Thread by @DehinsiluBola

🚨NEVER take any of these FIVE (5) drugs on an empty stomach.

You may be damaging your gut, liver, or in severe cases you can even cause yourself intestinal bleeding.

👇🏾🧵

Some meds require food while others don't.

This requirement is either to protect you based on what the drug does to the body or what the body does to the drug.

What I mean is, the drug could be advised to be taken with food either because it can cause damage to your body...

..if taken without the food (what the drug does to the body) or because it will become less effective when taken without food(what the body does to the drug).

Some of these drugs are:

1. NSAIDS like Diclofenac, Ibuprofen, Felvin etc.

★Increase stomach acid which can lead to heartburn.

★ They damage your stomach lining by blocking prostaglandin (hormone-like substance that protects the stomach).

★ They raise the risk of ulcers, bleeding and nausea.

2. Antimalaria drugs like Coartem, Amatem, Lonart.

Many Antimalarials especially Artemether/ Lumefantrine combos (Coartem and the likes) love fatty environments.
What that means is that they need oily environments to dissolve best.

Your stomach is primarily aqueous meaning

..it loves water.

So taking Antimalarials on an empty stomach is like trying to mix water and oil, it won't dissolve or dissolve only in part (the stomach has some little amount of fat)

That's why you have to eat them with fatty or oily foods.

Taking this drug without food will drastically reduce it's absorption in the body and therefore its effectiveness.

Low effectiveness = reoccurring malaria
Medically called (✨recrudescence✨)

So always take this medication with food and note that;

If you or the person taking it vomits within an hour, you should repeat the entire dose again.

3. Metformin (for diabetes/PCOS, a common brand is Glucophage)

★ Can cause nausea, cramps, diarrhea

Taking it with food reduces these side effects significantly.

Without food = higher chance of digestive upset.

4. Steroids like Prednisolone, Dexamethasone and Hydrocortisone.

They can:
★Irritate your stomach lining
★Can cause bloating, indigestion, or ulcers

Always take with meals. And do NOT self-medicate.

If you were prescribed them for a long period, report any repeated GI upset

5. Multivitamins especially Iron and Zinc

★ Iron & zinc irritate the stomach
★ Can cause nausea or metallic taste.

Empty stomach = higher risk of vomiting
✅ Best taken after a solid meal.

Generally avoid taking zinc and iron together if you can, they increase stomach upset.

These multivitamins asides from how they can hurt the stomach are also absorbed best when taken with food.

Some other medications that require food for maximum absorption are
★Amoxil (Amoxicillin),
★Piriton & Promet (chlorpheniramine & Promethazine, may cause stomach irritation in some people).

So, the moral of the story?

Always double check the drug labels before taking medications and consult yon doctor or pharmacist for specific advice as some of these things I've described may be different from person to person.

If you enjoyed this, retweet the first post for someone else to have a read & follow @DehinsiluBola for more.

Have you ever taken a drug without food when it required food? What was your experience?