Administering medicine to infants and toddlers is an incredibly challenging task for parents, as children are often uncooperative and parents cannot force it down. Consequently, many parents resort to clever tricks: mixing the medication with milk or using milk to wash it down. However, Wu Junyan, Deputy Director of the Pharmacy Department of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, states that many drugs can react chemically with milk, which affects absorption and can even be harmful to the human body.
Medical Guidance/ Wu Junyan, Deputy Director of the Pharmacy Department, Second Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University. Taking Medicine with Milk Increases the Burden on the Stomach
Deputy Director Wu Junyan points out that clinically, it is known that many parents have used milk to administer medication to their children. While this method is convenient, it is highly inadvisable from a medical perspective.
Wu Junyan explains that milk contains a high concentration of inorganic substances such as calcium, phosphorus, iron, various vitamins, proteins, amino acids, and fats. These substances can easily react with drugs, forming stable chelates or insoluble salts, which makes the drug difficult to absorb. Some drugs may even be broken down by these ions, reducing their concentration in the blood and affecting their efficacy. At the same time, the body's absorption of milk is also affected, and it adds to the stomach's burden.
"It is best to take medicine with plain water, not with milk, tea, or other beverages. After an infant takes medication, there should be a period of time before they breastfeed again," Deputy Director Wu Junyan explains. Certain substances in the human body can interact with some drugs, affecting their absorption and even producing toxic effects. Tetracyclines: can bind with calcium ions in milk, preventing the drug from being absorbed and can also cause teeth to turn gray. Iron-containing drugs: such as anti-anemia drugs like ferrous sulfate, drinking milk can reduce their iron absorption. Levodopa: amino acids in milk can decrease absorption, reducing the drug's efficacy. These drugs should not be taken with milk.
Deputy Director Wu Junyan summarizes that the drugs that should not be taken with milk include the following: tetracyclines (tetracycline, oxytetracycline, doxycycline, etc.), anti-anemia drugs (ferrous sulfate, ferrous carbonate, and other iron preparations), cardiac glycosides (digoxin, cedilanid, etc.), anti-Parkinson's drugs (such as levodopa), central nervous system depressants (chloral hydrate, phenobarbital, etc.), some antacids (bismuth subcitrate, sodium bicarbonate, etc.), calcium and aluminum preparations (calcium gluconate, aluminum hydroxide, etc.), aminophylline, isoniazid, and the vast majority of Chinese herbal medicines and patent medicines. "Because the alkaloids in Chinese herbal medicine can also react with amino acids in milk, causing them to lose their proper effect and even produce adverse stimulation or allergic reactions," Director Wu stated.
At the same time, Deputy Director Wu Junyan also points out that some drugs do not interact with milk when taken together and may even be beneficial for absorption, such as certain fat-soluble drugs. "However, this situation is quite special. Therefore, unless a doctor or pharmacist instructs you to take it with milk, or the drug's instructions recommend it, you should not take milk and drugs together. It is generally recommended to take milk and drugs two hours apart to avoid the adverse effects of their interaction," Director Wu believes.