Drug Information

What You Should Know About the Medications You Take

The information below is provided solely as a guide. Dan’s Wellness Pharmacy suggests you speak to your doctor and pharmacist about your medications and the interactions they may or may not have with certain over the counter (OTC) medications, foods, drugs and alcohol.

With the abundance of medications readily available it is very important to educate yourself about the medicines you take. Most people today take several different medications and have more than one doctor charged with their health. It is critical that you and all of your doctors are aware of the medicines you are prescribed to avoid potential problem drug interactions.

Drug interactions have many effects. They may make your one or many of your medications less effective; they can increase the action and potency of some; they may cause serious and unexpected side effects or can be fatal. This is why it is so important to read the label of every nonprescription or prescription drug and to learn about the possible drug interactions of the medications you are taking

There are three categories of drug interaction; drug to drug; drug to food or beverage and drug to condition. Drug to drug interactions occur when two or more drugs react with each other. Drug o food or beverage interactions take place when a medication you are taking interacts with the food you eat or the beverages you drink and drug to condition interactions take place when the medications you take can effect an existing medical condition you have

One of the most common causes of harmful interaction takes place with drug to drug interactions especially interactions with over the counter (OTC) medications. Many times people feel the OTC drugs are safe and do not consider the possible implications of their use. It is incredibly important that you read the labels of these OTC medications and ask your doctor or pharmacist about the possible interactions with the medication you are taking.

Talk to a professional…

Please talk with your doctor or pharmacist about the drugs you take. When you are prescribed a new medication please discuss all of the possible interactions considering your diet, your OTC medications, your drug and alcohol use and your current prescriptions. It could save you from an awful situation.