The federal government takes precautions to ensure that medicines available to us are safe
and effective. Doctors and pharmacists can help. But ultimately, each one of us is
responsible for how we take our medicines. Here's what you can do to ensure you or your
loved one are taking medicines safely:
Take medicine in its original form. Never crush pills
or open capsules to make them easier to swallow, unless approved by a health care
professional. Changing the form of medicine may alter its stability and absorption. Some
medications are coated to protect them from gastric enzymes or to protect the stomach from
drug irritation; if crushed or broken, they may not work as intended.
Drug overdose can result from changing the form of medicines. Some
medicines are designed with multiple coatings of time-release beads that permit slow
absorption of the medicine. When time release capsules are crushed, a greater than normal
amount of the medicine is released, and overdose or intense side effects can occur.
Take medicines with water. Water is the best beverage
for taking medicines. Drink a full glass.
- Do not mix medicines into hot drinks. Hot temperatures can
destroy the
effectiveness of certain drugs.
- Do not swallow medicine with alcohol. Alcohol can dissolve coatings
on time-
released tablets and capsules, causing too much medication to be released
too soon. Drinking even a small amount of alcohol with certain medicines can
greatly increase the depressant effect on the brain. Mixing alcohol and some
medicines may cause excessive drowsiness, coma or death. Drinking alcohol
is particularly dangerous with the following medicines:
- Antihistamines
- Tranquilizers, sedatives or barbiturates
- Antidepressants
- Pain medication
Do not mix medicines with food. For example, do not
crush a pill and put it in your
applesauce, unless your doctor or pharmacist approves. Although it may be easier to take a
medicine mixed with food, it may alter a medication's effectiveness. If you are given
approval to mix a medicine with food, mix only one dose at a time just before your loved
one takes it.
Read the label before taking medicine. Make sure you
or your loved one is taking the right medicine before taking it. Get into the habit of
verifying the name of the label, not just the shape or color of the container.
- Never take medicines in the dark, no matter how sure you or
your loved one
is about the location. Turn on the light and read the label.
- If you or your loved one wear glasses, make sure they are on
before taking
the medication.
- If the print on labels is too small, ask the pharmacist to
write instructions in
large print.
Discard medicines that are old or have changed. Don't
take any medicine that is
expired, decayed or changed, in an unlabeled container or no longer needed. Throw it out.
Medicines do not last indefinitely. Manufacturers conduct tests to determine the length of
time a given drug stays active and can be stored safely. The expiration date is valid only
if a medicine has been stored properly. Medicine, which has changed in color or odor, is
crumbly, or appears different in any way may be toxic or have lost its effectiveness. An
expiration date is on all prescription and over-the-counter labels.
Keep an up-to-date medication record. This should
include all prescription and over-the-counter medicines, their dosages, and how long you
or your loved one have taken them. Share this record with your doctors. This is
particularly important if you or your loved one see more than one doctor. This record
helps your doctors prescribe medicine that won't interact badly with another. Use the Prism Medical
Manager to occasionally review your loved one's need for medicine with the doctor.
Prescription Medicine
The use of some medicines must be closely monitored and controlled.
You should keep the doctor informed about all health conditions and follow prescription
instructions carefully.
Take medicines as directed. If you do not follow the
instructions exactly, your own or your loved one's medicines may not work properly.
- Don't change the dosage or schedule without
checking with the doctor. Increasing or decreasing a dosage or taking a medicine more or
less often than prescribed can seriously reduce its effectiveness. "More is
better" does not apply to medicines.
- If you or your loved one misses a dose, don't take
a double dose to make up
for it.
- Don't try to save medicine. Take medicine as
prescribed to protect your own or your loved ones health; it is far less expensive than
hospitalization.
Tell the doctor if you or your loved one didn't have a
prescription filled or didn't take the prescribed dosage. Otherwise, the doctor
may think the treatment is not working and prescribe another medicine – which may be
less effective or have more side effects than the original medicine-when the problem is
that the medicine was not taken as directed. Keep a record of any doses that are missed
and share this with the doctor.
Take medicine until the doctor tells you or your loved one to
stop. Even if the
symptoms have disappeared and you or your loved one feel better, continue taking the
medicine as directed until it is gone. If you or your loved one stop taking it too soon,
the symptoms may return or worsen. If you feel the medicine is not doing what the doctor
said it would do, or if it seems to be causing more harm than good, call the doctor.
Take medicines prescribed only for you. Sharing
prescription medicines is dangerous. Never take medicine prescribed for someone else or
lend medicines to others. Even though symptoms appear to be the same, you or your loved
one may be suffering from an entirely different problem. Prescriptions are written based
on a person's health problem, physical condition, age, and weight. What is safe and
effective for one person may produce side effects, no relief or a severe reaction for
another person.
Know what the prescription label information means. Labels
provide information about how to use medicine. But, sometimes instructions may not be
clear or correctly understood. For example, do you or your loved one know what these
instructions mean?
- Take as directed. What were the directions?
- Take three times a day. Around the clock or during
waking hours? Do you take at
specific times evenly spaced, such as 7 A.M., 3 P.M., and 11P.M. or do you just take
three doses any time during the day?
- Take as needed. As needed for what? What determines
need? Headache, back pain, or… Does as needed for pain mean severe pain or should you
take it for minor
discomfort?
- Take two tablets daily. When? Morning or afternoon,
or one in the morning and one in the afternoon?
- Take before bedtime. Immediately before bed or 1-2
hours before?
- Take before meals. Immediately before meals or 1-2
hours before?
If instructions seem vague, ask your pharmacist for advice about when and how to take the
medicine.
Carry a medication record card in your own and your loved ones
wallet. The card should list important facts about health, such as health
problems, medicines taken and drugs to which you or your loved one are allergic. It could
save your own or your loved ones life! The information is helpful if you or your loved one
are involved in an accident, faint, black out or are away from home and require medicine.
Emergency staff can provide better treatment if they have this information.
Wear an emergency medical identification bracelet or chain
if you or your loved one are allergic to a medicine or other substances (for example, bee
venom), or if you or your loved one have a medical condition, such as diabetes, that
affects treatment in an emergency. Contact your pharmacist or Medic Alert (1-800-432-5378)
for an emergency medical identification to keep with you or your loved one at all times.
Do not ask the pharmacist for unprescribed refills.
Refrain from asking your
pharmacist to refill a prescription without consulting with the doctor first. A pharmacist
is legally obligated to only dispense medicine prescribed by a medical doctor. Some
medicines are habit forming; others should not be taken for extended periods of time.
Generally, automatic refills should be avoided. Your own and your loved ones medication
should be reevaluated at regular intervals.
Over-the-Counter Medicine
Give as much care to taking over-the-counter medicine as you give
taking prescription medicines. Over-the-counter medicine differs from prescribed medicine
in that the active ingredients, mix of ingredients, and recommended dose are considered
relatively safe.
If taken in large doses, some over-the-counter medicines are equal in strength to
prescription medicines. Some medicine that formally required a prescription is now
available over-the-counter. For example, the pain reliever ibuprofen is now a common
ingredient in many over-the-counter medications.
Don't use any over-the-counter drug longer than recommended on the label without first
checking with the doctor or pharmacist.
Just because a medicine can be purchased without a prescription does not mean it is 100
percent safe. Over-the-counter medicines can create problems in these ways:
- Change the effect of prescribed medicines. Over-the-counter
medicine may make a prescribed medicine either stronger or less effective. As a result,
the doctor, unaware that you are taking over-the-counter medicines, may mistakenly
decrease or increase the dosage of the prescribed medicine.
- Mask symptoms of disease. Antacids, for example, taken for an
upset stomach may cover up warning symptoms of ulcers and delay diagnosis and treatment.
- Lead to overdose. An over-the-counter medicine can have effects
similar to a prescribed medicine. Combined, the medications may lead to drug overdose.
- Alter normal body function. Habitual use of laxatives and
enemas, for example, can decrease normal bowel functions.
- Aggravate existing health problems. For example, antacids may
produce magnesium toxicity in some patients with kidney problems. Some antacids contain
large amounts of sodium (for example, Alka Seltzer and Bromo Seltzer), and should not be
taken by people on low sodium diets because it may alter their blood pressure.
Read the label on the package. Labels for
over-the-counter medicines have detailed information. Reading and understanding product
labels is critical to using over-the-counter medicines safely. It's especially important
to read labels carefully if you have a special health problem or are on a special diet.
For instance:
- If you or your loved one have high blood pressure or diabetes,
you should not take
decongestants unless prescribed by a doctor.
- If you or your loved one have high blood pressure, or are on a
low sodium or salt-free diet, you should avoid products containing sodium bicarbonate (a
common antacid) or other forms of sodium. Labels provide ingredient information and may
indicate whether a product is considered salt-free or low in sodium.
Read the label before purchasing an over-the-counter medicine so you are sure it is safe
for you or your loved one.
Read the label even if you have purchased the product before because ingredients change.
New warnings are sometimes added. Watch for label banners or flags indicating a
significant product change. Be sure you understand the following:
- Indications for use. Is the drug meant to be used in the way
you plan to use it?
- Ingredients. Does the product contain anything you or your
loved one should avoid? What are the active and inactive ingredients? What do they do?
- Are you or your loved one allergic to any of the ingredients?
- Are you or your loved one sensitive to any ingredients because
of a chronic health condition?
- If you or your loved one are on a low-salt diet, what is the
sodium content?
- If you or your loved one are on a low-sugar diet, what is the
sugar content?
- Warnings. What are the product warnings?
- Who should not take the medicine?
- Should you or your loved one use it for a short time only?
- Are you or your loved one currently taking any medicine that
the medication should not be taken with?
- Are there any foods or beverages you or your loved one should
avoid while taking the medication?
- Are there any circumstances under which a person should see a
doctor before taking the medicine?
- What are the symptoms that indicate the medication should be
discontinued?
- When should a doctor be consulted if symptoms persist?
- Directions: What are the directions for taking the medicine?
- What is the appropriate dose?
- How often should it be taken?
- How long should it be taken?
- How should it be taken?
- Cautions: What should you or your loved one be cautious about
with this product?
- Are there any activities you or your loved one should avoid
while taking the medicine (for example, driving, drinking alcoholic beverages)?
- Can you or your loved one follow the cautions?
- What should you or your loved one do in the case of an
overdose?
- What are possible side effects? What side effects might you or
your loved one expect?
- When does the medicine expire? After what date should you or
your loved one no longer use the medicine?
Most over-the-counter medicines have tamper-resistant packaging and carry information
about how to check for evidence of tampering. Do not take the medicine if packaging or
contents are not intact or look questionable.
Generic Medicine
Your pharmacist can also help you and your loved one decide whether to use a less
expensive generic drug instead of a brand-name drug. A generic name is the name given when
a new medicine is invented. It's the medicine's official name. A brand name is the name a
company gives a drug for marketing purposes. Examples of generic and brand name medicines
are:
GENERIC: Aspirin
BRAND NAME: Bayer, Bufferin, Anacin
GENERIC: Diazepam
BRAND NAME: Valium
GENERIC: Acetominopen
BRAND NAME: Tylenol
A generically equivalent medicine is usually less expensive. Because of the costs that
drug companies incur in developing advertising and promoting their products, brand name
medicines are generally higher in price than products sold under the generic name.
Both brand name and generic medicines must meet standards and be approved by the
United States Food and Drug Administration. A generically equivalent drug has the same
active ingredients, strength and dosage as its brand name counterpart. Before switching to
a generic medicine, check with your doctor or pharmacist.
Not all drugs are available in generic form. After developing a new medicine, a company
receives a patent on it that lasts for 17 years. During this time, no other company can
manufacture it and it is not available in generic form. Ask your doctor or pharmacist to
see if a generic drug is available.
Continue to Chapter 4: Storing
Medicines...
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