Using Medication Safely

Always make sure that you ask questions whenever your doctor prescribes medication for you or for a family member. You should understand what the medication is being used for, how often it needs to be taken, and how you are to take it.

Most of us have had to use medication for pain, inflammation, allergies, or upset tummy. We give medications to our kids, we use medication to feel better or to lose weight or perform better sexually. It is important that when we are using medication that we are being safe. Here are some tips to stay safe while using medication.

Always make sure that you ask questions whenever your doctor prescribes medication for you or for a family member. You should understand what the medication is being used for, how often it needs to be taken, and how you are to take it. Ask if you should take it on an empty stomach or if you should take it with food. Find out what side effects you may experience and when you should call your doctor. Make sure you understand the dosage, and if you can mix the medicine in applesauce, or take with juice. Some people have difficulty-swallowing pills and may crush tablets or open gel caps to sprinkle the medicine into pudding to make it easier to take.

Did you know that it is a good idea to keep a list of all prescription, over-the-counter medications or supplements that you are taking as well as a list for all family members? The list should include the name of the medication, which it is for, the brand name and the generic name and who prescribed it if appropriate along with the contact information. Always make sure you have the pharmacist phone number on the list. Keep a copy of each list where you keep your important papers, and give one copy to all the doctors who care for you and each family member.

It is a good idea to use the same pharmacy for all your medication needs so that the pharmacist can easily catch interactions. It is easier for a pharmacist to catch any incompatible drug combinations when all the prescriptions are filled at the same pharmacy.

Medications Drugs One side effect of antihistamines is that they often make you feel discombobulated or sleepy. Those with high cholesterol may take Zetia, which is a drug that is used to block the absorption of cholesterol from the foods that we eat. The side effects from these types of drugs are that they may give you stomach pains or fatigue. Those suffering from Herpes may take Valtrex to slow the growth of the herpes virus in order for your body to have the chance to fight off the virus. Drugs and Medicine

Your pharmacist should not be changing your prescription from a brand name to a generic one without your doctor's approval, so if this should happen, make sure you tell your doctor.

Make sure that you order all refills before you run out of the current medication supply. Always check to see if you will need to refill medications before going on business trips or on vacations.

When getting medication refills always keep the old container and compare the old container with the new one to check for any discrepancies and verify them with your doctor.

You can use an online drug interaction checker to find possible problems with how your medication combinations or when you take them. Especially if you take a lot of different medications you may find that some should be taken in the morning and others at night, some can be taken with food and others should not, some cannot be taken close to the time that you take other medications. Use about.com's drug interaction calculator located here:

http://gsm.about.com/interact/inter.asp

Make sure that you take each medication exactly as your doctor instructed or as the pharmacist directed. Make sure that all of your doctors know about all of the medications that you are taking. Also tell your doctors about any over-the-counter medications that you are taking. Keep all mediations out of the reach of children. Never use medication that is prescribed for someone else. Only crush or break pills when you doctor has approved doing so. Never use medication that is past the expiration date on the container. Pay attention to storage instructions to keep your medication safe and potent.

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