Health Touches

There’s a prescription drug for almost anything that ails you. High blood pressure, sore toe, asthma, diabetes, stomach ulcers, insomnia, strep throat, urinary incontinence, poison ivy are examples of conditions or problems that can be treated with a prescription drug. If you are like a lot of middle-aged to older people, you may have a collection of pills you take every day.

In order for those drugs to work effectively, it is important to take a few precautions.

First, all doctors that you see need to have a list of the medications you are on, how often you take them, and the dosage. You don’t want a cardiologist’s prescriptions to interact negatively with prescriptions from your family doctor. Before going to a doctor appointment, make a list of your current prescriptions.

Second, use only one pharmacy for all your prescriptions. The pharmacist is a second set of eyes looking at what you are taking and pharmacists know a lot about how drugs interact with each other. A pharmacist will actually call your doctor’s office if he or she notices that there is a conflict between a couple of the drugs you have been prescribed. If you have to use more than one pharmacy, make sure each pharmacist knows all your medications.

Third, the word “natural” does not mean “safe” when it comes to over the counter supplements. While these substances are not regulated the way prescription drugs are, nevertheless, nutritional supplements may have as significant effect on you as your prescriptions. They may actually do harm or keep your prescribe meds from doing good. For example, some herbs could increase your heart rate; if you have problems with tachycardia, using one of these herbs would be a bad idea. Make sure both your doctor and your pharmacist are aware of the over the counter medications and supplements that you use.

Finally, we live in the information age. When you are prescribed a medication, find out about it. Read the information that comes with it or look it up on a website. Be aware of the symptoms that mean the drug is potentially harmful. For example, if you experience certain kinds of pain while you are on a cholesterol drug, you might think you have just overdone your weekend activities if you are not aware of some of the side effects of these medications.

Knowledge helps prescription drugs to do their job: the knowledge your doctors and pharmacist have about your medications, and your knowledge of what you are on and why.