Orlando, Florida. – More than 131 million Americans (or 66% of adults) take prescription drugs. But not everyone uses their medications correctly.
Every year between seven thousand and nine thousand people die from medication errors.
If you’re like most Americans, pills are a part of life.
“I’m now on up to four different blood pressure medications,” Ann Gwin said.
Dr. Daniel Munoz, a cardiologist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, explains: “Medications can be difficult to take and can be complicated, especially the more medications a person is prescribed.”
But if you use your medications incorrectly, you could be putting yourself in danger. In a recent report, more than nine million American adults said they had tried to reduce costs by skipping doses, taking fewer medications or delaying filling a prescription.
“The more medications someone is prescribed and picked up at the pharmacy, the higher their out-of-pocket costs will be,” Dr. Muñoz said.
However, not taking certain medications on schedule can be dangerous. For example, if you skip taking a beta blocker, you can raise your blood pressure and put yourself at risk for a heart attack. Another mistake is doubling up on a dose if you forget one. Often, you should skip a missed dose if it’s almost time for your next dose. Another mistake is stopping taking your medications. You should always take your medication for as long as your doctor tells you to.
“I lay out my little boxes and then I line up the pills, the morning pills and the afternoon pills,” Gwin said.
Some medications, such as antidepressants, can cause harmful withdrawal symptoms if stopped cold turkey. Sharing medications with another person is also a mistake. Medications are prescribed taking into account your height, weight, age and health, and medication errors should be avoided.
According to UC Davis, every eight minutes, a child experiences a medication error at home. The most common mistakes are giving the wrong medication, giving medications to which the child is allergic, or taking the wrong dose.
Contributors to this news report include: Julie Marks, producer; Charles Bennethum, editor.
Copyright 2024 by Ivanhoe Newswire – All rights reserved.
