Pharmacology experts have shown that the secretion of hormones and the activity of enzymes in the human body have periodic fluctuations, and the bioavailability, metabolism, and excretion of drugs also exhibit circadian rhythm changes. So, how can we determine the optimal time to take medication in order to enhance the therapeutic effect of drugs on the body and avoid adverse reactions?
Modern medicine has proven that the human "biological clock" is very accurate. The effectiveness of drugs in the body depends on the body's biological clock and the effects of the drugs themselves. For example, taking digitalis in the morning is most effective for treating heart disease; arthritis patients achieve satisfactory results when taking anti-inflammatory drugs at 7 a.m., and taking an additional dose before bedtime improves the effect even more; taking aspirin and sulfonamide drugs in the morning has a higher efficacy; for drugs like adrenal cortex hormones, changing the three daily doses to one dose at 8 a.m. in the morning does not significantly interfere with the adrenal cortex's secretion rhythm and has fewer side effects; taking hydrocortisone and dexamethasone in a single dose in the morning at 8 a.m. has a lighter feedback on the anterior pituitary and fewer adverse reactions; taking cimetidine in the morning maintains its antihistamine effect for 17 hours, while taking it at night only maintains the effect for 6-8 hours.
Anemic patients taking iron supplements in the evening can increase the efficacy by twice as much as taking it in the morning; the blood pressure of hypertensive patients is highest in the evening and lowest in the morning, so when taking guanethidine for blood pressure reduction, the morning dose should be smaller and increased in the evening; using prostaglandin E2 for induced abortion, the best time to use it is between 5-6 p.m., as the uterine smooth muscle is most sensitive to prostaglandin at that time; taking the tranquilizer potassium chloride nitrogen in the evening is recommended, as its effect lasts 10 times longer compared to taking it in the morning.
Gastric medications should be taken 10 minutes before a meal on an empty stomach, as this promotes gastric secretion and increases appetite; anthelmintic drugs should be taken before bedtime or on an empty stomach in the morning; drugs like Gaviscon and aluminum hydroxide, which are antacids, are best taken one hour after a meal.
Antihistamines like loratadine can be taken in slightly higher doses at night; asthma patients often have attacks in the early morning because the bronchi become more sensitive to acetylcholine and histamine, which cause spasms, between midnight and 2 a.m. Therefore, taking a slightly higher dose of aminophylline or salbutamol suppository before bed can alleviate and prevent asthma attacks.
