The Dangers of Mixing Medicines.
Here is a little word of advice from me, take it as your Public Service Announcement.
Really, when you notice on your prescription label that you should ask you doctor before taking other medicines with it, following that warning. Always ask your doctor or even your pharmacist about drug interactions - both over the counter and prescription.
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We had a very unexpected death of a family member this week because of this very thing. And the scary part is that this young girl was a nurse. Even nurses are not exempt from making a careless mistake. She took a prescribed medication with an over the counter cold medicine and she did not wake up in the morning after taking them.
Looking at her 3 year old daughter made me realize how important this is and I will be cautious - maybe over cautious when taking any kind of medication now. And I urge you to do the same.
Here is some information that I found from disabled-world.com on this very subject, and it contains a wealth of information:
Types of Drug Interactions
There are people with medical conditions who take more than one medicine at a time. Some people see more than one doctor for different reasons. Still, even with the substantiated proof on the efficacy of Western medicine, many still choose to take herbal supplements for health maintenance. It is to the patient’s advantage as well as the doctors to be aware of all the medicines and supplements that are being taken in order to avoid possible negative effects of drug interactions. Below are 3 classifications of drug interactions.
1. Drug-Drug Interactions - is experienced when two or more medicines react with each other resulting in unwelcomed side effects. Taking a sedative or sleeping pill together with anti- allergy drug or antihistamine can slow down one’s reactions making car driving or operating machineries too risky.
2. Drug-Food/Beverage Interactions - occur when drugs react with foods or beverages. For example, mixing alcohol with some drugs may cause a feeling of fatigue or slow your reactions.
3. Drug-Condition Interactions - may happen when an existing medical condition makes certain drugs potentially harmful. An example of this is when someone has high blood pressure, there could be an experience of adverse reaction if you take a nasal decongestant.
Effects of Drug Interactions
The effects of drug interactions may be as mild as making your drug less effective, or it can cause unexpected side effects such as allergies, palpitations or dizziness. It can also increase the action of a particular drug which can be detrimental to the health condition of the patient. As safety precaution, it is important that one should read the label of non-prescription or prescription drugs and should learn about drug interactions which may be critical to your health and can reduce the risk of potentially harmful interactions and its side effects.
Herbal Remedies
There is a growing number of alternative therapies such as herbal products and other supplements that are currently enjoying widespread acceptance in the United States. However, users seldom inform their physicians about it.
People should be aware that these herbal products are not tested with the scientific rigor required of conventional drugs, and they are not subject to the approval process of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Hence, herbal products are not supposed to be marketed for the diagnosis, treatment, cure or prevention of any disease. However, the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 enables these products to include in the labels statements about their alleged effects on the human body such as alleviation of fatigue or how they can help in promoting the general well-being of a person such as mood enhancement.
These declared effects of herbal products have been analyzed and are proven to resemble claims of clinical efficacy for various diseases and conditions. Morever, unlike conventional drugs, herbal products are not being regulated for purity and potency. This is the reason why some of the adverse effects and drug interactions reported for herbal products are attributed to such impurities such as allergens, pollen and spores. In addition, the more potent the herbal product is, the greater the possibility of its adverse effects.
Over-The-Counter Drugs
Over-the-counter medicine labels usually contain about ingredients, uses, warnings and directions that is important to read and understand including vital information about possible drug interactions. In addition, drug labels may change as recent developments about the drug are discovered. That is why it is of great significance that labels are read every time you use a drug.
Safety Precautions
Consult with your health care professionals about the medicines and supplements you take. Everytime your physician would give a new prescription, be sure to discuss all OTC and prescription drugs, dietary supplements, vitamins, botanicals, minerals and herbal supplements you take icluding the food that you eat. See to it that whenever you buy medicines from the pharmacy, the package insert for each prescription drug is included for it will provide you with more information about potential drug interactions.
Really, we cannot be too careful when taking anything into our bodies - medications, supplements, etc. Please don’t make a mistake and be sure to ask your doctor first before mixing any type of medication at all. Please!
Tags: medication warnings, mixing medicine, prescription medicine, the dangers of mixing medication
6 opinions for The Dangers of Mixing Medicines.
ButterflyDiary
Jul 21, 2008 at 5:19 pm
Scarily enough, something very similar happened to an old college friend of mine, who just ended up dropping dead on the dance floor.
And of course we can only think of Heath Ledger in recent times…
Judy in MA
Jul 21, 2008 at 5:52 pm
What a tragedy! Please know that my thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. Especially for her 3 year old daughter.
Teri
Jul 22, 2008 at 8:08 am
Thank you for your comments. It is very scary and I hate that we take things for granted, especially when it comes to something like this. It is careless and definitely a mistake, but we need to learn a lesson and check and double-check when taking any type of medication.
Nancy
Jul 23, 2008 at 9:04 pm
Teri, I’m so sorry. It’s tragic when something like this happens. It is so easy to overlook those instructions. There are some online resources that can help identify possible drug-drug interactions. You can find it one at drugstore.com.
Your Friend
Jul 29, 2008 at 5:40 pm
Hi Teri,
I am so sorry for your loss. Perhaps you can warn us all by telling us the drug that she had taken with the cold medicine, if you know it.
Best,
Your Friend
charliedw
Aug 16, 2008 at 6:39 pm
Hi Teri
I’m sorry for your loss. Like you say, even trained nurses can be vulnerable.
I am a great believer in herbal and natural remedies, but I do take on board your cautions above as there are a lot of false claims being made. Unfortunately it only takes one falsehood to get them all dismissed as “snake oil” when some herbal remedies can actually be very effective.
The problem is that to get any substance approved as a medcine by the FDA requires extremely expensive testing which can only be afforded by pharmaceutical companies. If they are going to spend huge amounts of money then they want to be able to patent it and profit from it (which is fair). This usually means that some synthetic element usually has to be incorporated in order to get the patent.
When it comes to a herbal “cures”, who is going to spend such large sums of money on a herb that can’t be patented.
The only way is for governments (not industry) to pay. I believe that all developed countries should pay into a collective pot and some international body should co-ordinate the testing.
The result could be some very cheap cures become accepted and available, especially to the Third World countries that cannot afford expensive drugs. Obviously there will be issues like quality and consistency that would need to worked out, but this does have terrific potential.
Charlie
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