Over-the-Counter Safety Tips
By: Source: AARP.org Date Posted: 2006-06-14 13:54:00-04:00
You have a bad headache. You buy some aspirin. While you're at the drugstore, you also get antacids for your sensitive stomach, a decongestant to help you fight a cold, and you get a prescription filled from the pharmacy. You walk out with more than four kinds of drugs. This is pretty common. But did you know that each year 243,000 older Americans end up in the hospital because of reactions caused by combining over-the-counter and prescription medicines?
Usually, when we think about drug interactions or serious problems concerning medicines, we think about prescription drugs.
"But consumers need to be aware that over-the-counter (OTC) medicines are real medicines and they must be taken with care, either alone or in combination with other OTCs or prescription medicines," notes Ray Bullman, Executive Vice President of the National Council on Patient Information and Education (NCPIE). To help support consumers' safe and appropriate use of OTCs, NCPIE sponsors the Be MedWise Website and encourages close and careful reading of the Drug Facts label on OTC products before their use.
OTCs are trusted and used by millions of Americans every day. But just because they do not require a doctor's prescription and can be bought conveniently at drug stores, supermarkets, and other retail outlets, don't be fooled. They are serious drugs, with real benefits when used correctly, and real risks when misused. Those risks can increase if you are taking multiple drugs and not reading labels correctly.
More Drugs, More Risk?
Consider this: Sixty-seven percent of Americans 50 and over take on average four prescription drugs every day. And older Americans use a third of all OTC medicines purchased.
Drugs serve a tremendous purpose. They can be lifesavers. Taking different drugs at the same time, however, requires great care. Drugs not only have an effect on the body but may affect each other as well. Moreover, existing medical conditions make certain drugs potentially harmful. For example, if you have high blood pressure or asthma, you could experience an unwanted reaction if you take a nasal decongestant.
In addition, body changes associated with getting older can affect your medicines—how they are absorbed, distributed, metabolized, and excreted. Your body may take longer to process medicines, so there can be more time for foods, beverages, or drugs to interact with one another.
What Are Drug Interactions?
There are two main types of interactions possible when taking medicines:
- Drug-drug interactions occur when two or more medicines react with each other to cause unwanted effects, cancel each other's effectiveness, or increase one of the medicine's effects.
- Drug-food interactions result from drugs reacting with foods or beverages. For example, mixing alcohol with some medicines may cause you to feel tired and slow your reactions. Another example concerns grapefruit juice. Grapefruit juice, while healthful, should not be taken with certain blood pressure-lowering medications because it can affect how your body metabolizes certain drugs and can increase the blood levels of those medications.
Seven Steps to Avoid Drug Interactions with OTCs
According to NCPIE's Ray Bullman, there are some practical and easy steps you can take to avoid having problems with the OTC medications you take:
- Always read and follow the Drug Facts label. The label tells you what the medicine is for, how and when (and when not) to take the medication, the product's active and inactive ingredients, possible interactions or side effects, and warnings.
- Pay special attention to the active ingredients if you are taking more than one OTC or prescription drug to avoid taking too much of a particular ingredient, which can be dangerous. Many drugs—OTC and prescription alike—contain the same active ingredient. Never take more than one drug with the same active ingredient unless your doctor specifically tells you to.
- Choose OTC products that treat only the symptoms you have. If you have a cough, buying cough medicine or drops is what you need, not a multi-symptom, extra powerful cold medicine. Keep it simple and only look to treat your exact symptoms.
- Talk to you doctor if taking an OTC medicine becomes more than a temporary practice or your symptoms do not go away, since most OTC medicines are only intended for short-term use.
- Keep a list of all the medicines and nutritional supplements you take and share it with your doctors and loved ones. A personal medication record of all your medicines and over-the-counter drugs is helpful and should be brought along to all doctor appointments. Also share your personal medication record with your pharmacist. The personal medical record is available online as a PDF file in English, Spanish, or as a Word document (downloadable) in English.
- Make your doctor aware of your full medical history as well as your eating habits. Tell your doctor about your food, medicine, or other allergies; what conditions you have/had and how they are/were treated; and how much coffee, tea, or alcohol you drink each day and whether you smoke. All these things can make a difference in the way your medicine works for you.
- Bring any questions you have to your doctor, pharmacist, or other healthcare professional. Find a list of helpful questions you might want to ask in the AARP brochure "Medicines Made Easy," available by completing our Health Publications Order Form, or in our online seminar Medicines and You.
AARP Resources
Medicine Use
Take advantage of free resources to help you manage your medications safely and cost-effectively.
Medicines and You
"Medicines and You" is AARP's free online course that shows you your choices for using medications wisely and saving costs.
Research Your Health
The Internet offers quick access to medical information, but it can be overwhelming. AARP's free seminar helps you explore four highly reputable and easy-to-use Websites to research your medical condition and the medications to treat it.
Additional Resources
Consumer Health Education Center
CHEC provides valuable information about OTC medicine safety.
Be MedWise
Being "medwise" helps us use medications safely. Find helpful tips about understanding the drug label and using medications from the National Council on Patient Information and Education.
Seniors and Medicine: Proper Use for Good Health
Find listings of seminars held at your local senior center and more about medication safety tips.
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