subject: Drug Interactions: What You Need To Know [print this page] Most people are prescribed at least 1 medication through-out their lives. This is not including the use of over-the-counter medications that many of us stock up on. Unfortunately users of prescribed and over-the-counter drugs remain to be uneducated about how to thoroughly read drug labels and what to look for in terms of drug interactions. This guide will help you understand the facts about drug interactions and the dangers that could happen from neglecting to read between the lines.
There are multiple kinds of drug interactions:
The first drug interaction we will talk about is drug-drug interactions. Drug-drug interactions take place when multiple drugs create a reaction with each other. Users that experience this issue will notice confusing side effects that were initially not expected when prescribed their medications.
Next we have drug-condition interactions. Drug-condition interactions take place when a former medication causes a newly prescribed drug to create unexpected and unwanted side effects.
Lastly, there is drug-food interactions. Drug-food interactions take place when medications react with food or drinks a user consumes.
When any of these interactions occur, users will experience undesired and usually unexpected side effects. Some of these side effects can be harmless, while others can be very harmful and dangerous. These drug interactions can also cause medications to be less or more effective than initially expected. You can follow these simple steps in order to avoid and reduce the risk of drug interactions.
If you are seeing multiple doctors, make sure all doctors know the same information about your health and the medicines you take. This will decrease your risk of drug interactions since each doctor will be on the same page and not prescribe you medications that could react with one another.
Make your doctor(s) aware of all former or currently occurring health conditions you have.
Tell your doctor(s) about previous allergic reactions to certain medications or any other kind of substance, including food and drink.
When your doctor(s) prescribe you any medication, ask them any questions you may have about the drug. Also ask for informational resources on the drug, such as paper pamphlets.
Research the drug on your own time. Go online to credible websites and read all the information you can. There are many reliable websites available.
Lastly, we will talk about over-the-counter medications and how to read their labels. When looking at the labels for OTC drugs, we're usually overwhelmed with the large amount of text crammed into one small section. Here's some techniques that will make OTC drug information easier to understand.
The first thing you want to do is look for the active ingredients and the purpose of those active ingredients. For example, many pain-relieving OTC drugs use the active ingredient acetaminophen, which is used to lessen inflammation in the body, therefore causing a decrease in pain. Also take a look at the inactive ingredients list, just to make sure there's nothing that could cause you to have an allergic reaction.
Next, check for the warning list. The warning label found on OTC drugs will make you aware of several factors. 1) When to stop taking the drug. 2) Why to talk to a professional doctor before using. 3) Other drugs you should not consume that could cause harmful side effects.
Finally, read the directions on how to take the drug very carefully. This information will tell you how to safely consume the drug and also how much of the drug to take within a 24-hour period.
