Thank you for your question.

(1) There is still something to be said for taking medication.

First of all, let's understand the concept: fasting, there are generally two ways to say, 1) the human body after a whole night of digestion, the gastrointestinal tract is basically no food, early morning fasting state; 2) 1 hour before or 2 hours after a meal;

(2) Generally speaking, drugs taken on an empty stomach are better absorbed and can enter the body's blood circulation better, exerting their effects more quickly to achieve the purpose of treatment. However, the actual situation is not always like this.

The choice of drugs to be taken on an empty stomach is based on the following considerations: the pharmacokinetic properties of the drug in the body; the relatively low irritation of the drug to the gastrointestinal tract de the drug is well absorbed in the body; food and other drugs, etc. have a greater impact on the absorption of the drug taken;

(3) Which medications would be better to choose to take on an empty stomach are as follows:

1) Anti-osteoporosis drugs, bisphosphonates, such as alendronate, pamidronate, etc., are taken on an empty stomach, and it is recommended that they be taken standing up, with sufficient water, and without food for half an hour after taking the drug;

(2) antiparasitic drugs, such as metronidazole, tetrachloroethylene, betel nut, pumpkin seed should be taken on an empty stomach, rapid entry into the intestinal tract, preservation of higher drug concentrations; albendazole, piperazine, etc. should be taken on an empty stomach to reduce the body's absorption of the drug, increase the contact between the drug and the worm and enhance the therapeutic effect;

(3) Treatment of hypothyroidism drugs, such as levothyroxine sodium (Eugenol) should be taken early in the morning on an empty stomach, with adequate water intake to ensure therapeutic effect;

(4) Antidepressants, such as fluoxetine, paroxetine, fluvoxamine, etc., depression is heavier in the morning and lighter in the evening, and should be taken in the morning;

5) Antibiotics, in order to minimize the effect of food on the absorption of antibiotics, such as cefradine, cefaclor, cefdinir, madicillin, etc., it is advisable to take 1 hour before meals;

6) Antihypertensive drugs such as captopril, perindopril and aliskiren should be taken before meals;

(7) Tonic Chinese medicine, such as ginseng, antler, etc. should be taken before meals, fast absorption;

I hope you find it helpful!

The authoritative interpretation of Pharmaceutical Affairs, unauthorized reproduction, plagiarism will be punished.

I am Jian Fang, deputy chief pharmacist of a tertiary care hospital and a clinical pharmacist in the Department of Neurology.

Taking medication on an empty stomach is usually defined as taking the medication one hour before and two hours after a meal, and you usually can't snack in between.

The strict definition of taking medication on an empty stomach is to take it in the early morning on an empty stomach, when there is essentially no food in the stomach or intestines after a longer period of digestion during the night.

Note that there is a difference between fasting time and premeal time, which is the 15-30 minute period before eating a meal.

What are the benefits of taking medicine on an empty stomach?

Fasting, the drug into the gastrointestinal tract, there is no food interference, and at this time the drug to stimulate gastric secretion can promote gastrointestinal peristalsis, at the same time the gastric mucosa blood supply is sufficient to ensure that the drug is fully and quickly absorbed into the body's blood circulation, so as soon as possible to play the efficacy of the drug.

Therefore, general medicines can be prioritized to be taken on an empty stomach if there are no special regulations, such as our commonly used antihypertensive drugs, diuretics, anti-tuberculosis drugs and so on, which are taken on an empty stomach early in the morning.

Case-by-case analysis.

Drugs that do not have an adverse effect on the gastrointestinal tract and that interfere with the efficacy of the drug after eating are recommended to be consumed on an empty stomach. For example, the smaller dose of the drug, after eating food and drug mixing, very affect the absorption of the drug.

Some drugs are more irritating to the gastrointestinal tract or have gastrointestinal adverse reactions, can not be taken on an empty stomach, you need to take after eating, with food to offset the damage of the drug on the gastrointestinal mucosa. For example, antibacterial drugs, analgesic drugs, etc. in the meal 30 minutes - 1 hour to take less irritation. Nutritional supplements are also generally taken after meals, which will result in better absorption.

Most medications are taken after meals. Except for hypoglycemic drugs, stomach acid suppressants, and deworming drugs which are usually taken before meals for better results.

Most antiepileptic drugs are fine whether taken on an empty stomach or with a meal, but there are some exceptions. So you should ask your doctor when you should take your medication before you start taking it, and you can also check the instructions in detail (which will give you detailed instructions on how to take your medication).

Also of note:

1. When taking the same drug, you should maintain the same medication habits, i.e., take the drug at the same time every day if possible. If you need to take the medicine on an empty stomach, take it on an empty stomach every time; if you take it after a meal, take it after a meal every time. This is because whether or not you take your medication on an empty stomach can affect how your body absorbs some medications (e.g., how fast, how slow).

2. If the medication will have side effects if taken on an empty stomach, then take it after a meal. Generally, food will slow down the absorption of the drug will also reduce the side effects of the drug.

So please choose whether to take the medication on an empty stomach or after a meal on the advice of your doctor, if the side effects of taking the medication on an empty stomach are too great.