Do You Know The Side Effects of Your Drug?

“There are a lot of people taking drugs to treat the side effects of drugs, and sometimes that makes sense, and maybe the initial drug is essential. But when you’re taking a drug to treat the side effect of a drug which is treating the side effect of another drug, it gets to be rather a house of cards.”

– Gordon Schiff, M.D.

The above quote is from an article featured in the September edition of the AARP Bulliten. The article, which was penned by Patricia Berry, explores the problem behind medications causing other conditions which are totally unrelated to the problem the drugs was intended to treat.

Quick Facts from the Article:

• 4.5 million Americans visit their doctor or emergency room due to adverse drug effects.
• Serious drug reactions are the fourth leading cause of hospital deaths.

As Berry covers in the article, the serious and fatal drug reactions are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to this problem. Minor reactions can slow the reaction time of patients. They can make a person sleepy. Mobility could be hampered. These mild reactions could possibly cause a riff in daily activities and work.

Additional Resources:

• Quantifying adverse drug events: Med mishaps send millions back for care (amednews.com)