Keeping Your Family Safe
When Using Medications

Keeping Your Family Safe When Using Medications

There are many things that family members can do to be safe using medications.

All family members should keep a list of the medications that they are taking including all prescriptions, and over-the-counter medications, and also all mineral and herbal supplements.

This list should then be shown to all doctors and to the pharmacist when prescriptions are being filled.

When your family uses only one pharmacy for all medications, including those purchased from over-the-counter and also any herbal or mineral supplements the pharmacist can check for drug interactions easier.

Instructions should be followed for all medications taken and work with your doctor regarding fitting your medication needs and schedule into your work/school schedule.

You and all family members should know what to do if they accidentally miss a dose, you doctor can advise you.

Avoid taking alcohol or street drugs and report changes in your caffeine or nicotine consumption to your doctor so that all drug interactions can be anticipated and monitored.

It is important for family members to keep all doctor appointments and to ask questions when they have them. Your doctor needs to know about any health problems or side effects that occur when taking medications.

If any family members are pregnant or nursing a baby, all doctors who are prescribing medications should be told.

Drugs Use Get ready for warmer weather months by purchasing these medications: Make sure you have sunscreen, aloe Vera for treating burns, insect repellants, heating and cooling packs for first aid, allergy medications for any family members that need them, as well as having a first aid kit that includes: band aids, antiseptic wash, ointments for scrapes and cuts, and gauzes. The obvious place to keep medications is in the medicine cabinet. When organizing your medicine cabinet make use of the adjustable shelves to make room for different heights of medications. Drugs and Medicine

 

If any family member is seeing a psychiatrist, tell your medical doctor about any psychiatry medications that are prescribed and let the psychiatrist know about any medications any other doctor has prescribed for you.

Always follow storage recommendations.

Adults can take too many chances with medications by mixing prescription medications, over-the-counter drugs, herbal and mineral supplements and dietary aids not knowing that doing so can lead to drug interactions.

This is why it is so important to tell your doctor every drug, medication and supplement that you are taking.

Drugs And Dosage The good thing to know is that eventually the common cold will leave your body and you will start to feel human again. Drugs and Medicine

Your pharmacist can catch interactions beforehand if you make your pharmacist aware of everything that you and every family member is taking.

Medication errors can occur during any time including when medications are prescribed, when they are being dispensed or administered.

It is the responsibility of the medical and pharmaceutical staff as well as all adult family members to do all they can do check and double check medications for accuracy.

According to the report by Preventing Medication Errors from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) there is an estimated 1.5 million preventable adverse drug events each year among outpatient Medicare beneficiaries.

That is 1.5 million adverse drug events that your family members could be apart of if steps are not taken to change your risks.