I’m in the habit of taking pills dry, with at most a sip of water to help them go down. Recently, someone saw me doing this with Aleve, and warned me that the label says to drink a full glass of water with every dose. Supposedly, taking Aleve without drinking a full glass of water does Bad Things™. The Aleve website doesn’t mention what happens if you don’t drink a full glass of water, but since then I’ve gotten answers ranging from the Aleve not working, to it inhibiting digestion, all the way to intestinal damage!:eek: So, is it really necessary to drink a full glass of water with every dose of Aleve, and what will happen if I don’t?
My company used to make Aleve, but it was “leveraged” away by Roche. So I can’t find this information now. The best way to find out might be to call the toll free number on the package and tell them you’ve taken their pills without any water and ask them if you should rush to the emergency room. They’ll probably explain to you what things to expect.
A pal of mine just ruptured two discs [OW, and he has two small children who don’t understand why Daddy can’t pick them up]. He was told Aleve can be too harsh for the stomach in some way; didn’t specify bleeding ulcers or anything.
Sorry not much help
MY WAG would be that the full glass of water is to ensure that the tablets make it all the way into your stomach, instead of becoming lodged in your esophagus. Typically, if the concern is with harshness to the stomach lining the recommendation will be to take the medication on a full stomach, or with food.
ShibbOleth: That’s a good idea, except what I ACTUALLY have is Target™ Brand Naproxen Sodium Capsule-Shaped Tablets®. There’s no 1-800 number on the bottle, and the box is long-since discarded.
1-800-395-0689.
Just a guess, but there are pharmaceutical tests that determine disintegration time of tablets in water, and in simulated gastric juices, as well as dissolution assays in each medium which can help determine how fast and how effective the delivery of the drug dosage is. If, for example, Aleve had a slower disintegration/dissolution in water, thereby extending the effect of the drug and making it more long-lasting (and thereby making it more effective for its intended purpose), then the product would be recommended to be taken with a large glass of water. Taking the pill “dry” might expose it quicker to the gastric juices, which may disintegrate and dissolve the drug faster, giving you a quick dose of the drug, but not extending its effect over the intended period of time.
As I said, this is just a WAG. I haven’t thought this out in enough detail to determine whether this makes any biological sense, but I imagine there MUST be a reason for me doing the tests I do while at work (I’m a physical tester for a pharmaceutical company).
My wife developed internal bleeding from taking pills dry. We have some interesting pictures of her red insides from the scope.
Even she is now careful to take pills with liquids.
Warning: If you have a history of gastric bleeding, don’t think that it’s safe to take NSAIDS like naproxen or ibuprofen or aspirin or others if you take them with food or liquids. The drug causes bleeding not by lying directly on the stomach lining and eroding it, but rather by inhibiting prostaglandins, which it does after its absorbed into your blood. The reduced prostaglandin activity reduces the stomach’s own protective lining, allowing the acid in the stomach to more easily digest itself.
Yes, putting something in your stomach for the acid to act on or be diluted by can be helpful, but its not a cure-all.
I suspect they say take with a full glass of water to reduce the risk of the pill hanging up in the esophagus, and not dissolving completely. Also NSAIDS can be hard on the kidneys, which danger is theoretically reduced if the patient is well-hydrated while taking the drug.
QtM, MD
If a pill says to take a full glass of water instead of something like “With water or milk” it’s because… drumrooooooll, drinking 8 ounces of water has a mild anti-inflammatory effect and will help your headache and may help an ache or pain.
Thanks for the info guys.
Aleve can be very rough on the stomach. I suspect it’s what gave me the ulcer I had a few years ago (a 19 year old with an ulcer, huh.).
I took a lot of them, though, because they were the only thing that really worked for me for muscle aches and such. I probably popped 2 or 3 of them a day for 6 months.
I always dry swallow asperin, but since Aleve has become my pill of choice I get a kind of burning sensation, so I take em with a sip of water.
You are correct that Aleve and most other pain relievers can be tough on your innards. But it’s pretty much accepted these days that stomach ulcers are caused by bacteria most of the time. Of course, it seems logical to me that if your stomach is irritated by taking too much aspirin, Aleve, Advil or whatever, that the germs might have an easier time of it.