Many people will have stomach discomfort after taking aspirin, and some will even have stomach bleeding. The biggest concern for people taking aspirin is the side effects in the digestive tract, and some people even refuse to take aspirin because they are overly worried. In fact, the benefits of aspirin are significantly more than its side effects. Here’s what we should do if we take aspirin with side effects. Why does aspirin cause adverse digestive reactions? In the local action, aspirin can directly stimulate the mucous membrane of the digestive tract and destroy the hydrophobic protective barrier of the gastric mucosa, producing direct irritation to the gastric mucosa; in the systemic action, aspirin can directly inhibit the activity of COX-1 and COX-2 in the gastric mucosa, thus making the prostaglandin production decrease, prostaglandin is the protective factor of the gastric mucosa, and his decrease means that the protective mechanism of the gastric mucosa is damaged, accelerating Damage to the gastric mucosa is accelerated. When to take aspirin? Many people think that aspirin is irritating to the stomach and should be taken after a meal, but this is wrong. Most of the aspirin we take now is enteric aspirin, which generally disintegrates in an alkaline environment, i.e. the intestine. When taken after a meal, food raises the acidity of the gastric juice and the drug dissolves easily. At the same time, the drug mixed with food in the stomach for a longer period of time, easy to make the intestinal dissolution film destruction increase the chances of dissolution in the stomach. If it is taken before meal, because the acidic environment in the stomach is strong in fasting, the drug is not easy to dissolve and the gastric emptying speed is fast, the residence time in the stomach is short, so it can reduce the damage to the gastric mucosa. Therefore, it is recommended that aspirin enteric tablets be taken before meals to minimize the occurrence of stomach discomfort. How to pre-treat patients at high risk of GI injury? For patients at high risk of GI injury, we should give active preventive treatment. If patients are not contraindicated, they can be given acid-suppressing drugs, i.e. PPI preparations, and if PPI is not tolerated, H2 receptor antagonists can be used instead. If there are still symptoms of gastric discomfort or active bleeding, we should weigh the need to discontinue the drug according to the patient’s specific situation. During the period of use, patients should pay attention to the nature and color of stools, and seek medical attention if anemia or black or fresh blood stools occur; they should also have regular follow-up in the hospital and have regular fecal occult blood and blood tests to avoid serious hemorrhage. In summary, if you have stomach discomfort after taking aspirin, please pay attention to take aspirin before meals and add PPI preparations to protect the gastric mucosa, of course, if you are not sure, please consult a doctor in time and carry out standardized treatment under the guidance of a doctor.