Drug Interactions | 5 Tips You Should Do To Avoid Them

Drug or medication interactions can happen to anyone taking medicines. This weeks video is about why drugs interact and avoiding them.

All my patients seem to know the rule about not drinking when you’re on antibiotics – the trouble is, it isn’t a rule! In fact, it’s safe to drink some alcohol when you’re taking most kinds of antibiotics (the antibiotic you should never drink with is metronidazole, also known as Flagyl®).

Yet there are many possible interactions between commonly prescribed medicines with other medicines, supplements and even food that very few people seem to have heard of. So this weeks video will explain why they happen, and what everyone should do to avoid them.

This video was sponsored by Dr Fox (Online Doctor & Pharmacy):
https://www.doctorfox.co.uk

HOW TO MINIMISE THE RISK OF INTERACTIONS:
It isn’t realistic to expect patients to memorise every possible interaction for every medication. But the following tips can go a long way in reducing problems:

1. Know why you are taking each medication
Drug names are often hard to pronounce, difficult to remember, and easy to mix up. An error when you list your drugs could mean a potential interaction will go unnoticed. However, if you tell a health care professional that you’re taking a medication followed by why you take it, he or she is more likely to realise what medication you take.

2. Know how to take the drug
It’s important to learn whether to take your medication with food, on an empty stomach or to avoid certain types of food at the same time you take the medication. If you’re not taking the medication correctly it can reduce the absorption and effectiveness or even cause irritation of your stomach lining.

3. Pharmacies don’t have access to your medical records
Let your pharmacy know all the medication you take. Pharmacies don’t have access to your medical records when dispensing. So if you’ve been started on any new medication let the pharmacist know when they give you your medication. They can then give you any useful tips that will help you get the most out of your medicines

4. Supplements, herbal remedies and over the counter medicines also interact with medication.
Some of the most serious drug interactions involve prescription medications and supplements or herbal remedies. If you’re purchasing these then it’s likely that your healthcare professional will not be aware you are taking them. Always include these in your medication list when giving a medication history.

5. Talk to your pharmacist
I always ask patients to bring in all their medicines, so either a list or actually bring them into the pharmacy. This includes the prescribed medicines, over the counter medicines, supplements, herbal remedies, creams….basically everything.

Your pharmacist can then sit down with you, look at them and identify any potential interactions between them. They can then give you the best advice to get the most out of your medication.