There is such a case: a driver went to the drugstore to buy a bottle of painkillers because of headache. Because of his anxiety, he swallowed two tablets while driving. At that time, he felt very uncomfortable in his esophagus. In the evening, he felt tightness and pain in his chest, and his swallowing and drooling were very painful. The next morning, he could hardly drink the porridge and rushed to the hospital for treatment. After examination, the doctor diagnosed it as esophagitis. In life, many people swallow pills dry because of anxiety, which brings many dangers.
drugs are slow to take effect there are three physiological strictures in the human esophagus. When food and drugs pass through, they tend to stay or take longer to reach the gastrointestinal tract. Drinking water when taking tablets can help them reach the gastrointestinal tract faster, which is conducive to absorption and effect. When a tablet is swallowed dry, the time required for the drug to reach the gastrointestinal tract becomes longer and the onset of effect becomes slower.
food tube injury when swallowing tablets dry, the tablets are easy to stick to the esophageal wall. Some drugs are irritating to the esophageal mucosa (such as bisphosphonates, which are used to treat osteoporosis). Staying in the esophagus can cause discomfort such as pain and burning behind the sternum. In serious cases, it can also cause esophagitis, esophageal ulcer and esophageal erosion. The patient in the first case destroyed the mucosa at the stenosis when he swallowed the tablets dry, causing esophageal ulcer and inflammation.
cause nausea, vomiting some drugs have a special taste. If swallowed dry, it will be more irritating, easy to cause nausea, and even vomit out drugs and food.
it is easy to inhale by mistake the esophagus and trachea are very close. If you swallow the tablets dry, it is easy to cause aspiration. Especially for the elderly and children, once the tablet is inhaled into the trachea, it is likely to cause asphyxia and threaten life.
damage the kidney sulfa antibiotics and other drugs are easy to precipitate crystals in urine when they are excreted through the kidney, which may cause damage to the kidney. Anti gout drugs (such as benzbromarone) that promote the excretion of uric acid will increase the concentration of uric acid in urine and easily form uric acid crystals after taking. If you don’t drink enough water when taking these drugs, or even swallow them dry, it may affect drug excretion and damage your kidney.
In general, if you don’t have water on hand, you should find water before taking medicine. You can’t swallow tablets dry, and you can’t take tea, juice, milk and other drinks. Most tablets and capsules need 150-200 ml of water to be taken. In addition, when taking sulfa drugs and anti gout drugs, it is recommended to drink 2000-2500 ml of water every day to reduce the damage to the kidney. Avoid lying down immediately after taking the medicine, and try to reduce the time the medicine stays in the esophagus. Some first aid medicines can be chewed and taken when there is no water on hand. For example, in the acute attack of angina pectoris, nitroglycerin can be chewed up and contained under the tongue.
It should be reminded that some drugs are made into chewable tablets. This dosage form does not rely on water much, so it can be chewed and taken. If necessary, this dosage form can be selected according to the doctor’s advice. For example, the antacids weishuping and gaiweiping, taken after chewing, can quickly neutralize gastric acid and protect gastric mucosa; Digestive aids such as lactobacillus tablets, yeast tablets, etc. can be fully mixed with saliva in the mouth when chewed to form a paste, which can be quickly decomposed after entering the gastrointestinal tract and accelerate the onset of effect; Calcium agents such as calcium oxide, calcium carbonate and calcium gluconate have heavy texture and slow disintegration. They are not easy to absorb when swallowed directly. Taking after chewing is not only beneficial to calcium absorption, but also can reduce the stimulation to gastric mucosa.
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