Use only water to drink your medication. It is safe. Other fluids can make the drug work more or less, or may not work at all. Worse, the medication can be harmful if you drink the medicine with fluids other than adequate water. So what water is best for taking medications and supplements? And what are you sure you can't drink medication?
What to drink medication with?This is not a trivial question. Let's be honest with ourselves: when taking medicines or dietary supplements in the form of tablets or dragees, to drink them, we usually reach for a liquid that we simply have at hand. We do not think about whether its type is important - as long as it allows you to swallow the medicine quickly and smoothly, or to mask its unpleasant taste.
Meanwhile,what we drink with drugsis important for whether the drug will be properly absorbed by the body and whether its substances will not adversely interact with the fluid itself. The wrong choice of "drink" has a big impact on the effect of the treatment. It can make you feel worse and worse instead of the expected improvement in your he alth.
Importantly:swallowing medication without drinking it , meaning "dry" alsois not a good solution . The task of the liquid is not only to facilitate the swallowing of the tablet, but also to support the preparation so that it dissolves properly in the body and works properly.
Taking medications - what to drink medications?
The safest and best liquid for drinking medications and supplements is still, boiledwaterwith the following properties:
- composition -the less minerals ,the better- the lower the risk that the water will have a harmful interaction with the active ingredient of the drug
- warmth - preferably atroom temperature ; hot or cold water may irritate the throat, esophagus and disrupt the action of the drug
- volume - optimal isok. 200-250 ml , which is just1 cup ; a sip of water is not enough for the drug to dissolve and be properly absorbed in the digestive system
Thepositionwhere we take medications is also important. The best isstanding . In a sitting or lying position, muscle movement is weaker, which means that tablets and dragees move more slowly and may stop in the esophaguscausing nausea or vomiting.
Taking medication - what not to drink medication?
Let's face it - we rarely have full knowledge of how a given drug, which the doctor prescribes, works. Even less, if nothing at all, is known to what undesirable chemical interactions our drugs can have with beverages. However, there are a few fluids that we should be especially careful about when taking medications and supplements, or just not drink them.
1. Coffee and other caffeinated drinks
Caffeine contained in coffee may increase the effects of substances contained in the drug, and thus lead to the body reacting to the drug too violently. As a consequence, the side effects of the drug will also worsen. This will happen when we sip our coffee with painkillers.
People suffering from bronchial asthma should be especially careful with coffee, even if it is not drunk directly with medications. Drinking coffee and taking medication for this condition at the same time can lead to such side effects as:
- heart rhythm disturbance
- anxiety
- headaches
- insomnia
When taking medication, however, we do not have to give up coffee completely. To avoid harmful interactions, leave a 2-hour interval between taking the drug and drinking a cup of coffee (and other caffeinated beverages).
2. Tea
People who receive tea and the theine contained in it should be especially careful:
- iron preparations in the treatment of, for example, anemia - theine inhibits iron absorption and anemia therapy does not give any results,
- drugs used in the treatment of delusional and manic states, schizophrenia and paranoid psychosis - theine can reduce the effects of these drugs by up to 90%.
3. Milk and milk drinks
The calcium contained in milk and milk products forms insoluble s alts with some drugs, so that these drugs are not absorbed by the body, so they do not work. These are the following drugs:
- enteric preparations, which ultimately dissolve in the intestines - drinking them with milk or another drink with calcium may dissolve the drug in the stomach and damage the mucosa lining the stomach,
- bisphosphonates - used to treat osteoporosis,
- tetracyclines (antibiotics) - with other antibiotics where it is recommended to eat yoghurt and kefir, there should be intervals between taking the drug and drinking a milk drink: 2 hours before and 1 hour after taking the antibiotic.
4. Grapefruit juice
Pharmacologists recommend that you give up drinking medications with juices at all, because it is extremelyit is difficult to predict whether harmful interactions will occur between them. Grapefruit juice is especially dangerous. Why? The compound contained in this juice: naringin (responsible for the bitter aftertaste of fruit) paralyzes the work of enzymes responsible for the metabolism of certain drugs. And if the drug is not metabolized, blood levels increase and the drug starts to work more than it should. Grapefruit juice as a "drink" should be given up especially by people taking medications:
- calcium channel blockers - used in the treatment of arterial hypertension; symptoms of incorrect drug metabolism include: excessive pressure drop, headaches and dizziness,
- antihistamines - as a result, combining them with juice may lead to cardiac arrhythmias,
- immunosuppressants - combining them with juice can cause an increase in blood pressure and seizures.
Important! If you like grapefruit juice and don't want to give it up, drink it at least 4 hours before and after taking your medications.
5. Alcohol and drinks containing alcohol
The rule is simple: you are taking medication - do not drink anything containing alcohol. Even with a few hours' break between taking the drug and drinking alcohol, there is a high risk of harmful interactions between them. Medicines may disturb the metabolism of ethyl alcohol, enhancing its effect. On the other hand, alcohol can interfere with the normal activity of the drugs themselves. People taking sedatives, antibacterial drugs and paracetamol medications should definitely give up alcohol.
6. Herbs
It is not true that herbal infusions can be safely washed down with medications. Herbs contain medicinal substances that may interfere with the action of those contained in medicines. When taking medications, it is worth limiting herbs such as:
- St. John's wort - reduces the effectiveness of contraceptive drugs,
- linseed, marshmallow - they protect the mucosa of the digestive system so effectively that it cannot absorb medicinal substances.
