If you're taking multiple medicines have you heard of medicine interactions?
because it could affect how well they work, I'm gonna teach you five simple tips to help avoid them
so you see these books, and these, and this, and this and all these I think we've got it
so pharmacists study these types of books at universities so we can fully understand
why and how medicines interact now what I'm not going to do is give you specific interactions
and explain why they happen because we'll be here forever but what I will do is give you a basic knowledge
of how medicines interact and then we'll move on to tips
so when we say medicines interaction it doesn't mean that they combine in the body
and causes a chemical reaction of some sort in fact here's a simplified version
of what medicines interaction means
a drug, supplement or food can affect the absorption of a drug in our body its distribution, breakdown
and excretion so because of this interaction the level of drug in our body can either increase
or decrease and I hope that made sense so medication interactions can be very dangerous
let's say for example you take a medicine that helps to thin the blood
and you take another medicine or a herbal remedy or a supplement or a food and it interacts with it
and it suddenly increases its level so you're suddenly at a higher risk of bleeding
or it reduces its level and you're suddenly at a higher risk of having a clot
now it's unrealistic for patients to memorise every single interaction with their medicines
but following these simple tips can go a long way
tip one know exactly why you're taking each medicine let's face it drug names can be very
difficult to pronounce and if you're listing your medicines to a healthcare professional and let's say you say
it incorrectly then a potential interaction could go unnoticed so I thought I'd give you
three of my favourite mispronunciations first I've got Lanzarote instead of Lansoprazole
Amplodipine instead of Amlodipine and Ramiprilo which I call it the Italian version of saying Ramipril
which actually got me thinking if there's any healthcare professionals watching leave a comment below
with your favourite mispronunciation because we could potentially do a future video on this
now back to tip one so if you say the name of the medicine followed by why you actually take it
the healthcare professional is much more likely to know which medication you're on
and be able to check for interactions with current medication that you're taking if you're going to find it
difficult to remember or you're taking a few different medicines you can always ask your pharmacy to add the
reason why you're taking it on the pharmacy label that they stick on or instead you can carry a
repeat medication list but make sure it's up to date
tip two know how to take your medication so should it be taken with food on an empty stomach or should you
avoid any certain types of food like dairy for example if you're not taking it right it can reduce its absorption
its effectiveness or even cause irritation of the stomach lining now this information can be found in the
patient information leaflet which comes with every medicine the pharmacy dispensing label or just ask your
pharmacist they'll tell you everything you need to know I've also left a link in the description below
where you can search each medicine and find out more information
tip three let your pharmacy know about all the medicines that you take pharmacies don't have access
to your medical records so if you've been started on a new medication they may not know about it
so when you pharmacist hands your medicines to you let them know about it and it and they might be able to give
you some really useful tips so you can get the most out of your medicines which brings us on nicely to tip four
supplements, herbal remedies, over-the-counter medicines
these can all again interact with your medication so let your healthcare professional know so they can check
for interactions
tip five speak to your amazing pharmacist I always ask patients to bring in all their medicines
so either a list or I actually bring them into the pharmacy so their prescribed medicines
non prescribed medicines, herbal remedies, supplements bring in everything and then we
can sit down and have a look at them and identify any interactions between them
and give you the best advice so you can get the most out of your medicines
and by the way this is something that all pharmacists will happily do for their patients so utilise their expertise
and get the most out of your medication, medication interactions are a very serious issue
and hopefully these simple precautions will help to reduce them and if you know anyone who takes
medication who'll probably find this information useful then share what you've learnt with them today
or if that takes too long just share the video with them
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to be honest I'm more of a dog person but, hey
five simple tips try, aww that was so good as well
it's really warm in here today