General information for taking medicines...

·        You have a major role in your own treatment.

·     Take tablets as advised. The timing and duration till which you’ve to take the medication are not guesses. These are well researched and proved before the information is given to you.

·  Some medicines are given for a particular duration of time. Do not take beyond or less than the duration prescribed

·        Medicines like antibiotics require full course treatment. Do not stop taking the tablets as soon as you start to feel better. The complete course of tablets is required to completely remove the bacteria from your body

·     The medicines are usually given with an interval like twice a day or thrice a day. The correct therapy is to divide 24 hours by the number of times you have to take the medication. For example: twice daily tablets should be taken once every twelve hours ( 24 divided by 2= 12) while thrice daily tablets are to be taken every 8 hours (24 divided by 3 = 8). This is to be strictly followed in case of antibiotics.

·         Tablets taken for long term diseases like hypertension are best taken at the same time every day.

·         Also, there are specific instructions for certain tablets like take them before food, with food, after food or with water etc. You can ask your physician or pharmacist if the tablets you are taking require any such requirements and take them accordingly.

·         Overdosing of medicines DOES NOT provide more relief. They are just toxins beyond the prescribed levels. You may seem okay while taking higher doses but they are doing more harm than you know now.

·     DO NOT give your medicines to someone with the same problem nor take someone else’s medicines. Medicine for each individual is determined not just based on your symptoms. It requires expert opinion which the clinicians obtain through years of nerve wrecking studies.

·        Children are NOT young adults. Do not give smaller doses of the medication that you take to treat them. Their organs are less developed than yours. They CANNOT handle all the medications you are taking.

·    Be very careful while taking OTC medications if you are a liver or kidney patient. Toxicity can occur because the medicines cannot be flushed out of the body easily.

·      Check the medicines each type you refill a prescription and while taking the medicine too.

·     Do not store medicines in direct sun light or too humid conditions. It can alter their efficacy. Also medicines like insulin are to be stored in refrigerator. Confirm if your pharmacist if there are any specific storage condition for your medicine.

·   Do not hesitate to talk to your doctor or pharmacist about any matter regarding the difficulties in taking a medicine. We have alternatives and are trained to sort out your problems.

·        Do not chew or crush tablets unless advised so. Many tablets are coated with layers of special ingredient that increases it efficacy. This could be lost if you break the tablets.

·      Do not keep the medicines and ointments where they could be mistaken for any other items (lotions, toothpaste etc) or where your children can reach them. It is always better to be safe than sorry.

·    If cost is a concern, talk to your doctor or pharmacist about it as they can provide you with cheaper medicines that work almost the same as the prescribed ones. But in no case should you discontinue a medication without physician consent.

·    Medicines like seizure tablets, some blood pressure tablets, anti-psychotic drugs etc should not be missed or suddenly stopped. As they cause side effects on sudden withdrawal.

·    Always try not to take other OTC medications while you are already on a prescription. The medicines could interact and though most interactions are moderate, you might get unlucky and get a serious one. These serious drug interactions can reduce the efficacy of either or both drugs or even cause toxic effects.

·    Do not try to refill prescriptions when they are not meant to be. Certain medications can cause dependence or serious side effects when taken for a long time.

·      Taking medicines alone does not cure you of diseases. Life style changes like exercise or food habit alterations can go a long way in effective management of diseases.

·       Avoid taking alcohol while on medications as alcohol can interact with many medicines and prove to be detrimental in effect.

·     Some foods may affect the action of the tablets you are taking. So if your doctor or pharmacist tells you to restrict or avoid any food, kindly do so.

·         Special care is to be taken if you are in the following categories:
 ü  Pregnant
 ü  Lactating mother
 ü  Kidney patient
 ü  Cardiac patient
 ü  Liver patient
 ü  On multiple medicines already
 ü  Children
 ü  Older citizen
These people should not take medicines without consulting a doctor as their body working is altered from normal.

·    Always tell your doctor if you have any discomfort or allergies while taking any medication. P.S: Even small rashes count.

·         Discard unused medicines safely and away from kids and pets.

INTRODUCTION

I am Ann Jacob, a Pharm.D student with a vision to improve healthcare as much as I can. This blog is written with an aim to provide medicine information in common language for the non-medical people without the medical jargon that they find difficult to deal with. I’d love to have your feedback and questions. However no answer is to be taken as final medical advice as variations between individual patients (especially in children and elderly) are seen and only a doctor who personally sees to you can decide on the appropriate treatment for you. Thank you.