1. List all medicines you take. Include name, dose and frequency. Don't forget to include vitamins, minerals, herbs, topical medications, eye and ear drops, sprays, weight loss aids, oral contraceptives.
2. Know the brand and generic names of the medication. In fact, many people know the medications they take by its color and size rather than its name.
3. Know what condition/disease the medication is for. It's important because you are more likely to use it correctly, more likely to know what to expect from the medication, and better able to report what you are using and problems to your doctors and pharmacist.
4. Avoid getting the wrong prescription from the pharmacy. Check the medication you pick up. Make sure it matches up with the prescription.
5. Use online drug interaction checker that allows you to enter the medications you take and check for possible drug interactions.
6. Conditions that place person at higher risk for drug interactions include:
- Taking three or more medications for chronic conditions.
- Genetically based variations in drug-metabolizing capacity.
- Advanced age.
- Certain diseases (anemia, asthma, cardiovascular disease, critical care/intensive care patients, diabetes, epilepsy, gastrointestinal disease, liver disease, hypothyroid)
- People cared for by several doctors.
7. Drugs most likely to be involved in clinically significant interactions are:
- Drugs with a narrow therapeutic index (e.g. warfarin, digoxin)
- Drugs that require cautious dosage control (e.g. antihypertensives, antidiabetic drugs)
- Liver enzyme inducers (e.g. rifampicin, phenytoin) and inhibitors (e.g. cimetidine, ketoconazole)
- Drugs with multiple pharmacological effects
8. Pay attention to how you feel after starting the new medicine and note any changes. Assume that any new symptom you develop after starting a new medication might be caused by the drug. Use online tool to check for side effects.
9. Inform the doctor if medication doesn't seem to be effective. No medication has 100% efficacy rate.
10. Avoid treating adverse drug reactions and drug-induced disease with more drugs. Distinguish the real disease and adverse reaction to the medication. Adverse drug reaction should be managed by lowering the dose of the offending drug or replacing it with a safer alternative.
11. Weigh the benefits and risks, making the choice of drug treatment. If drug is the preferred treatment for the medical problem, try to choose the most safest and effective one. You must decide what risks you can and will accept in order to get the benefits you want.
12. Start the medication with as low a dose as possible. A lower dose will cause fewer adverse effects, which are almost always dose-related.
13. Eliminate the unnecessary drugs. At least every three to six months, regularly review with your doctor the need to continue each drug being taken.
14. Know when the medication should be taken: before, during, or after food. Food can increase, decrease, or delay the absorption of numerous drugs. Food-drug interactions can lead to a treatment failure or a toxic effects of drug therapy.
15. Be aware of your medication needs and be prepared for any emergency. Store 3-5 days supply of medications that are important to your health.
16. Don't skip or reduce the doses. Missed doses of glaucoma medicine, for example, can lead to optic nerve damage or blindness. Missed doses of heart medicine can lead to cardiac arrest.
17. Learn how to discontinue the use of the medication. Many medications (e.g. antidepressants, corticosteroids) should not be stopped abruptly.
18. Many sources recommend to throw out unused medication. However, if you expect you may need the same medication soon, it makes sense to reserve the rest of the drug. It may help you to save the money. So, if you decide to save the rest of unused medicine for future use "just in case"; follow the next steps:
- Save the medication in the original container with the cap closed. It will help to identify the drug over the time and provide proper storage conditions
- When use the old medication, check expiration date. In case you can't find the expiration date, throw out the drug.
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