How to eat aspirin before or after a meal

　　Aspirin is a commonly used medicine, I believe everyone is familiar with it.

There has been controversy over how to eat aspirin so as not to hurt the stomach.

So, should this medicine be taken before meals or after meals?

In fact, the answer is not simple.

　　Is there only one type of aspirin?

Did you know that aspirin is a big family with many dosage forms, including: aspirin tablets, aspirin chewable tablets, aspirin effervescent tablets, aspirin dispersible tablets, aspirin sustained-release tablets, aspirin enteric-coated tablets, aspirin enteric-coated sustained-release tablets , Aspirin buffer tablets, aspirin enteric-coated capsules, aspirin sustained-release capsules, aspirin powder, aspirin suppositories, etc.

　　We usually use the most commonly used aspirin in these two dosage forms: aspirin tablets and aspirin enteric-coated tablets. This article mainly introduces these two preparations.

　　Eat before or after meals?

Taking aspirin orally will have a certain irritation to the stomach and easily cause gastric mucosal damage, which can lead to gastric ulcer or gastric bleeding.

Therefore, the common dosage form of aspirin, that is, aspirin tablets, is more appropriate to take after meals.

Because, after a meal, food can be used to reduce the stimulation of aspirin on the stomach, but this will inevitably offset part of the efficacy of the drug.

　　So there is the development of another dosage form of aspirin-enteric-coated tablets, which are currently used by most clinically.

　　Aspirin enteric-coated tablets are basically insoluble in the acidic environment of the stomach.

After reaching the duodenum, it begins to dissolve in the alkaline environment of the intestine, thereby reducing the irritation to the stomach.

Therefore, do not break or chew aspirin enteric-coated tablets, otherwise the capsule will be destroyed and increase irritation to the stomach.

　　If aspirin enteric-coated tablets are taken after a meal, the drug will stay longer in the stomach due to food. This will cause a part of the drug to be released from the capsule and stimulate the gastric mucosa. The longer the stay, the more the pH in the stomach. The higher the value, the more the drug will dissolve in the stomach.

　　In order to minimize the time that aspirin enteric-coated tablets stay in the stomach, it is more appropriate to take them before meals.

　　Key points: Aspirin enteric-coated tablets are best taken in the morning on an empty stomach.

It should be noted that aspirin enteric-coated sustained-release tablets should be taken after meals, not on an empty stomach.

The common dosage form of aspirin is more suitable to be taken after breakfast to reduce the irritation of the gastrointestinal tract.

　　Text/Huang Liuhuan

　　(Department of Vascular Surgery, Shijingshan Hospital, Beijing)