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The Internet has changed the way we live, work and shop. The growth of the Internet has made it possible to compare prices and buy products without ever leaving home. But when it comes to buying medicine online, it is important to be very careful. Some websites sell medicine that may not be safe to use and could put your health at risk. Millions of consumers are using the Internet to get health information. And thousands of web sites are offering health information. Some of those sites are reliable and up-to-date; some are not. How can you tell the good from the bad? The medicines that sold online can be fake (counterfeit or 'copycat' medicines); can be too strong or too weak, or have dangerous ingredients, or have expired (are out-of-date), or haven't been approved or checked for safety and effectiveness, can be made using non-safe standards, or not safe to use with other medicine or products you use. You have to talk with your doctor and have a physical exam before you get any new medicine for the first time. Use only medicine that has been prescribed by your doctor or another trusted professional.
Before using any medicine--as with many things that you do every day--you should think through the benefits and the risks in order to make the best choice for you. There are several types of risks from medicine use: a) The possibility of a harmful interaction between the medicine and a food, beverage, dietary supplement (including vitamins and herbals), or another medicine. Combinations of any of these products could increase the chance that there may be interactions. b) The chance that the medicine may not work as expected. c) The possibility that the medicine may cause additional problems. To obtain the benefits of riding in a car, you think through the risks. You consider the condition of your car and the road, for instance, before deciding to make that trip to the store. In many situations, the expert advice of your doctor, pharmacist, or other health care professionals can help you make the decision. To lower the risks and obtain the full benefits of medicines you need a)talk with your doctor, pharmacist, or other health care professionals; b)know your medicines--prescription and over-the-counter; c)read the label and follow directions; d)avoid interactions; e)monitor your medicines' effects--and the effects of other products that you use Important: think it through and work together with your doctor, pharmacist, or other health care professional to better manage the benefits and risks of your medicines. You need keep an up-to-date, written list of ALL of the medicines (prescription and over-the-counter) and dietary supplements, including vitamins and herbals, that you use--even those you only use occasionally. Before use a medicine make sure you understand the directions; ask your doctor if you have questions or concerns. Always double check that you have the right medicine. Ask your doctor always if there are interactions with any other medicines or dietary supplements (including vitamins or herbal supplements), beverages, or foods. Use the same pharmacy for all of your medicine needs, whenever possible. Before starting any new medicine or dietary supplement (including vitamins or herbal supplements), ask your doctor again if there are possible interactions with what you are currently using. You always have to pay attention to how you are feeling; note any changes. Write down the changes so that you can remember to tell your doctor, pharmacist, or other health care professional.
Reading the label every time you use a nonprescription or prescription drug and taking the time to learn about drug interactions may be critical to your health. You can reduce the risk of potentially harmful drug interactions and side effects with a little bit of knowledge and common sense. Mixing two drugs together could make one of the drugs ineffective. The combination also could increase a drug's effect, and be harmful. The result might be mild symptoms such as nausea, stomach upset, or headache, or more serious symptoms such as a dramatic drop in blood pressure, irregular heart beat, or damage to the liver-the primary way that drugs pass through the human body. The most important enzymes in the liver that metabolize drugs are called the cytochrome P450 family of enzymes. These enzymes break down drugs when they pass through the liver or small intestine. A drug may affect these enzymes by inhibiting them, which causes reduced activity of the enzyme and a buildup of the drug in the body. Or drugs may "induce" the enzymes, which causes increased activity of the enzyme and a reduction of the drug in the body. Not everything that happens in a test tube will become meaningful in humans, though. Results from these test-tube studies can tell us whether need to do further testing in people to find out if an interaction is clinically significant. Researchers say there are several important variables that affect individual differences in how drugs are metabolized, including race, gender, age, and health conditions. For example, people with kidney or liver disease don't eliminate drugs from their system as well as people who are healthy. Very young children and older people have slower drug metabolism than others, and women may metabolize drugs differently than men in some cases. In addition to having a good grasp of drugs and their effects, doctors take medication histories, and they consult with other members of their team to guide them in making decisions about drug interactions. They also use concise drug summaries and resources on pharmacological principles. The large number of drugs on the market, combined with the common use of multiple medications, makes the risk for drug interactions significant. Consumers need to tell doctors what they're taking and ask questions, and health professionals could do a better job at trying to get the information they want. So rather than asking patients what medications they take, doctors should make the questions specific: "Are you taking any over-the-counter medication? Are you taking any herbal treatments or vitamins?" Drug interactions with other drugs includes both prescription and over-the-counter medicines. Tricyclic antidepressants such as Elavil (amitriptyline) and Pamelor (nortriptyline) can interfere with blood pressure-lowering Catapres (clonidine). Taking the antibiotic Cipro (ciprofloxacin) with antacids lowers Cipro's effectiveness. Drug interactions with dietary supplements includes herbs and vitamins, which can interact with drug-metabolizing enzymes. St. John's wort is an herb commonly used by people with cancer to improve mood, but research has shown it interferes with the metabolism of irinotecan, a standard chemotherapy treatment. Vitamin K (in dietary supplements or food) produces blood-clotting substances that may reduce the effectiveness of blood-thinning medicines like warfarin. Examples of food with tyramine are cheese and soy sauce. Grapefruit juice should not be taken with certain blood pressure-lowering drugs or cyclosporine for the prevention of organ transplant rejection. Alcohol should not be taken with pain relievers such as Tylenol (acetaminophen) or ibuprofen because of the increased risk of liver damage or stomach bleeding.
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