MEDICINES: DO’S AND DON’TS

When taking any medicine, a few precautionary measures can ensure effectiveness and safe use. The following is a summary of important practical  points about drug treatment. The advice is arranged under general headings and applies whether you are taking the drugs yourself or supervising the treatment of someone in your care.

    At the doctor:

DO

ü  Let the doctor know if you are taking other medication.

ü  Tell your doctor if you allergic to any medication.

ü  Ensure that you understand why your doctor has prescribed a particular medicine and its effects.

ü  Tell your doctor about any side effects you have experienced taking a medicine in the past.

ü  Ask your your doctor about the cost you should expect to pay for a medicine.

At the pharmacy or Chemist:

DO

 ü  Tell the pharmacist if you find the instructions on the label difficult to read or understand.

ü  Consult your pharmacist before before buying non-prescription medicine for infants, young children expectant mothers or the elderly people

ü  Ask your pharmacist for instructions if you are buying a medicine in a format you are not familiar with, for example aerosol inhalers or suppositories.

ü  Ask your pharmacist for an alternative packaging if you have difficulty in opening the medicine container. 

Taking medication:

DO

ü  Always learn the name of the medication you are taking.

ü  Take medicines as directed. This applies to oral as well as external application medicines, for example creams and ointments.

ü  Check if it is safe to take alcohol with the medicines you have been prescribed.

ü  Stop taking the medicine if experience a reaction you were not cautioned about and consult your doctor about it.

ü  Follow warnings about the side effects.

ü  Complete the course of drug treatment prescribed for you

DON’T

 ü  Take over-the-counter medicines along with prescription medicines without your doctor’s approval.

ü  Try to catch up by taking two doses the next time if you have missed a dose.

ü Offer medicines to others that have been prescribed for you. Also don’t accept medicines which have been   prescribed for someone else. 

Drugs for children:

DO

ü  Use an accurate measure for liquid medicines and give only the exact dose prescribed. Potentially dangerous levels of  a drug may build up more quickly in a child than an adult. 

DON’T

ü  Leave medicines next to a child’s bed or cot witin easy reach.

ü  Call medicine ‘sweets’, ‘juice’ or ‘cool drink’.

ü  Add medicine to your baby’s bottle.

ü  Give over-the-counter medicines for longer than the suggested period (as per the package insert or label) without seeking medical advice.

ü  Give aspirin to children under the age of twelve, especially not with febrile viral illnesses such as influenza and chicken pox. 

Drugs and pregnancy/ breast-feeding: DO

ü  Tell your doctor if you are pregnant, intending to become pregnant or breast-feeding.

ü  Don’t take any medicines during pregnancy or when breast-feeding except those prescribed by your doctor as part of your care. This also applies to over-the-counter medicines.

Drugs and the elderly:

DO 

ü  Try by all means to remember to take your medicines regularly as prescribed. If necessary prepare a checklist in the  which you can tick off each time you take a medicine.

ü  Make sure that all containers are clearly labelled with the name of the medicine and when to take it.

ü  Write the name of the disorder on the relevant container to avoid confusion if you are taking

ü  Do inform all the doctors you deal with – for example your general practitioner and any specialists – of all the drugs you are taking, also those you have bought over-the-counter. This will help prevent double treatment or dangerous interactions of various drugs. 

DON’T

ü  Start taking a medicine again after a long time without consulting your doctor. The symptoms may be due to a disorder entirely different from the one for which the drug was prescribed.

ü  Don’t keep medicines on your bedside table. There is too much risk of taking either the wrong medicine or an overdose of the right one when you are half-asleep.

ü  Share your share with someone else or borrow from anybody. 

Storage and Disposal:

DO

ü  Keep medicines out of the reach of children.

ü  Keep medicines in a cool, dry place unless otherwise directed. Some medicines may need to be kept in the refrigerator.

ü  Keep medicines in the containers in which you receive them to avoid possible confusion.

ü  Check expiry dates on medicines and destroy (do not throw them into the dustbin) any which are over the recommended date.

ü  Destroy any aspirin or paracetamol tablets that smell of vinegar.

ü  Destroy liquid medicines that have thickened or discoloured.

ü  Dispose of creams and ointments that have hardened, discoloured or separated.

DON’T

ü  Keep prescription drugs that you have used or are expired, dispose of it.