Should antibiotics be taken before or after meals?

We all know that some medicines are taken before meals and some are taken after meals. Many people will pay attention to this. However, there are some medicines that we buy ourselves at the pharmacy, and there is no indication of the time to take the medicine. At this time, we don’t know how to take the medicine, which will cause us trouble. Antibiotics are very common, and many people want to know whether it is better to take antibiotics before or after meals? Let's find out below.

Generally speaking, antibiotics need to be taken after meals. This has two benefits:

1. Oral antibiotics usually need to be taken 3 to 4 times a day. Patients can avoid missing doses by taking them with meals;

2. Most antibiotics are irritating to the gastric mucosa. Taking the medicine after meals can avoid discomfort for patients.

There are two reasons why norfloxacin should be taken after meals:

1. Norfloxacin has less irritation to the gastric mucosa;

2. This antibiotic is a concentration-dependent drug. The higher the concentration, the better the efficacy. Since food will slow down the absorption rate of norfloxacin in the human body, the blood concentration of the drug when taken on an empty stomach before meals is 2 to 3 times higher than that when taken after meals, so taking it after meals will greatly reduce the efficacy.

However, for people with irregular diets, if the doctor prescribes norfloxacin, the frequency of taking the medicine is 3 times a day, starting from when you wake up, and take the medicine once every 8 hours. If you take other medicines that need to be taken after meals, but don't have time to eat, it's best to eat some biscuits before taking the medicine to reduce the irritation of the medicine to the stomach.

In addition, some patients need to take more than two drugs at the same time. Because of drug interactions, it is best to take the two drugs before and after meals respectively.

The above is an introduction to whether it is better to take antibiotics before or after meals. Now you should understand it. But this is not absolute. When taking antibiotics, you must take them according to the doctor's instructions and never take them blindly. To avoid adverse reactions to the body. If you have any health problems, you must not take antibiotics blindly. It is best to get checked first.