2. Understanding Your Medication and Labels

  WPM:

Whenever a person is prescribed a medication, it is important for the person to read and understand the label that comes with the medication. Important information for dosage, frequency, and side-effects of the drug is contained in these labels. Prescribed medicines are drugs that cannot be purchased without a prescription, which means only a doctor can give you access to them. The reason for this is because most prescription drugs are more potent than the so-called over-the-counter drugs. Prescribed drugs are usually focused on a specific ailment, and come with side-effects that can cause other issues to the patient.

Labels on prescribed medicines also contain other vital information such as the number of pills in the container, the date issued, the number of times you can reorder the prescription, the name of the drug along with the name of the pharmacy that issued the drug. This information is important because of the nature of most prescription drugs and their side effects. Some side effects could impair the patient severely. The drug could make you nauseous, or impair your vision. Some can also make you drowsy, which means the patient should not drive a car, or operate machinery. It could be dangerous to the patient, or to others that may be nearby.

It is good to know exactly what prescribed medicines you are taking. If you are ever in need of emergency medical treatment, this information is important to the medical personnel treating you. Some drugs do not interact well with others. So if you know what drugs you are taking, emergency medical professionals will know what not to give you. So know your drugs by reading the labels.




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