Help minimize any risk of side effects to Coxibs.

One of the most serious side effects of Coxibs is an increased risk of gastrointestinal bleeding. This risk might be minimized by ensuring that nutritional support is provided to improve the gastrointestinal tract's ability to protect itself from erosion. Improving blood flow to the stomach lining and enhancing the stomachs ability to build a protective mucosal barrier between itself and the contents of the stomach, are very important to minimize this side effect. For a listing of all Coxib side effects click here.

• GI Flora: Regular ingestion of probiotic bacteria protects the integrity of the gastric mucosal barrier against NSAID-induced damage and permeability. While selective COX-2 inhibitors were theorized to provide the advantages of NSAIDS without producing GI injury, current evidence casts doubt as to whether these drugs have any significant advantage with respect to GI safety compared to NSAIDS. Because of this, similar GI mucosal protecting strategies as to what would be used with NSAIDS are advised.
• Cod Liver Oil: Animal experiments have found that cod liver oil supplementation protects gastric mucosa against NSAID-induced (1) depletion of gastric wall mucus, (2) depletion of non protein sulfhydryl groups, and (3) formation of gastric lesions. In humans, fish oil has similarly indicated an ability of fish oil to counteract NSAID-induced GI side effects. Supplementation with cod liver oil is highly recommended because of these beneficial effects and because it supplies vitamin A -- a vitamin which is needed for GI mucosal function and which has been shown to protect GI mucosa from NSAID-induced damage. While selective COX-2 inhibitors were theorized to provide the advantages of NSAIDS without producing GI injury, current evidence casts doubt as to whether these drugs have any significant advantage with respect to GI safety compared to NSAIDS. Because of this, similar GI mucosal protecting strategies as to what would be used with NSAIDS are advised.
• Fish Oil: Animal experiments have found that fish oil supplementation (1) offsets NSAID-induced decreases in gastric mucosal blood flow, and (2) results in a significant reduction in NSAID-induced gastric mucosal damage. In human trials, evidence has similarly indicated an ability of fish oil to counteract NSAID-induced GI side effects. Supplementing the diet with fish oil has also been reported to result in subjective improvement in pain and inflammation under certain clinical conditions resulting in an ability to, over time, reduce or stop treatment with NSAIDs. While selective COX-2 inhibitors were theorized to provide the advantages of NSAIDS without producing GI injury, current evidence casts doubt as to whether these drugs have any significant advantage with respect to GI safety compared to NSAIDS. Because of this, similar GI mucosal protecting strategies as to what would be used with NSAIDS are advised.

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