The expert spoke about the dangers of drinking medicines with tea or milk

Medications should be washed down only with clean water, otherwise the risk of loss of effect and side effects increases. Alexander Bykov, Director of Healthcare Economics at R-Pharm Group of Companies, told Izvestia on September 15 about which liquids can reduce the effectiveness of therapy.

"Manufacturers calculate dosages and predict effects based on the fact that the patient will use a neutral liquid. Any deviation from this standard turns taking the medicine into an unpredictable experiment," the expert said.

Bykov noted that tea and coffee can disrupt the absorption of drugs. The tannins in tea bind to medicines, forming insoluble complexes that are not absorbed in the intestine. Caffeine can enhance the toxic effects of some drugs or block the effects of others, especially those that affect the cardiovascular and nervous systems.

In addition, juices, especially citrus fruits, destroy the protective shells of tablets designed to gradually release the substance, which can lead to an overdose. Grapefruit juice, in turn, blocks liver enzymes that break down many medications, which increases the concentration of drugs in the blood and increases the risk of side effects.

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"Dairy products contain high concentrations of calcium and casein proteins, which form stable complexes with medicinal substances. Tetracycline antibiotics are the most vulnerable, because their activity is blocked even by a small amount of milk," Bykov said.

He drew attention to the fact that soda and too hot drinks can also negatively affect the effectiveness of treatment, as they change the acidity of the environment in the stomach, which disrupts the dissolution of certain drugs.

An important factor, according to the expert, is the volume of liquid. Lack of water when washed down can irritate the mucous membrane of the esophagus, as the tablet may get stuck and begin to dissolve in it.

"If there is no clean water at hand, and taking medication is critically important (for example, during an attack of angina or asthma), it is better to take the drug with any available liquid than not to take it at all. But these are exceptional cases, not the rule," Bykov concluded.

On September 8, doctor and TV presenter Alexander Myasnikov called aspirin the most dangerous medicine in Russia. In other countries, this drug has been discontinued in the absence of a life-threatening vasoconstriction. The specialist clarified that due to its blood-thinning properties, aspirin can cause brain hemorrhages and severe bleeding.

All important news is on the Izvestia channel in the MAX messenger.