Can I take anti-inflammatory drugs before going to bed?

There are many types of anti-inflammatory drugs, and in daily life, they are often used to deal with some diseases, such as cold medicine. However, the use of anti-inflammatory drugs cannot be blind. At the same time, the more anti-inflammatory drugs you take, the better, and you should not change the medicine frequently. You can take anti-inflammatory drugs before going to bed.

Misconception 1: Antibacterial drugs are anti-inflammatory drugs and cold medicines, and are used when you are sick.

Many people equate antibiotics with anti-inflammatory drugs or cold medicines, and take them immediately once they have inflammation or a "cold." In fact, antibiotics are only suitable for inflammation caused by bacteria, and are ineffective against other types of inflammation, such as allergic inflammation (such as contact dermatitis), allergic inflammation (such as allergic asthma) and other sterile inflammation. Likewise, antibiotics should not be used to treat viral colds. If abused, it will not only be useless but harmful. Because there are a large number of normal and beneficial bacteria in the human body, these bacteria restrict each other and maintain the balance of the body's microecology. If antibiotics are used without considering the disease, they will kill the normal beneficial bacteria in the body, cause dysbacteriosis, and lead to the occurrence of other diseases.

Misconception 2: The newer the antibiotic, the better; the wider the antibacterial range, the better; and the more expensive, the better.

Many people tend to be superstitious about new, good and expensive antibiotics when using them, believing that "the newer the better" and "the more expensive the better". In fact, each antibiotic has different advantages and disadvantages, and generally should be chosen according to the disease and the person. For example, erythromycin is an old antibiotic and is very cheap. It has a very good effect on pneumonia caused by Legionella and Mycoplasma infections. However, very expensive carbapenem antibiotics and third-generation cephalosporins are not as effective as erythromycin in treating these diseases. Some old medicines have relatively stable efficacy and are cheap, and since people don’t use them often, their efficacy may be better.

In addition, when we use antibiotics to treat infections, the normal flora in the body will also be killed or inhibited. However, the extent to which it is affected by antibiotics depends on whether the antimicrobial spectrum of the selected antibiotic is broad or narrow. Antibiotics with a narrow antibacterial spectrum are only active against one or a few bacteria, such as penicillin G, which mainly acts only on positive cocci; broad-spectrum antibiotics are active against two or more bacteria, such as ceftriaxone, which is effective against a variety of Enterobacteriaceae; ultra-broad-spectrum antibiotics are active against a variety or most bacteria, such as Tylenol, which is not only effective against Gram-positive bacteria and Gram-negative bacteria, but also against anaerobic bacteria. It can be seen that the broader the antibacterial spectrum of an antibiotic, the more bacteria are affected, and the more normal bacteria are killed or inhibited.

Therefore, the treatment of infection should use narrow-spectrum, targeted antibiotics based on the pathogens causing the infection. This can not only effectively kill pathogens and achieve the purpose of treating diseases, but also avoid or reduce the killing or inhibitory effects on normal flora.

Misconception 3: Improper treatment course, frequent dressing changes, or treatment course that is too short or too long.

Some patients have too high expectations of antibiotics. If there is no obvious improvement after using a certain antibiotic for one or two days, they ask the doctor to switch to other antibiotics or add other antibiotics. The duration of treatment should depend on the severity of the infection, the clinical response, and the type of bacteria. Usually for acute infections, the course of antibiotic treatment is 5 to 7 days, or the drug can be stopped 3 days after symptoms and signs disappear. If several antibiotics are used to treat a common cold, it will increase bacterial resistance and may cause secondary infection.