Taking antihypertensive drugs separately can cause people to fall into a coma, so never separate these pills!

Audit expert: Wang Xuejiang

Professor of Pathophysiology, Capital Medical University, PhD Supervisor

When people eat whole grains, it is inevitable that they will get sick.

It is normal to take medicine when you are sick.

The pills are too big, I'll break them into pieces and take them in several doses!

My condition has improved, so I break it into pieces and eat half less!

If the capsules stick to your throat, pour out the powder and drink it with water!

Is this really okay?

Of course there are problems with this! And they are huge problems!

01

Taking blood pressure medication apart can cause a person to fall into a coma!

Recently, a 40-year-old hypertensive patient in Fujian suddenly felt dizzy, broke out in cold sweats, and had weak legs less than half an hour after taking antihypertensive drugs. His blood pressure was almost undetectable.

The reason for this dangerous consequence was that she bit the pill open when taking it.

It turned out that this patient had a history of hypertension for more than a year, and her blood pressure had recently reached 160/100mmHg. She thought that she was not taking enough medicine, so she bit off the antihypertensive medicine with her teeth and took half a tablet. In less than half an hour, she suddenly felt dizzy, had cold sweats, and her legs were weak and she could not stand. She collapsed on the sofa and had no strength to open her eyes. She could not even measure her blood pressure. Her family quickly sent her to the hospital. After the doctor checked, they found that the antihypertensive medicine she was taking was nifedipine controlled-release tablets .

Doctors say that one tablet of this drug is equivalent to the dosage of three ordinary nifedipine tablets. Once it is crushed, broken, ground and taken, the large dose of antihypertensive drugs will be instantly released into the body, causing a sudden and significant drop in blood pressure, and in severe cases, it may even lead to shock .

02

Can all medicines not be taken separately?

Whether the tablets can be broken or crushed depends mainly on the dosage form of the drug. Let us first have a brief understanding of the dosage form of the drug.

There are many types of tablets commonly used in clinical practice, which can be divided into ordinary compressed tablets, film-coated tablets, enteric-coated tablets, coated tablets, sublingual tablets, dispersible tablets, buccal tablets, sustained-release tablets, controlled-release tablets, effervescent tablets, etc. Among them, dispersible tablets, buccal tablets, sublingual tablets, chewable tablets, etc. can be quickly disintegrated and absorbed after entering the human body due to their relatively uniform properties. Under the premise of ensuring accurate dosage, they can be broken, crushed or chewed as required.

But in fact, most medicines cannot be broken up and taken. Once broken up, it will not only affect the efficacy of the medicine, but more seriously it will threaten your life.

03

Don't take these medicines separately!

Controlled release tablets

The "Nifedipine controlled-release tablets" we mentioned earlier are medicines that cannot be taken apart. Controlled-release tablets are a layer of insoluble semipermeable membrane wrapped around the drug, which allows water to enter but prevents the drug from leaving. They are released in the body at a constant rate, thereby maintaining the efficacy for a long time and reducing the number of times the drug is taken.

Ordinary tablets usually take effect, are absorbed, and disappear in about 4-6 hours, so they need to be taken three times a day. Controlled-release tablets can release the drug at a constant rate. The dosage is three times that of ordinary tablets and only needs to be taken once a day. The drug effect can be released at a constant rate in the body for about 24 hours.

Experts emphasize that controlled-release tablets should be swallowed whole. Biting, chewing, or breaking the tablets before taking will destroy the constant-rate slow-release function of the controlled-release tablets, which is equivalent to the patient taking three times the dose.

Sustained-release tablets

Sustained-release drugs are slightly different from controlled-release drugs. Although they are not released at a constant rate, they can release drugs slowly. The initial release amount is large, and then gradually decreases. By slowing down the drug release rate, the drug's effect time in the body is prolonged, thereby achieving the purpose of reducing the number of medications. Since the number of medications is reduced, the amount of medicine in it must be higher than the dosage of ordinary drugs.

Most controlled-release and sustained-release tablets cannot be broken apart and taken, but there are some special cases where they can be taken. Generally speaking, tablets that can be broken apart and taken will have scores on them, so you can break them along the scores and take them, but they cannot be chewed or ground before taking .

Enteric-coated tablets

Enteric-coated tablets are coated with a layer of "enteric coating" to allow the drug to bypass the stomach and dissolve in the intestines.

Source: Health News

If you break it apart and take it, the drug may dissolve in the stomach, which may not only easily cause the drug to become ineffective due to the influence of gastric acid, but may also irritate the gastric mucosa and cause discomfort.

Capsule type

Many people don't like taking capsule-type medicines, as they feel that the outer layer of the capsule will stick to the mouth or throat when swallowing, so they choose to open the capsule, extract the powder and drink it with water. But this is wrong!

Once the capsule is broken open and taken, the drug may be affected by stomach acid and cannot be released at a specific location, affecting the efficacy of the drug. It may also increase the drug's adverse reactions to the gastrointestinal tract.

Chemotherapy drugs, targeted drugs

Be careful not to break up the pills when taking these drugs, especially chemotherapy drugs, which are usually more toxic. Be careful when using them and follow your doctor's instructions.

0 4

Read the instructions carefully!

If the drug does not fall into the above categories, but you want to know whether you can break it up and take it, in addition to consulting a doctor, you should carefully read the instructions before taking the drug. If the instructions do not clearly state that you can break it up and take it, or there are instructions such as "swallow the whole pill", you should swallow it intact to ensure the safety and effectiveness of the drug.