# How Does Pepto-Bismol Work? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 14, 2005, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-pepto-bismol-work/321593 "2005-09-14T14:08:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2005, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-pepto-bismol-work/321593/1 "2005-09-14T14:08:55Z")
(bismuth subsalicylate) The label says: “Soothing Relief for 5 Symptoms –Heartburn –Indigestion –Upset Stomach –Nausea –Diarrhea” Isn’t that a pretty tall order? Or are all these things the result of the same thing/condition? Their web site says some doctor created it for “child cholera,” but “studies” didn’t discover the active ingredient (bismuth subsalicylate) until long afterward. How did this doctor know what to put in? And exactly what does bismuth subsalicylate do? I know the ads say it “coats” the stomach, but I doubt one little capful could really do that. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2005, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-pepto-bismol-work/321593/2 "2005-09-14T16:54:08Z")
I don’t know how it works, but Bismuth elixers & tablets have been around since the 19th Century, made by many different people. Pepto is not likely to be the first of its kind. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2005, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-pepto-bismol-work/321593/3 "2005-09-14T17:02:09Z")
[Hope this site helps a little](http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop/NationalList/TAPReviews/BismuthSubsalicylate.pdf) (PDF): > [@](#): > > **Specific Uses:** > Bismuth subsalicylate, better known as pepto-bismol, has several uses. The main uses of pepto-bismol > include treating peptic ulcers and preventing/managing diarrhea in humans and animals (which may include > domestic animals as well as livestock). Bismuth subsalicylate may also be used as a coloring agent in > cosmetics, giving products a pearl like shine. Bismuth subsalicylate is used in the manufacture of cellulosebase, > polystyrene and phenol-formaldehyde resins and is also used in heat-sensitive paper coatings and as > stabilizer. It can be used therapeutically to treat Lupus erythematosus. 5 “Bismuth subsalicylate is > considered to have an important role in relapsing gastric ulcer[s].”6 Bismuth subsalicylate helps to coat the > ulcer, allowing it to heal. “Bismuth subsalicylate, the ingredient in Pepto-Bismol, decreases the secretion > of fluid into the intestine and inhibits the activity of bacteria. It not only controls diarrhea, but relieves the > cramps that often accompany diarrhea.”7 > > **Action:** > Bismuth subsalicylate is prescribed to treat indigestion, heartburn, diarrhea, and duodenal ulcers. \*\*Bismuth > subsalicylate stimulates the passage of fluid and electrolytes across the wall of the intestinal tract, and binds > or neutralizes the toxins of some bacteria, rendering them nontoxic. It decreases intestinal inflammation > and increases the activity of intestinal muscles and lining. \*\* It normally takes effect within 30-60 minutes. 8 > In the gastrointestinal tract, bismuth subsalicylate is converted into insoluble bismuth salts as well as > salicylic acid. Salicylate, extensively absorbed (greater than 90%), is excreted in human and animal urine. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2005, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-pepto-bismol-work/321593/4 "2005-09-14T17:11:23Z")
Bismuth has been used in medicine for over 200 years. ---
**Author:** ![BlakeTyner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@BlakeTyner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlakeTyner)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2005, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-pepto-bismol-work/321593/5 "2005-09-14T17:34:53Z")
I’m glad there’s a Pepto topic, because I’ve been wondering something for a few years. For most of my life I’ve had a horrible stomach/GI tract. In about the 4th grade I had tons of tests run and I think they finally diagnosed gastritis and IBS. Back then Zantac was about my only option. The thing is, every other day or so my stomach would hurt and prevent me from going to school. Pepto always relieved the symptoms, but my pediatrician told my mom to stop giving it because it contained salicylates. He said that, in the long run, the asprin would be more harmful to my stomach and wasn’t worth the temporary relief. After that, I got no Pepto. Nowadays my savior seems to be Nexium, but there are still a few days per month that my belly acts up in the morning. I thought about Pepto again and did a little research about it. Their website is very specific in listing “non-asprin salicylates” as an ingredient. Apparently the mint is what they’re talking about; I wasn’t really clear on that. So my question is, is Pepto truly harmful to your stomach in the long-run, or did my doc make a simple error? Was I deprived of the soothing goodness of the pink stuff for naught? ---
**Author:** ![SnakesCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@SnakesCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnakesCatLady)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2005, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-pepto-bismol-work/321593/6 "2005-09-14T18:09:11Z")
I envy people who can get relief from the pink stuff. It is one thing that will make me throw up. Every time. ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2005, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-pepto-bismol-work/321593/7 "2005-09-14T18:14:16Z")
snakescatlady, have you tried the capsules that you swallow whole? They work just as well and you don’t taste a thing. ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2005, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-pepto-bismol-work/321593/8 "2005-09-14T18:18:50Z")
I got treated for a pre-ulcerous h. pylori infection and part of the treatment included peptobismol 4 times a day for two weeks. I don’t know if it would be harmful to take it every day, but it seems odd that it would be part of the treatment for ulcers if it is an irritant. ---
**Author:** ![Teter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ea5d25/32.png) [@Teter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teter)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2005, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-pepto-bismol-work/321593/9 "2005-09-14T18:18:50Z")
> [@BlakeTyner](#): > > So my question is, is Pepto truly harmful to your stomach in the long-run, or did my doc make a simple error? Was I deprived of the soothing goodness of the pink stuff for naught? not quite an answer to your question (working on that) but here is some interesting news: [http://www.thedenverchannel.com/health/2685390/detail.html](http://www.thedenverchannel.com/health/2685390/detail.html) ---
**Author:** ![Teter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ea5d25/32.png) [@Teter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teter)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2005, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-pepto-bismol-work/321593/10 "2005-09-14T18:20:36Z")
Is There A Danger In Taking Too Much Pepto-Bismal? 08/01/2001 Q. I frequently suffer from indigestion, for which I take up to four doses of Pepto-Bismol a day. My pharmacist says that’s fine. Is it true, or is there a danger in taking too much Pepto-Bismol? A. Four doses a day for indigestion should be safe for up to a month. But with continual use of Pepto-Bismol, you may risk problems with either bismuth or salicylate, two of the primary ingredients in this digestive aid. Bismuth overdose may lead to neurological symptoms and unsteadiness, although this is unlikely with Pepto-Bismol. Salicylate is similar to an ingredient in aspirin and can interact with other drugs or cause ringing in the ears. Prolonged indigestion calls for medical diagnosis. You may be infected with Helicobacter pylori, a bacteria that can live in the stomach and cause ulcers or chronic gastritis. ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2005, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-pepto-bismol-work/321593/11 "2005-09-14T18:21:30Z")
I hate the word “bismuth”. Hearing it makes my stomach turn, as does watching Pepto commercials with that diarrhea dance.