The same is true before using any medicine. Every choice to take a medicine involves thinking through the helpful effects as well as the possible unwanted effects. 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. Early in a drug's development, companies conduct research to detect or predict potential interactions between drugs. Experts evaluate the drug-interaction studies as part of assessing a drug's safety. Health professionals also use computer systems with drug-interaction screening software, electronic prescribing, and other technology. Mark Langdorf, M.D., chair of the department of emergency medicine at the University of California, Irvine, says, "In a busy emergency room, you have to quickly find out what a patient is taking and how those drugs could interact with other treatments." 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.
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