way you will prevent their contradictory interaction by replacing the medicine with a safe analogue.

3. Do not expect immediate results from medications and do not take a double dose without waiting. Most tablets begin to work within minutes.

4. Do not swallow medications while lying down. Otherwise, they may begin to decompose in the esophagus, leading to heartburn, nausea and vomiting.

5. Do not chew or twist capsules. The gelatinous shell ensures the “delivery” of the medicine to its intended purpose - to the gastrointestinal tract. In addition, many of the capsules are so-called prolonged-release products that no longer need to be taken several times a day. The shell provides a slow release of the drug and should not be damaged.

Cautions for each drug

Aspirin. This medicine should be taken only after meals. Dip the soluble tablet in exactly the amount of water indicated in the insert, and it is better to crush or chew an ordinary tablet and drink it with milk or mineral water: then it will enter the blood faster and will not unnecessarily irritate the mucous membranes of the gastrointestinal tract.

Sulfonamides. They should be washed down with a glass of mineral water. These drugs often cause kidney problems, and drinking plenty of alkaline fluid will relieve the problems.

Oral contraceptives. These pills should not be taken with tea, coffee, or Coca-Cola. If this recommendation is not followed, hyperactivity and insomnia may occur because contraceptives reduce the body's ability to break down caffeine.

Antibiotics. They should be taken half an hour before meals. And it is better to drink them with water rather than milk, since the calcium contained in milk reacts with antibiotics (especially tetracycline) and forms poorly soluble compounds.

Nitroglycerin, glycine. They must be dissolved without drinking anything.

How to take your pills

Boiled water at room temperature is the best drink for most tablets.

Grapefruit juice. It cannot be combined with drugs that lower blood cholesterol, immunosuppressants, erythromycin, oral contraceptives, some antitumor drugs, Viagra (and its analogues). Grapefruit juice does not remove drugs from the body. The result is an overdose.

Cranberry juice. Anticoagulants - drugs that reduce blood clotting - cannot be combined with it. Otherwise, bleeding may occur in the gastrointestinal tract.

Alcohol. The annotation for many tablets contains a warning about incompatibility with alcohol. Thus, the combination of alcohol with antihistamines, insulin, tranquilizers and tablets that lower blood pressure will lead to increased drowsiness, which is especially dangerous for motorists. Antibiotics, when mixed with alcohol, will cause a rush of blood to the head, dizziness and nausea. Nitroglycerin under the influence of alcohol changes its effect and will not bring much-needed relief to the heart. Antipyretic tablets combined with alcohol will cause a massive blow to the mucous membranes of the stomach.

How to take medications

Enzyme preparations that improve digestion should be swallowed directly during meals.

Do not mix aspirin with spicy foods or citrus fruits an hour before or after taking the tablets, so as not to irritate the stomach and intestines.

It is better to take antidepressants on a diet that excludes foods such as cheese, yeast, soy sauce, fish roe, and avocado. Otherwise, severe drowsiness and high blood pressure will ruin your day.

Hormonal drugs require mandatory proximity to protein foods. Vitamins require fats for good absorption.

Drugs that regulate digestion, on the contrary, cannot be combined with fatty foods.

Time to take medications

Heart and asthma medications are taken closer to midnight.

Medicines for ulcers - early in the morning and late in the evening to prevent hunger pains.

Of course, you yourself know very well about all this. But... they forgot. Print this leaflet if you take any medication regularly for a chronic condition. And you don’t have to bother remembering.

How to take pills correctly

What does it mean to “take the pills correctly”? This means taking them as indicated in the attached instructions. The doctor gives the same recommendations when prescribing medications. Failure to follow these instructions may result in the tablets not having a therapeutic effect or even causing harm to the body.

When taking medications, you need to pay attention to the following points:

Relationship between medication and food intake;

Possibility of “fractional” dosages;

Liquid for washing down;

Medicines must be taken by the patient at certain intervals. If the doctor prescribed taking pills 2 times a day, then the break between doses should be 12 hours; 3 times a day – 8 hours, 4 times a day – 6 hours. Those. medication doses should be distributed evenly throughout the day, and not just during the period of wakefulness. This especially applies to taking antibiotics.

Relationship between medication and food intake

Some tablets can be taken regardless of meal time; it is very convenient for the patient. But, unfortunately, there are not so many such tablets.

Medicine prescribed “before meals” should be taken on an empty stomach or at least 4 hours after the previous meal. The stomach should be free of food and gastric juice, because in an acidic environment, these drugs are simply destroyed.

Taking the medicine “with food” is simple and clear.

“After meals”, tablets are prescribed that normalize digestion or irritate the gastric mucosa.

By the way, even a small amount of food (an apple, a banana, a glass of compote) is considered “food”, and not necessarily a full meal. Breakfast or dinner.

If you are prescribed several medications at the same time, you need to find out from your doctor whether you can take all of these pills at once or take some kind of break between taking them. The interaction of drugs with each other has not been studied for all drugs, and if the doctor does not allow you to take all the prescribed tablets at once, “by the handful,” then you need to wait half an hour between taking different drugs.

Possibility of “fractional” dosages

Sometimes it is cheaper for a patient to buy tablets of a larger dosage than prescribed and take them, breaking them into 2 or even 4 parts. But this cannot be done with all tablets. Coated tablets cannot be crushed at all. If the tablet has a separating strip, such a tablet can be broken. The absence of such a strip means there is no guarantee that when you break the tablet you will receive the required dose.

Liquid for washing down

With rare exceptions, you can take the tablets only with boiled water at room temperature. Neither tea, nor coffee, nor juice are suitable for washing down medications.

Some medications need to be taken with alkaline mineral water, milk or acidic drinks, but these are exceptions, and they are always written about in the instructions.

Some tablets need to be chewed, they are called “chewable tablets”. There are tablets that need to be dissolved in the mouth. Medicines in pill form should be swallowed whole without biting. These instructions must be followed, otherwise the tablets will not have a therapeutic effect or will have a much later effect.

Follow your doctor's instructions and carefully read the instructions that come with your medications so you can take your pills correctly.

MEDIMARI

"Your health is in your hands"

How to take pills correctly

Since childhood, we have associated the treatment of ailments with taking pills. Most often we don't think about them much. The doctor prescribed it, took the course, recovered and forgot. But as we age, we resort to their help more and more often. And then we realize that medicines not only treat, but also “mutilate.” But, unfortunately, you can’t do without them. It's time to find out if there are subtleties in the order of taking various medications. We are interested in the following questions:

What time of day is best to take the pills?
What does it mean: “drink on an empty stomach, during or after meals”?
How does the pill prescribed to us interact with food and other medications?

With rare exceptions, there are no exact and detailed answers to these questions in the drug annotations. And many doctors who prescribe treatment usually forget to talk about the peculiarities of taking certain pills.

Pharmacological companies are not required to indicate such nuances, and doctors find out about this only if any emergency situations have occurred and only then can they warn the patient to be careful, for example, do not take medications with juices, especially citrus fruits.

Features of drug interactions

Patients with chronic diseases often have problems due to the prescriptions of medications by doctors of different specialties. For example, the therapist prescribed aspirin, and the neurologist prescribed Nurofen. Both of these drugs are from the same anti-inflammatory group of NSAIDs. Taking both of these tablets, we get an excess amount of the active substance. Therefore, you need to tell each doctor what medications you are currently taking so that he can take into account their interactions and calculate the dose.

Tip: Write down on a piece of paper the names and doses of the medications you take regularly, as well as those medications to which you are allergic. This is necessary so as not to make mistakes in the names and not forget anything.

And don’t be lazy, although it’s difficult to see the small print of the annotations, arm yourself with a magnifying glass and read it. Pay special attention to the sections called “Composition” and “Interaction with drugs”, “Use” and “Contraindications”. If the medications you are taking contain the same ingredients, there is a risk of doubling your dose.

It is necessary to take into account that many medications interact poorly with dairy, fatty products, pickles, marinades, and chocolate.

The following drugs are considered unpredictable in combination with other substances:

Antibiotics
Antifungal
Antiallergic
Sleeping pills
Antidepressants
Paracetamol
Statins
Non-steroidal (diclofenac, cyclosparin)
Anticoagulants (warfarin)

Usually the tablets are washed down with water, but there are exceptions, which must be mentioned in the annotation. Some medications are washed down with milk, sour drinks, and alkaline mineral water.

Water-soluble B vitamins and vitamin C are taken either before or during meals. Fat-soluble vitamins such as D, A, K, E - after meals. Vitamin complexes are taken immediately after meals.

It is better to take medications for high blood pressure before bed.

Heart patients take aspirin in the evening, since it is at night that blood clots in the vessels are most likely to occur.

Medicines for arthritis and arthrosis are taken during the day, since the pain usually intensifies in the evening.

Take the pills with grapefruit juice, it causes an overdose of drugs
Take medications with hot drinks
Alcohol and medications are not compatible, especially paracetamol and cardiac glycosides
Tea inhibits iron absorption. It has an effect on papaverine, aminophylline, caffeine, and cardiac drugs.
Coffee and acid-reducing drugs and some antibiotics can cause seizures
Not only should tetracycline antibiotics not be taken with milk, but it is even better to exclude it from the diet during treatment
You can’t take vitamins and enzymes at the same time
Herbal remedies are medicines. They either enhance or reduce the effect of the tablets. You need to consult a doctor.
If the tablet does not have a separating strip, then reducing its dose by breaking it is incorrect. Some tablets have a coating that affects the properties of the medicine, protects the stomach, esophagus, tooth enamel from the active substance or, conversely, the active substance from gastric juice. And it is simply impossible to accurately maintain a lower dosage. Capsules show that the active substance must enter the intestines without affecting other internal organs.
If you miss taking the drug as scheduled, you should not take a double dose.

Rules for taking medications

If you do not know about the interactions of medications prescribed to you, then it is better to take them separately, at least with an interval of 20–30 minutes.
Antimicrobial, antibacterial, hormonal and cardiac medications are taken strictly at regular intervals.
If it is prescribed once a day, then it means 24 hours. That is, the medicine must be taken every 24 hours. If 2 times a day, then every 12 hours. If 3 times a day, then every 8.
To be sure whether you took the pill or not, it is convenient to use:
- Organizer boxes or pill boxes;
- set an alarm clock (reminder) on your phone;
- create a calendar with a checklist, similar to what nurses keep in hospitals, and put a checkmark next to the name of the pill taken

“On an empty stomach, before, during, after eating” - what does this mean?

The concepts “on an empty stomach” and “before meals” most often mean that there should be no food in the stomach at the moment, while the acidity of the gastric juice is low and the gastric juice does not interfere with the action of the medicine. This applies not only to a full breakfast or lunch, but also neither an apple, nor candy, nor juice should be eaten. Typically, cardiac antiarrhythmic drugs, antiulcer drugs, antacids and others are taken at this time.

If the medicine must be taken “with meals,” it means that you have an organized diet. And it is better if you ask your doctor when it is best to take this medicine: during breakfast, lunch or dinner. And specify what foods should not be in the diet while taking the pill. Usually enzymes, laxatives, and some diuretics are taken with meals.

“After meals”, tablets are prescribed that irritate the gastric mucosa. These are diuretics, anti-inflammatory drugs, cardiac glycosides, sulfonamides, and bile-containing drugs.

It is better to take the medicine an hour before or after meals
drink only clean, non-carbonated water at room temperature, while standing, sitting or half-sitting
For one tablet you need at least half a glass of water
they drink the jelly beans and don’t bite them
Chewable tablets must be chewed without drinking
suckable tablets do not need to be swallowed; their therapeutic effect is associated with the resorption of the tablet
soluble tablets - dissolve in water
emergency supplies are taken without following the schedule
Homeopathic medicines are taken separately from other medicines. When taking them, marinades, alcohol, tea and coffee should be excluded from the diet.
It is better to take erythromycin, aspirin with alkaline mineral water
indomethacin, diclofenac, nurofen washed down with milk

We must not forget that experienced doctors have proven treatment regimens and use them exclusively for each patient, taking into account his individual characteristics. Therefore, the best option is when the doctor explains the specifics of prescribing and taking certain medications, but the patient can also clarify the correctness of the doctor’s prescription. Don't be shy, write down your doctor's recommendations. Read the leaflets for medications. If it is unclear, please clarify. Your health depends on it.

On the pages of the MEDIMARI website you will find a lot of interesting and useful things. I suggest you look at the page: “Site Map”

4 comments

When you have to see a doctor because of ailments, this is already a fact of non-compliance with the requirements of a healthy lifestyle. Unfortunately, the number of patients in queues to see doctors is not decreasing and the advice from the proposed article on how to take pills is exactly what this category of citizens needs. Very much needed information. Thank you.

Thank you very much for such important details. But sometimes, in a hurry, you wash it down with whatever you want.

Lots of useful tips and observations! The idea “for one tablet you need at least half a glass of water” is especially correct - but most people don’t adhere to it, they are so unaccustomed to drinking plain water that they wash down a handful of tablets with one or two sips of water, just to slip into the stomach, but this is wrong!

The main thing is to follow the rules prescribed by your doctor. Drink more water and fruit drinks. Be healthy!

How to take the pills correctly so that they work?

Often in the annotation to the medicine you can read “take after meals” or “half an hour before meals,” or there are no recommendations at all in the instructions. In addition, the doctor gives advice when prescribing the drug - drink it twice or thrice a day, or once at night, etc. Why are these instructions, what do they change in the action of the tablets, do they need to be strictly followed or is it not important ? Do food, time of day, and sleep affect how medications work? Let's figure it out.

Taking the pills correctly

The basic rule for taking any pills is the frequency of their use. When a doctor prescribes taking medications several times a day, most specialists mean the entire day as a whole, and not the waking time, which is about an hour (minus the time the patient spends sleeping from the day).

This is due to the fact that, despite the patient’s sleep, his body continues to work - the heart contracts, the liver actively processes drugs, and the kidneys excrete their remains in the urine. Accordingly, microbes or viruses also attack the body around the clock, and diseases do not go to sleep with their owner. Therefore, it is important to evenly distribute the pills over equal time intervals (if possible), especially if they are antiviral drugs, antibiotics or some other drugs.

Accordingly, if tablets need to be taken twice a day, the interval between their use should be approximately 12 hours. That is, they can be taken, for example, at 8.00 and 20.00. If this is a three-time dose, the interval is reduced to 8 hours, you can make a schedule like this - 6.00, 14.00 and 20.00.

Fluctuations in the interval of taking the drug of 1-2 hours are acceptable, and in order to take the pill it is not necessary to jump up on the alarm clock an hour earlier than expected; you can adjust the schedule to suit yourself. However, taking it three times a day does not mean chaotic use - without observing time intervals, as is convenient for the patient if he forgot to take the drug on time. That is, you cannot take the drug in the morning, then in the evening and two pills at once, after waiting 2-3 hours, because there was no time at work during the day. To avoid confusion, many experts indicate the approximate time of taking the medicine when prescribing it.

Full compliance with the duration of medication intake

Short courses of medication are often easier to follow. Usually the first few days the patient is more pedantic about his treatment, especially if he is feeling unwell. But, as it becomes easier, or if the course is long, the pills are taken less and less responsibly - and this is very bad! Often, the reason for skipping medications or stopping taking them is haste, stress, or forgetfulness. This leads to the fact that the treatment does not give the expected effect due to its incomplete course. There is another option: people take pills while half asleep or forget that they have already taken them, and then repeat the dose, which is already too much. If the medicine has strong effects, this can end sadly.

To combat this problem, various options are offered: placing pills in a visible place, a chart on the wall with ticks when taking pills, reminders on the phone or alarm clocks. Thus, for oral contraceptives, manufacturers have long begun to mark the days of the week or the dates of the month on the blister itself so that women do not forget to take the pill. There are also mobile applications that help you adhere to your treatment schedule. And recently hybrids have appeared - an alarm clock-first aid kit, programmable and dispensing a portion of the drug when the bell rings.

Connection with nutrition: before meals or after?

Human nutrition can significantly influence the activity of drugs and the rate of their absorption from the intestine into the blood. If we divide all the drugs in relation to their relationship with nutrition, there are several groups:

Remedies that do not depend on meals
Medicines that must be taken strictly before meals
Medicines taken after meals
Drugs that are taken with food.

In addition, according to the patient’s assumption, nutrition refers to regular meals in the form of breakfast, which is then followed by a full lunch and the same dinner. However, doctors say that frequent and incomplete snacks are also a meal, even eating a banana, tea with cookies or yogurt is nutrition. But, according to the patient, they are not considered normal meals. This means that taking medications without taking into account these snacks, but only main meals, will be incorrect from the point of view of complete absorption of the drugs.

Specificity of drugs in connection with nutrition

Drugs that require taking “before meals” assume that when taking the pill you are hungry, have not eaten anything at all, and will not eat anything for the period specified in the instructions (usually 30 minutes). Thus, the drug enters an empty stomach, in which it will not be disturbed by food components mixed with gastric juice. This is due to the fact that the activity of the drugs, if the patient allows himself just one piece of candy or a glass of juice, can be disrupted almost to zero, absorption in the intestines will suffer or the drug will simply be destroyed.

There are exceptions to the rules, especially with regard to the treatment of digestive disorders or endocrine pathologies. Therefore, you should always check with your doctor how to take the medicine correctly - strictly on an empty stomach or after waiting a couple of hours after you have eaten.

With drugs from the “during meals” group it is most clear, although it is worth checking with your doctor how large the meal should be and what components the meal should consist of, especially if your meal is extremely irregular.

Taking medications “after meals” is uncommon. Usually these are means for normalizing digestive functions, stimulating the secretion of gastric juice or some others. It is also important to clarify with your doctor what is meant by nutrition in this case - any snacks or a large, hearty meal.

The situation is simplest with drugs that do not depend on food intake in any way; for them only the time interval for taking them is established.

Important: How to take medications correctly? (“on an empty stomach”, “before meals”, “after meals”, “during meals”). When is it better to take medications or each medicine has its time? Taking tablets 2 times a day

Before or after meals?

How to take pills correctly, where does the pill go:

How to take pills correctly, nutrition rules:

When to take the pills when taken correctly:

Cardiovascular diseases:

Regulatory functions of the digestive organs:

Regulatory functions of the respiratory organs:

Read more:

Rule 1. Multiplicity is everything

Rule 2. Compliance, or commitment to acceptance

Rule 3. Before or after eating - this is important

Rule 4. Not all tablets can be taken together

Rule 5. Not all tablets have fractional dosages

Rule 6. Medicines, with rare exceptions, are taken only with water.

Rule 7. Chewable tablets are chewed, dragees are not crushed.

Rule 8. There are special cases, but they must be assessed by a doctor

Is it possible to take pills by the handful? And why?

How to take medications correctly?

Taking medications: basic rules

All about medicine

popular about medicine and health

How to take several tablets

Cautions for each drug

How to take your pills

How to take medications

Time to take medications

How to take pills correctly

MEDIMARI

"Your health is in your hands"

How to take pills correctly

Features of drug interactions

Rules for taking medications

“On an empty stomach, before, during, after eating” - what does this mean?

4 comments

How to take the pills correctly so that they work?

Taking the pills correctly

Full compliance with the duration of medication intake

Connection with nutrition: before meals or after?

Specificity of drugs in connection with nutrition