Taking tablets before meals. Top tips for taking medications

Any medications should be taken only as prescribed by a doctor. But even with the right appointment, you need to know how to take pills correctly, 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, in a 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 different drugs are prescribed by one doctor, he will certainly take care that they do not counteract each other. But if, for example, the therapist prescribed you one medication, the neurologist - others, and the endocrinologist - the third, then by all means go back to the therapist or consult a pharmacist who will explain how to take the pills correctly. It is possible that some drugs will have to be replaced with safe alternatives.

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

Do not take medication lying down. They can linger in the esophagus, and this will cause heartburn, nausea and vomiting.

Do not chew medicines in the form of capsules. A shell of gelatin, agar or other substances ensures the delivery of the drug to the stomach, where it dissolves without a trace. In addition, many capsules are long-acting drugs that do not need to be taken several times a day. The shell provides a graceful release of the contents and cannot be corrupted.

For many medicines, it matters when they are taken - before or after meals. Usually the doctor who prescribes the drug specifies the time of admission. In the package with tablets there is an instruction that indicates the time of taking the drug, how to take the pills correctly. Here are examples of taking some medications.

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

These medicines should only be taken after meals. It is better not to swallow soluble tablets whole, but dissolve them in the amount of water indicated in the instructions, ordinary tablets - crush or chew and drink milk or mineral water without gas - 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 drink these drugs only with water, and not with milk or tea with milk. Calcium, which is contained in milk, reacts with an antibiotic (especially with tetracycline) and forms sparingly soluble compounds.

Sulfonamides.

Drink 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 kind of tea, coffee, cocoa, Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola. If this is not done, hyperactivity and insomnia appear, since contraceptives reduce the body's ability to break down caffeine. It is best to drink them with plain water.

Clean water at room temperature or table mineral water without gas is the best liquid for drinking most tablets. But there are lovers of taking drugs with something tasty. For them, special recommendations.

First of all, remember that in an acidic environment, most drugs lose their properties or they are significantly weakened. Therefore, it is not worth taking tablets with acidic juices.

Grapefruit juice is not compatible with cholesterol-lowering drugs, 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, as a result of which an overdose often develops.

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

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

Regarding how to take the pills correctly depending on the time of the meal. 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 one hour before and after taking the tablets, so as not to irritate the stomach and intestines.

Antidepressants are best taken with a diet free of cheese, soy sauce, yeast, caviar, and avocado. Otherwise, you will be guaranteed severe drowsiness and high blood pressure for the whole day.

Hormonal preparations require an indispensable intake with protein foods.

Knowing how to take pills correctly, you can help your health, improve the health of loved ones.

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What should be the food after forty

"Take these tablets 1 2 times a day after meals." We have all heard this recommendation many times. And now let's think about how accurate it is and whether it requires additional guidance. After all, prescribing certain drugs, the doctor expects that they will be used correctly.

Rule 1. Multiplicity is our everything

When prescribing pills several times a day, most doctors have in mind a day - not the 15-17 hours that we are usually awake, but all 24. Because the heart, liver and kidneys work around the clock, and, therefore, microbes work without interruption for lunch and sleep. Therefore, the intake of tablets should be divided as evenly as possible, this is especially true for antimicrobial agents.

That is, with a double dose, the interval between taking each dosage should be 12 hours, three times - 8, four times - 6. True, this does not mean that patients should jump out of bed every night. There are not so many drugs, the accuracy of which is calculated per minute, and they are usually prescribed not in tablet form. But, nevertheless, 2-3-4 times a day 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. In order to avoid interpretation when taking a double dose, for example, it is justified to prescribe a specific time for taking a pill: 8:00 and 20:00 or 10:00 and 22:00. And the patient is more comfortable, and it is impossible to understand in two ways.

Rule 2. Compliance, or adherence to acceptance

With short courses of tablets, things are more or less normal: we usually do not forget to drink them for a couple of days. With long courses it's worse. Because we are in a hurry, because stress, because it just flew out of my head. There is another side of the coin: sometimes people mechanically, half asleep, drink the medicine, 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 jar of dark glass with 60 harmless tablets (glucose, calcium gluconate, etc.) and take one daily. There were a lot of experimenters, but those who after two months did not have from 2 to 5-6 "extra" tablets left were few.

Everyone chooses ways to deal with such "sclerosis" for themselves: someone puts medicines in a prominent place, ticks on the calendar help pedants, and especially forgetful ones - alarm clocks, reminders on a mobile phone, etc. Pharmaceutical firms even produce special calendars where you can mark each appointment. Not so long ago (although, as usual, not in Russia), hybrids of an alarm clock and a mini-first-aid kit appeared, ringing and giving out a pill at a certain time.

Rule 3. Before or after a meal is important

According to the relationship with meals, all tablets are divided into groups: "do not care", "before", "after" and "during meals". Moreover, in the mind of the doctor, the patient eats strictly according to the schedule, does not have a snack during breaks and does not drive teas. But in the mind of the patient, an apple, a banana and a candy are not food, but food is borscht with a cutlet and compote with pies. Unfortunately, these beliefs also contribute to misuse of medications.

"Before meals". For starters, it's good 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 thoroughly, or is it just the medicine taken on an empty stomach?

In most cases, prescribing medication "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 interfere with gastric juice, food components, etc. From my own experience, I can say that I have to explain this many times. Because, for example, the active ingredients of macrolide preparations are destroyed by an acidic environment. In this case, eating a candy or drinking a glass of juice two hours before taking the medicine or one hour after can drastically affect the result of treatment. The same applies to many other drugs, and the point is not only in the gastric juice, but also in the timing of the drug from the stomach to the intestines, absorption disorders, and simply in the chemical reaction of the components of the drug with food.

There are, of course, exceptions to this rule, when you need to eat exactly at the specified time after taking. For example, with diseases of the gastrointestinal tract 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, specify what to do and how much to eat with a pill, especially if your meals are organized according to the "Monday-Wednesday-Friday" principle.

"After meal" significantly fewer drugs are taken. As a rule, these include agents that irritate the gastric mucosa or contribute to the normalization of digestion. "Meal" in this case often does not mean a change of three meals, especially if the drug needs to be taken 4-5-6 times a day. Some limited amount of food will suffice.

Rule 4. Not all pills can be taken together

Most tablets should be taken separately, unless the "bulk lot" is agreed with the doctor separately. This is not very convenient, but it is impossible to conduct research on the interaction of all drugs in the world, and swallowing pills "by the handful", it is easy to get an unpredictable effect already at the initial stage. Unless otherwise specified, at least 30 minutes should elapse between taking different drugs.

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

Hepatorrotectors, vitamins, combined remedies for colds and herbs, recommended by a beloved grandmother, can be taken during treatment only after consulting with your doctor. If you are being treated by several specialists for different reasons, they should be aware of each other's appointments.

Rule 5. Not all pills have fractional dosages.

Tablets are different for tablets, and not all of them can be broken to be divided into several doses. Moreover, some tablets are coated, damaging which can affect the properties of the drug. Therefore, the absence of a "separating strip" should alert - most often such a tablet cannot be divided. Yes, and dosages of one-fourth or even one-eighth of the tablets also raise questions - it is almost impossible to measure correctly in such cases. If such an appointment was made by a doctor, you can ask him what this is fraught with. Well, we won’t even talk about self-treatment once again.

Rule 6. Medicines, with rare exceptions, are washed down only with water.

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

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

Rule 7

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

The form of release of the drug is also not chosen by chance. If the tablet has a special coating, it should not be crushed, broken or cracked. 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 within a certain time. Therefore, you can open the capsules only as directed by a doctor, with an eye to the instructions.

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

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

Schebotansky Leonid, Sosnitskaya Olesya

Comment on the article "How to take pills correctly"

Tablets without a shell do not swallow. She puts it in her mouth, drinks it down and then spits or comes up and complains “it didn’t work out. It stuck so well that it can be removed only with a fingernail, she herself won’t drink it with all her desire.

Discussion

I crushed the pill with spoons and gave it to my daughter in the form of a powder. At the age of 6 and a half, she herself learned to swallow pills.

Until the age of 30, she didn’t know how to swallow pills, and her husband still doesn’t know how, not to mention children. Crush into powder, as everyone has already written.
If there is, then it can be given in the form of a syrup, then in the form of an orphan, suppositories or injections.

I take birth control pills. This month, the reminder broke - to drink them on time, and something jammed me. But to drink pills every day, and even when nothing hurts, only the most disciplined person can do it.

Discussion

I have a similar situation, it’s too early to get married and it’s not time to become a mother either. The spirals didn’t fit, there was even a flight with them, the gynecologist picked up a drug, pills, they are called Chloe. Ugh, ugh, right now, no problems, the cycle has become like clockwork, even my breasts have begun to pancake grow, although I don’t really need it, with my natural not small size. MCH only rejoices, the weight has not changed much from them, Well, maybe a little plus, But this is most likely from the fact that I finally calmed down. That's it. I don't know, maybe it helps to each his own.

In such cases, the most sensible thing is the sterilization of the "cat".

It's good in pills too. I drink before flights so as not to twitch, not to rush about, and not to go crazy from children screaming in the cabin. yes, you can’t imagine the scale, I can’t squish in a corner, I sob out loud, and then with a swollen red nose, etc., this is just not for me ...

Are you taking pills? parent experience. A child from 3 to 7. Education, nutrition Danced around her with a spoon, in which a crushed tablet was first poured, then This morning after breakfast, the child drank the proposed tablet without persuasion, not even mashed!

Discussion

Ours started taking pills at about 4.5 years old. Before that - persuasion, jam, threats from cartoons - everything went into action, usually they still managed to shove a pill.
Now 5 - so he asks himself: then give him Anaferon - the temperature has risen to 37, then bury it in his nose.

Now drinking! This morning, after breakfast, the child drank the proposed pill without persuasion, not even mashed! Apparently thinking, smearing yesterday. I will add, of course, the child was told that they need to be treated and that it would be time to take pills already at that age. And in the morning, as if nothing had happened, I show you how to put a pill on your tongue and drink it, he repeats everything and voila. :)

Courses when you need to drink something according to the scheme are generally anrial. Any tricks to give vitamins/pills without stress? we learned from chewable tablets - multitabs vitamins, then we began to give ascorutin, you also need to chew it, then, after 3x, I got used to it ...

Discussion

Only by a collective example: the elders line up, open their mouths together, put, for example, activated charcoal into them, respectively, tablets, glasses of water are distributed, then they all drink and swallow in unison. At first, I had to just put the elders as an example.

Mine eats them like candy, so it's more of a concern to hide them securely. And some did not go - tasteless. You can choose vitamins, buy a multitabs baby, it's delicious.
And the tasteless ones are also whole, only I immediately give her tea to drink quickly.

The second month I drink OK (Janine). By mistake, I took a break between taking the first and second packs of OK not for 7 days, but for 8 (I left the city, took a new pack of pills with me without instructions, asked a friend how long to start drinking the third pack ...

Discussion

everyone has already written to you, I will only add a warning that if you miss the 7-day break (start the second pack immediately after the first), there is a danger of so-called breakthrough bleeding, that is, be aware and have hygiene products with you on a trip in case.

1. After skipping the pill, you need to take additional protection ~ 2 weeks (or less if your period starts), so everything is OK (:
2. WITHOUT a break, continue to drink from the second pack and a) take a break when the trip is over, b) drink the whole pack to the end.

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 he prescribes the drug - drink it twice or thrice a day, or once, at night, etc. Why do these instructions, what do they change in the action of the tablets, do they need to be strictly observed or is it not important ? Does food, time of day, and sleep affect how drugs work? Let's figure it out.

The basic rule for taking any pills is the frequency of their use. When a doctor prescribes taking drugs several times a day, most specialists mean the whole day as a whole, and not the waking time, which is approximately 15-16 hours (minus the time that the patient spends in sleep 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 residues in the urine. Accordingly, microbes or viruses also attack the body around the clock, and diseases do not go to sleep with their host. Therefore, it is important to evenly distribute the intake of tablets at equal time intervals (if possible), especially if they are antiviral drugs, antibiotics, or some other means.

Accordingly, if the tablets need to be taken twice a day, the interval between their use should be approximately equal to 12 hours. That is, they can be accepted, for example, at 8.00 and 20.00. If this is a three-time appointment, 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 at 1-2 hours are acceptable, and it is not necessary to jump up on the alarm clock an hour earlier than expected to take the pill, you can adjust the schedule for yourself. However, taking three times a day does not mean chaotic use - without observing time intervals, as it is convenient for the patient if he forgot to take the drug on time. That is, you can not 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.

It is often easier to follow short courses of drugs. Usually the first few days the patient is more pedantic about his treatment, especially if he is not feeling well. But, as it becomes easier, or if the course is long, the pills are drunk less and less responsibly - and this is very bad! Often, rush, stress, or forgetfulness is the reason for missing or stopping medications. 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 half asleep or forget that they have already taken them, and then repeat the dose, already superfluous. If the drug has strong effects, this can end sadly.

To combat this problem, various options are offered: placing the pills in a conspicuous place, a schedule on the wall with checkmarks when taking pills, reminders on the phone or alarm clocks. So, 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 to follow the treatment schedule. And recently hybrids have appeared - an alarm clock-a first-aid kit, programmable and giving out a portion of the drug on a bell.

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

• Means that do not depend on meals,
• Drugs that must be taken strictly before meals,
• Medicines taken after meals
• Drugs 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 snacking is also a meal, even a banana, tea with biscuits or yogurt eaten 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 the main meals, will be wrong from the point of view of the full assimilation of drugs.

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

There are exceptions to the rule, especially in the treatment of digestive disorders or endocrine pathologies. Therefore, you always need to check with the doctor how the remedy is taken 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 understandable, although it is worth checking with the doctor how dense the meal should be and what components the meal should consist of, especially if you have it extremely irregular.

Taking drugs "after a meal" is rare. Usually these are means for normalizing digestive functions, stimulating the separation of gastric juice or some others. It is also important to clarify with the doctor what is meant by nutrition in this case - any snacks or a plentiful, hearty meal.

The easiest way is with drugs that do not depend on food intake in any way, for them only the time interval for taking is set.

Unfortunately, I'm in a lot of pain right now. A number of drugs are prescribed to be taken half an hour before meals, and a number of others - 10 minutes after. Please explain the mechanism of action RELATED to food intake and how important it is to adhere to the "temporary" guidelines? For example, can I sit down at the table not half an hour after taking the medicine, but 10-15 minutes later?

The fact is that some drugs should be taken on an empty stomach, because. their absorption directly depends on it. That is, if you take a drug that has such an addiction during meals, then its bioavailability (the amount of the drug that enters the bloodstream after absorption from the gastrointestinal tract) will decrease dramatically. Therefore, such drugs are prescribed 30-40 minutes before meals.

If it is not possible to take them for such a time interval, then you can take it 1 hour after eating. Thus, the rule is: DRUGS THAT ARE GIVEN BEFORE MEALS SHOULD BE TAKEN EITHER 30-40 MINUTES BEFORE OR 1 HOUR AFTER MEAL. Taken before or during meals is a waste of the drug.

It will not reach the proper therapeutic concentration in the blood. Now there is a group of drugs that you can (and some even should) take with meals. These are either drugs that are aggressive towards the gastric mucosa (gastric mucosa) - they have an ulcerogenic (ulcerogenic) effect.

One such drug is the well-known aspirin. In addition, there are drugs that can be prescribed on a "buffer" - a neutralizer. This is a calcium chloride solution. This drug is recommended to drink milk - it has an irritating effect on the coolant. During meals, you can take drugs whose bioavailability does not depend on food intake (it is simply more convenient to take the medicine with meals, without adjusting for "before" and "after").

Here is an example. There are 2 antihypertensive drugs from the group of ACE inhibitors. One is caproten, the other is ednit. So, capoten should be taken only on an empty stomach (30-40 minutes before or 1 hour after a meal), and ednit can be taken both with meals and on an empty stomach.

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They should be taken with water (not milk).

Also, half an hour before meals should be taken antacids (ALMAGEL, FOSFALUGEL, etc.) and choleretic agents .

RECEPTION WITH MEAL
During meals, the acidity of the gastric eye is very high, and therefore significantly affects the stability of drugs and their absorption into the blood. In an acidic environment, the effect of ERYTHROMYCIN, LINCOMYCIN HYDROCHLORIDE and others is partially reduced. antibiotics.

Must be taken with food gastric juice preparations or digestive enzymes because they help the stomach digest food. These include PEPSIN, FESTAL, DIGESTAL, ENZISTAL, PANZINORM.

Preferably taken with food laxatives to be digested. These are Senna, Buckthorn Bark, Rhubarb Root and JOSTER FRUITS.

Have to take with meals some diuretics , QINIDINE (antiarrhythmic and antimalarial agent), EUFILLIN (antiasthmatic agent), broad-spectrum antibiotic LEVOMICETIN.

AFTER MEAL RECEPTION
If the medicine is prescribed after meal, wait for the best therapeutic effect at least two hours.

Straightaway same after meal take mainly drugs that irritate the mucous membrane of the stomach and intestines. This recommendation applies to drug groups such as:

diuretics- DIAKARB, HYPOTHIASI D, BRINALDIX, TRIAMPUR, FUROSEMIDE (only after meals)
painkillers (non-steroidal) anti-inflammatory drugs - BUTADION, ASPIRIN, ASPIRIN CARDIO, VOLTAREN, IBUPROFEN, ASCOFEN, CITRAMON (only after meals).
cardiac glycosides - lily of the valley tincture, DIGITOXIN, DIGOXIN, CORDIGIT, CELANID.
sulfonamides - STREPTOCID, SULFADIMETOXIN, NORSULFAZOL. FTALAZOL, ETAZOL; these preparations are recommended to be washed down with an alkaline drink, for example, mineral water such as Borjomi.
drugs that are components of bile - ALLOHOL, HOLENZIM, LIOBIL, etc.); taking after meals is a prerequisite for these drugs to “work”.

There are so-called anti-acid agents , the reception of which should be timed to the moment when the stomach is empty, and hydrochloric acid continues to be released, that is, an hour or two after the end of the meal - MAGNESIUM OXIDE, VIKALIN, VIKAIR.

Antibiotics they are usually taken regardless of food, but at the same time, fermented milk products must also be present in your diet. Along with antibiotics, NISTATIN is also taken, and at the end of the course - complex vitamins (for example, SUPRADIN).

Antihypertensive drugs can be taken during the day: before or after meals, in the morning and in the evening - ADELPHAN, BRINERDIN N, CLOFELIN, RENITEK, PAPAZOL, RAUNATIN, RESERPIN, TRIRESID K, ENALAPRIL, ENAP N).

Antacids(GASTAL, ALMAGEL, MAALOX, TALCYD, RELTSER, PHOSFALUGEL) and antidiarrheals (IMODIUM, INTETRIKS, SMEKTA, NEOINTESTOPAN) - half an hour before meals or one and a half to two hours after. At the same time, keep in mind that antacids taken on an empty stomach last about half an hour, and taken 1 hour after a meal - for 3 to 4 hours.

RECEPTION NATOSCHAK
Taking medication on an empty stomach is usually in the morning 20-40 minutes before breakfast.

Example:
on an empty stomach, when the acidity of the gastric juice is low, should be taken heart medications , sulfonamides , as well as drugs that do not irritate the gastric mucosa - erythromycin, nystatin, polymyxin (1.5–2 hours before meals).

Medicines taken on an empty stomach are absorbed and absorbed much faster. Otherwise, acidic gastric juice will have a destructive effect on them, and there will be little use from medicines.

■ PHARMACISTS WARN AND ADVICE
Patients often ignore the recommendations of doctors and pharmacists, forgetting to take a pill prescribed before meals, and transferring it to the afternoon. If the rules are not followed, the effectiveness of drugs inevitably decreases. To the greatest extent, if, contrary to the instructions, the drug is taken during meals or immediately after it. This changes the rate of passage of drugs through the digestive tract and the rate of their absorption into the blood.

Some drugs may break down into their component parts. For example, in an acidic gastric environment, PENICILLIN is destroyed. Breaks down into salicylic and acetic acids ASPIRIN (acetylsalicylic acid).

The acidic environment of the stomach can neutralize such antibiotics like erythromycin and ampicillin, cardiac glycosides . Lily of the valley and STROPHANT are very sensitive to food juices: taken with food, they are digested along with it.

A number of drugs form sparingly soluble and non-absorbable complexes with food components. This can happen if, for example, TETRACYCLINE is taken after a dairy meal. CALCIUM GLUCONATE taken after meals may form insoluble precipitates with food acids. NYSTATIN and POLYMYXIN form the same precipitates with bile.

RECEPTION 2-3 TIMES A DAY
If the instructions say " three times per day”, this does not mean breakfast - lunch - dinner. The medicine must be taken every eight hours so that its concentration in the blood is evenly maintained. It is better to drink the medicine with plain boiled water. Tea and juices are not the best remedy.

If it is necessary to resort to cleansing the body (for example, in case of poisoning, alcohol intoxication), they usually use sorbents: ACTIVATED CHARCOAL , POLIFEPAN or ENTEROSGEL . They collect toxins "on themselves" and remove them through the intestines. They should be taken twice a day between meals. At the same time, fluid intake should be increased. It is good to add herbs with a diuretic effect to the drink.

DAY OR NIGHT
Sleeping pills to be taken 30 minutes before bed.

Laxatives - BISACODIL, SENAD, GLAXENA, REGULAX, GUTALAX, FORLAX - usually taken at bedtime and half an hour before breakfast.

Don't have their time medicines assigned " under the tongue» NITROGLYCERIN, VALIDOL.

Heart drugs and remedies for asthma take closer to midnight.

Ulcer Remedies taken early in the morning and late in the evening to prevent hunger pains.

After the introduction of the candle, you need to lie down, so they are prescribed for the night.

■ PHARMACISTS WARN AND ADVICE
Emergency aid take regardless of the time of day - if the temperature rises or colic begins. In such cases, adherence to the schedule is not important.

IF THE INSTRUCTIONS ARE NO INSTRUCTIONS
In the absence of any instructions in the package insert, the medicine should be taken 30 minutes before meals. This applies to the bulk of drugs.

IF THE RECEPTION TIME IS MISSED
If you " late» for 1-2 hours, then the drug can be accepted, as usual. If the break is longer, you should skip taking the medicine until the next one in order to avoid an overdose. After this, it is desirable to restore the medication schedule.

It is forbidden take the drug double dose just because you missed the appointment time - this can increase side effect medicines.

Hormonal and " heart medications , majority antibiotics should be taken strictly by the clock. The best thing is to draw up a reception scheme and hang it in a conspicuous place (on the door, furniture, refrigerator, etc.). In order not to miss the next dose of the medicine, use an alarm clock or a timer.

IN WHAT SEQUENCE SHOULD I TAKE MEDICINES?
Many drugs interact with each other, so try to accept medicines alternately.

Often incompatible there are antibiotics. They should not be unnecessarily combined with antipyretics, hypnotics, antihistamines. And, of course, in any case - with alcohol.

The mucous membrane of the stomach will be safer if you take into account the peculiarities of taking vitamins. Fat soluble vitamins(A, D, E, K) are more useful after meals, and water soluble(C and group B) - before meals or during meals. Complex multivitamin preparations It is better to drink immediately after a meal.

■ PHARMACISTS ADVISE
At the doctor's appointment, patients are encouraged to write down recommendations. This is important to ensure your own safety, because medicines are a delicate thing. With regard to food, almost all of them can change the effect of the drug. Some (for example, fatty and sweet foods) delay and increase the absorption time of the drug components into the blood, while others increase the effect of the drug at times, causing an overdose.