Contents:
- Medical Video: Stomach Ulcer | Nucleus Health
- Various conditions that can be overcome by taking antacid ulcer medication
- When is the best time to take ulcer medicine?
- Why should ulcer medicine be taken before eating?
Medical Video: Stomach Ulcer | Nucleus Health
If most drugs have to be taken after you eat, the ulcer medication should be taken before you eat. According to experts and health workers, taking ulcer medication while eating or after it actually is redundant and does not have any effect on your digestive system. Why is that, huh? Directly see the reason why taking ulcer medication should be before eating below.
Various conditions that can be overcome by taking antacid ulcer medication
Ulcer medicine, known in the medical realm as antacids, is actually a drug that is useful for neutralizing stomach acid. So the uses also vary. Because the ulcer itself is not the name of the disease, but a series of symptoms that indicate indigestion.
Here are some examples of conditions that can be helped by taking ulcer medication.
- Acid reflux. Symptoms include abdominal pain, nausea, sour or bitter mouth, dry cough, and pain when swallowing.
- Hot esophagus or pain (heartburn) Usually because stomach acid rises into the esophagus.
- Stomach and bloating.
Ulcer medication is usually available in liquid or chewable tablets. Because the drug must be properly digested when it enters the stomach. So, if you are buying or prescribed stomach ulcer medication, you should first chew it until it is completely crushed in your mouth just swallowed.
When is the best time to take ulcer medicine?
Antacid ulcer medications should be taken before meals, unless your doctor and pharmacist suggest otherwise. According to an expert in internal medicine from the University of Southern California, Dr. John C. Lipham, you should take ulcer medicine 30 minutes before eating.
However, for the best effect on your stomach and digestive system, try to take medicine an hour before eating. Especially if you already feel symptoms such as abdominal pain, hot esophagus, and nausea.
Why should ulcer medicine be taken before eating?
According to a study in The American Journal of Gastroenterology in 2014, only one third of drug users who take this drug are according to the correct rules. Most people actually take ulcer medication after eating. In fact, taking ulcer medication after eating has no effect on your digestive system.
Furthermore, the study also proved that new ulcer drugs will work effectively in 71 percent of study participants who took this medicine correctly. While participants who did not take medication according to the rules still felt the symptoms of indigestion experienced before.
Ulcer medication works by neutralizing new stomach acids (enzymes) which will be produced more when the stomach digests your food. So, in order to work properly, this drug must be absorbed in the stomach to neutralize the acid which is then produced when you eat.
If you take this medicine after meals, the acid in your stomach has already been produced in excess and eventually rises into the esophagus. Though this drug takes a long time to be absorbed by the body and neutralize the acid in the stomach. So, it's too late if you just take ulcer medication after eating or the appearance of symptoms.
