Take medicine while exercising, can you not and what are the rules?

Taking medication to relieve certain ailments is actually good. Unfortunately, drugs can cause side effects and some complications if taken close to exercise time. Yes, it turns out that there are several types of drugs that are prohibited to be taken before and during your exercise session. What will happen if you take medicine during exercise or before? What drugs should be avoided? Here's the explanation.

Can you not take medicine during exercise?

According to Dr. Michael Rieder, lecturer at London's University of Western Ontario, when you decide to take a drug, it's important to determine what impact it will have on the body, whether it's good or bad.

There are several types of drugs that should not be consumed near the time of your exercise, because it is feared that they will cause a number of negative side effects on the body. Here is the list.

1. Beta blockers

Beta blockers are commonly used to treat medical conditions such as high blood pressure (hypertension), heart disease, irregular heartbeats, glaucoma, and migraines. Therefore, this drug will work by slowing down your heart rate and lowering your blood pressure.

This condition is certainly contrary to one of the effects of exercise, namely an increase in heart rate. On the one hand, consumption of beta blockers can also make you feel weak, thus slowing down your body's performance.

Philip Emberley, director of the Ottawa-Based Canadian Pharmacists Association, said that taking beta blockers before exercise can certainly harm the body. It is possible that this drug can cause dizziness, disturb coordination and balance of the body, and risk causing injury.

What to do?

In fact, physical activity is highly recommended for people with heart and high blood pressure, according to dr. Jeff Goudreau, an internal medicine specialist from Texas Health Hospital Dallas, United States.

For this reason, you should further consult with your doctor if there are other alternative drugs that can be used, as well as the dosage of consumption of beta blockers that are safe for exercise. Stop exercising if you suddenly feel very dizzy and your pulse becomes irregular.

2. Antihistamines

Antihistamines play a role in relieving allergy symptoms such as runny nose and itchy skin. You do this by stopping the body's response to allergens. Several forms of antihistamines such as fexofenadine, loratadine, cetirizine, and benadryl. Unfortunately, this drug has a calming effect on the brain that can trigger drowsiness.

Of course, this type of drug is dangerous when consumed before and during exercise. Especially if the type of exercise you do requires full focus and concentration, for example HIIT.

What to do?

Claritin, alegra, or zyrtec are other types of antihistamine drugs that are less drowsy. You can also turn to nasal steroids to relieve allergy symptoms. It's important to always ask your doctor how safe it is to take medication while exercising.

3. Antidepressants

Antidepressants are designed to improve mood, especially in people with depression. In the end, antidepressants will increase feelings of fatigue and drowsiness, which makes users feel weak while exercising.

That is why antidepressant drugs are not recommended to be taken near exercise time because you need a lot of time to rest after taking this medicine.

What to do?

Dave Dixon, Pharm.D., A lecturer at Virginia Commonwealth University School of Pharmacy said that exercise is actually good for depressed patients because it is proven to improve mood.

It may be quite difficult to assess the effect of antidepressant drugs on exercise, because it usually takes several days for these drugs to show their efficacy.

The solution, you can ask the doctor about other alternative drugs that suit your condition. On the one hand, you should first identify the antidepressant dose that suits your body if you want to continue with exercise.

4. Decongestants

Decongestants play a role in the body to fight the swelling of the blood vessels that causes nasal congestion. In addition, decongestants can increase your heart rate and blood pressure.

Taking medication while exercising, especially decongenant drugs will make the body tired more easily because you have previously tried hard to fight inflammation in the nose.

What to do?

It's a good idea to postpone exercise until the side effects of decongestant drugs are completely gone. Or at least you feel you have enough energy to start exercising. To be more sure, you can talk to your doctor first.

5. Sleeping pills

Sleep pills work by mimicking chemicals in the brain (neurotransmitters), which trigger drowsiness and help you sleep better. In addition, sleeping pills will also affect the part of the brain that is responsible for maintaining body coordination.

Therefore, you will be at risk of experiencing dizziness, weakness, and drowsiness, if this drug is consumed near the time of exercise.

What to do?

The only way is to avoid taking sleeping pills when you want to exercise. It's best to let you rest enough for the side effects of sleeping pills to run out. After feeling more refreshed, you can exercise again. Because usually the effects of sleeping pills will disappear as soon as you get enough sleep.

6. Statins

Statins are drugs that are often used to control cholesterol levels. In some cases, taking statin drugs can cause swelling and pain in the muscles. These side effects usually appear within days to weeks of starting treatment.

This condition will certainly make you uncomfortable when exercising, even the positive effects of exercise will be difficult for you to get. Especially if muscle pain affects areas of the body that are actively engaged during exercise, including the legs, thighs and arms.

What to do?

There is nothing wrong with delaying exercise until the statin treatment process is complete. You can also ask your doctor when you can start exercising again after taking statins.

In essence, taking medicine during exercise should be done very carefully. If you are not sure what the effect is, first check with your doctor.