Wise Use of Medication
Introduction
Prescription medication is reserved for use with the direction of a health care provider with a prescriber’s license for many reasons. Prescription medication may not be the best treatment option for your condition and there may be better options that are safer. Prescription medications may have side effects that you should know about before considering them, particularly if you have chronic health conditions or take other medications. Overuse of antibiotics can lead to personal complications as well as issues in your community. General overuse of prescription products can lead to national shortages and supply chain issues. With this knowledge, you can be a better medication consumer and make wise medication decisions for your family.
Prescriptions vs OTC vs Lifestyle medicine
There are many ways to treat health issues. While prescription medications may seem to be the most powerful, they do have a higher risk of side effects and adverse reactions. There are other options that may be more effective and safer.
Lifestyle Medicine includes habits like good sleep schedules, hydration, and nutrition. Allowing our body to work at its best can give our immune system the foundation to handle attacks and heal wounds on its own much more effectively. The food we eat is just as much a factor in our body as a medication. Eating a healthy variety of foods grown close to your home can make more of a difference in an illness than most medications. And, bonus, there is no side effects other than feeling awesome!
Over the Counter Medication is medication containing ingredients generally considered very safe by the FDA and so can be purchased without needing to see a health care provider. These can be highly effective medications for common conditions but, while minimal, there are always potential side effects. These are generally less common and less severe than the potential problems with prescription medications.
Prescription Medications have greater potential for complications and are often not appropriate for certain situations or patients with chronic conditions. They may also interact with other medications. This is why a review of current medications and medical conditions is necessary before they can be prescribed. Citation Link
Prescription Medication Risks
Interactions
Prescription medications can have interactions with other medications that you may be taking that make them work differently than usual. Sometimes the effect of the medication can be reduced or magnified. This can be dangerous in situations like epilepsy, hypertension, or for people on blood thinners.
Side-effects
Some people may be sensitive to a medication dose in unexpected ways. Side-effects like headache, stomach upset, or grogginess can be associated with many medications. The potential side effects of some medications can be very severe, and these should be discussed with you by your health care provider before it’s use.
Allergies
Allergic reactions can occur to any medication, even the medications we use to treat allergic reactions. Mild symptoms usually present with a rash and can be managed with antihistamines and stopping the offending medication. Some reactions can be more severe. Life threatening anaphylactic reactions need to be treated in the closest ER. Call 911 for signs of anaphylaxis including shortness of breath, agitation, racing heart, swelling in the throat or tongue, dizziness, and altered thinking. Do not mess around with anaphylactic reactions.
Antibiotics
Antibiotics
Antibiotics are amazing medications that pose some extra complications beyond what we’ve already discussed.
Personal Microbiome
Your body has a system of microbes that are necessary to work right, creating enzymes to help with digestion and metabolism, balancing the internal environment and each other so that all our internal chemistry stays on track. Antibiotics are wonderful at eliminating microbes, but they can’t tell the difference between good bacteria and bad bacteria. After a course of antibiotics, the body can usually recover as it has some resilience, but occasionally some of the microbes can go wild. Bacteria that is normally good can be problematic when it overgrows and can end up causing issues that are worse than the problem the antibiotic was used for. Yeast infections are one example of microbe overgrowth. It usually affects warm, moist environments such as the armpits or vaginal region and can require a second medication course to treat. Clostridium Difficile is another example that is particularly rotten and can be dangerous in some cases. This presents with aggressive and very foul-smelling diarrhea. This usually requires an antiparasitic medication to resolve. Now you’re taking medication to treat your medication.
Resistant Microbes
Another problem with antibiotic over-use is the development of resistant pathogens that are on the rise. As more antibiotics are used in people and in our food, microbes are exposed to these elements more frequently. Bacteria reproduce at incredible rates, and in the presence of an antibiotic, if any of the bacteria mutate in a way that allows them to survive to reproduce themselves, the next generation will continue to be increasingly resistant to that antibiotic. The less unnecessary antibiotic exposure we provide to the bacteria, the less opportunities they have to become resistant. Think of it like showing an enemy the blueprint for our greatest weapon against them. Citation Link
Supply Chain Issues
Supply Chain Issues
In the last few years, the United States has experienced several unprecedented medication supply chain issues caused by natural disasters, pandemic demands, and panic. One of the greatest contributing factors is that our supply chain relies on countries on the other side of the world and their disasters also become our disasters. It often takes 4 months or longer for a supply chain to reestablish. Medication use that is unnecessary puts an extra burden on a system that may be struggling already. This also applies to personal medication supplies. If you use them when you don’t need them, you won’t have them when you do. Citation Link
Conclusion
Using prescription medication only when necessary can ensure that you minimize your risk of adverse reactions. There are often treatment options that may work better than the prescription with fewer possible side effects. Using medications and antibiotics wisely can ensure you and your community can maintain a strong and effective medication supply.
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