Do You Make These Prescription Medication Mistakes?

Prescription medications are our friend and ally when used correctly. However, on occasion they are abused. Not in the form of over use, but through misuse. Misuse of prescription medication results in an extremely high number of emergency hospital visits and unnecessary deaths every year. It does not have to be that way. Exercising precaution concerning the use and handling of your meds is all that is necessary. Try to avoid making these common mistakes:

Did you know that the heat and humidity from your bathroom shower can degrade your prescription and over the counter medications, rendering them ineffective? Keeping them in the medicine cabinet in your bath room is not the best choice. Find a cool and dry location away from frequent or even infrequent heat where you can store them.

The last time you visited your doctor and they were writing you a prescription for a needed medication did you discuss it with them? Did you inquire as to whether it would adversely interact with any of the over the counter (OTC) medication you are currently taking? Forgetting to discuss with your doctor any OTC you are taking could result in a mishap. Remember to keep a list of everything you are taking including OTC medications, herbal supplements and prescription medical treatments. Share this information with your doctor and your pharmacist. Get their input on any potential adverse interaction that could happen.

There are multiple reasons for doing this, but breaking or chewing prescription medication tablets that are meant to be swallowed whole may be the wrong thing to do. Often the tablets are coated with a special layer that is designed to allow them to time release within your system, providing you protection over a specific period of time. Breaking or chewing that med hampers its ability to provide that protection. Unless your doctor gives you a specific okay, you should avoid this practice.

I know this will appear amusing because of the standing joke about all doctors' poor penmanship, however, handing a prescription to your pharmacist that you cannot read is not a good idea. They may not be able to read it also. If your Rx is not legible, contact your doctor and have them get another copy of it to the pharmacy, or even typing and printing out a copy that you will pickup and deliver. The last thing you would want is to have the pharmacist fill out your prescription incorrectly.

Are you aware that certain foods do not mix well with common prescription medications? Discuss with your doctor and pharmacist all of the potential side effects of your medications. Head off any potential problem before it happens.

I know these are all simple precautions, but they are over looked by millions of prescription medication takers every day. Many of them end up in the hospital emergency room or dead every year. Don't be one of them.

Resource: Prescription Medication Mistakes - Women's Day Magazine - November, 2007