Quite often, people take medicines incorrectly. For example, sometimes patients take too much or too little dose of the drug or do not take it on time. Also, many people take several medicines at the same time, without knowing whether it is possible to do so. This applies to both prescription and non-prescription drugs. Moreover, people very often take medicines that do not require a prescription without reading the instructions at all. In order for medicines to be as effective as possible, they must be taken in the right doses and at the right time. Let’s consider how to use medical drugs correctly and get benefit from them.
Consult a doctor
Whenever you come to your doctor’s appointment after a long break, bring all the medications you take (prescription and non-prescription) with you. The more medication you take, the more important it is. Ask your doctor to give you recommendations on taking medications and tell you which ones can be taken at the same time.
Alternative
If you take many medicines and do it often, ask your doctor whether it is possible to replace some of them with combination drugs, which contain components of several medicines in one tablet. Also, ask if longer-acting medications are available for you. For example, you can take the same drug not three times a day, but 1-2 times.
Ask questions
When you are prescribed a new medication, ask your doctor the following clarifying questions:
- What processes are affected by these drugs?
- How often should it be taken and when?
- Should it be taken before or after meals?
- Does it have side effects? If so, which ones, and can it be replaced?
- How to understand whether the drug is effective for you?
- What are the risks if you stop taking these medicines.
Buy all medicines at the same time
If you are prescribed several drugs, buy them at the same time. A pharmacist will be able to give you additional advice or warn you. For example, he can remind you how to take your prescribed medicine and warn that some medicines contain similar components, etc. Talk to the pharmacist, maybe you will learn something new and useful. And it doesn’t matter if you have a trophic ulcer, gastritis, angina or another disease, show the specialist the entire list of medications.
Take your medicine on time
In order not to forget to take medication, do it at a certain time (if there are no doctor’s instructions in this regard) and in a certain place. In order not to forget that you need to take pills, do it after any of the daily activities. For example, do it after you brush your teeth, or after you have breakfast, and so on. Also, you can set an alarm on a smart watch or phone, after which you will take medicine. This is especially important for antibiotics (such as Ceff or E-Mycin), because if you miss a dose, antico-resistance can develop and they will stop working. And if you take antibiotics very often, the risk of side effects such as fatigue, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, or vaginal irritation increases significantly.