With the cold weather and the raging influenza A, many patients have had recurrence of gastric ulcers for many years and have been in pain all night. This has made Dr. Li in the gastroscopy room very busy. Dr. Li found that, in addition to the “persistent battle” gastric ulcer patients, many of them are young people with acute onset of the disease. These young people, under the gastroscope can be seen on the surface of the gastric mucosa there are large bleeding spots and dense bleeding points, the entire gastric mucosa is like a map. This is the case of Dr. Chen and Ms. Huang who came for examination in the past few days. This caught Dr. Li’s attention, and now whenever he sees this situation, he will instantly ask: “Is it a cold recently? Have you taken cold medicine?” Some people replied, “I had a cold a few days ago and took some medicine on my own. The cold is better, but soon I feel stomach pain.” Dr. Li told him, “This is the cold medicine hurting your stomach.” Why do cold medicines cause stomach pain Many cold medicines have antipyretic and analgesic effects, so they are also called antipyretic and analgesic drugs, such as aspirin, indomethacin, ibuprofen, acetaminophen, etc.. These drugs work by inhibiting the biosynthesis of cyclooxygenase in the body to reduce fever and relieve cold symptoms such as headache and muscle aches. However, this effect brings trouble to the stomach. Cyclooxygenase in the body mainly exists in the stomach and kidney and other tissues, and is involved in the regulation of gastric mucosal blood flow and gastric mucus secretion, and has a role in protecting the gastric mucosa. After taking the drug, the synthesis of cyclooxygenase in the body is inhibited, which affects the blood flow of gastric mucosa and causes local ischemia and subepithelial bleeding. As a result, patients suffer from stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, and even vomiting blood and black stool. How to prevent Some people may say that western medicine is fast and convenient to treat cold. Indeed, although there are certain adverse reactions to western medicines containing antipyretic and analgesic effects, it is not absolutely impossible to use them, but the key is to use them appropriately. Patients who usually have stomach pain or even gastric ulcers should be cautious about taking western medicines for colds to prevent aggravating stomach pain and inducing ulcers. The elderly and children should also be used sparingly. Young and middle-aged people can use it for a short period of time if necessary, and if they can take some gastric mucosal protective agents such as aluminum thioglycollate at the same time, it will greatly improve the safety of taking the medicine. Also note that it is best not to take these drugs on an empty stomach, and do not drink alcohol during medication, because antipyretic and analgesic drugs and ethanol can play a synergistic role in damaging the gastric mucosa and aggravate the adverse effects.