How much water do I need to drink when taking medicine?

When patients receive oral medications, they often wonder how much water they should take with the medicine. Is it enough to just drink some water to swallow the medicine?

Although everyone knows that oral medications should be taken with water, some patients may not know how much water to take and whether drinking more or less water affects the efficacy of the medication. Now let's talk about the amount of water you drink for oral medications.

Increasing the amount of water you drink when taking medication can improve the dissolution of drugs with low solubility or large dosage, better ensuring the efficacy. When taking conventional medications, you should use enough water (200-300mL) to take them, which can prevent the drugs from adhering to the esophageal wall and causing damage. However, some medications require limited water intake when taken. Below we list the amount of water required when taking some medications.

1. Usual water intake for different dosage forms of oral medications

Chinese medicine granules: 150-200mL water

Tablets: 150-200 mL water

Capsules: 200-300 mL water

2. Drugs that require drinking more than 1500 mL of water per day when taking the drug

(1) Bisphosphonates: Alendronate sodium, patdronate sodium, etc. are used to treat hypercalcemia.

(2) Drugs for the treatment of gout: allopurinol, benzbromarone, probenecid, etc.

(3) Antiviral drugs: protease inhibitors, such as saquinavir, ritonavir, indinavir; acyclovir, valacyclovir, etc.

(4) Quinolone drugs: ofloxacin, ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin, etc.

(5) Sulfonamides: sulfadiazine, co-trimoxazole, etc.

(6) Anti-urinary stone drugs: stone-removing soup, stone-removing granules, stone-removing agent, etc.

(7) Aminoglycosides: gentamicin, tobramycin, amikacin, etc.

(Wang Jin, Qingdao Women and Children's Hospital)