why are pills so intense on the stomach?

375 viewsBiologyOther

According to google, the maximum dosage of ibuprofen is 3200mg divided into 3 or 4 equal dosages (that’s 800mg every 6 hours). For reference, that is less than the weight of a paperclip. So what makes pills so strong that it’s extrmeley dangerous for a stomach that can literally devour steel to consume more than a paperclip weight of ibuprofen every 6 hours?

And that’s only ibuprofen, i’ve taken others meds which were WAY lower at 80mg max dosage and another one 10mg!

Note: didn’t know what to put as flair since it’s technically medicine or biochem (neither are available) so i chose biology since i’m focusing on an organ

In: Biology

7 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

It’s not because of the effect of the pills *in* the stomach.

NSAIDs like Ibuprofin work by acting on the Arachadonic acid pathway, where they inhibit Cyclooxygenase enzymes.

These enzymes do a couple of things, most notable they mediate inflammation (hence these drugs are anti-inflammatory) but they also have a role in protecting and repairing the gut.

So when you have a lot of these drugs you really strip down the guts protection and repair mechanisms. It’ll cause ulcers and then prevent them from healing.

This is why you’re not supposed to us NSAIDs if you have any form of gut inflammation or other injury.

You are viewing 1 out of 7 answers, click here to view all answers.