Some websites that sell medicine can be not state-licensed pharmacies or aren't pharmacies at all; or may give a diagnosis that is not correct and sell medicine that is not right for you or your condition; or won't protect your personal information. Be sure your privacy is protected: look for privacy and security policies that are easy-to-find and easy-to-understand. Don't give any personal information such as social security number, credit card, or medical or health history, unless you are sure the website will keep your information safe and private. Make sure the site requires a prescription and has a pharmacist available for questions. Buying your medicine online can be easy. Just make sure you do it safely.
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. For example, every time you get into a car, there are risks---the possibility that unwanted or unexpected things could happen. You could have an accident, causing costly damage to your car, or injury to yourself or a loved one. But there are also benefits to riding in a car: you can travel farther and faster than walking, bring home more groceries from the store, and travel in cold or wet weather in greater comfort. The benefit and risk decision is sometimes difficult to make. The best choice depends on your particular situation. You must decide what risks you can and will accept in order to get the benefits you want. For example, if facing a life-threatening illness, you might choose to accept more risk in the hope of getting the benefits of a cure or living a longer life. On the other hand, if you are facing a minor illness, you might decide that you want to take very little risk. 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. Important things is tell to your doctor about any allergies or sensitivities that you may have. Tell about anything that could affect your ability to take medicines, such as difficulty swallowing or remembering to take them. 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. Read and follow the directions on the label and the directions from your doctor, pharmacist, or other health care professional. If you stop the medicine or want to use the medicine differently than directed, consult with your health care professional. You have to know what to do if you experience side effects and when to notify your doctor, and know when you should notice an improvement and when to report back.
If you take several different medicines, see more than one doctor, or have certain health conditions, you and your doctors need to be aware of all the medicines you take. Doing so will help you to avoid potential problems such as drug interactions. Drug interactions may make your drug less effective, cause unexpected side effects, or increase the action of a particular drug. Some drug interactions can even be harmful to you. 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. 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. It used to be that the only way to test for drug interactions was in people. Now drug companies can take five test tubes with the five major pathways for metabolism and put their drugs in to see whether it's metabolized by CYP450. This allows to generate a list of possible interactions based on their findings. This phase of research in test tubes, known as in vitro studies, allows researchers to perform drug-interaction studies in labs by testing a drug with other drugs that have the same route. This has made the research faster and more accurate. If two drugs go through the same enzyme, the presence of one drug can prevent the metabolism of the other. So this allows you to look at the worst-case scenarios and ask: 'What if we put this drug with that one, knowing that they have the same route?'" Three phases of clinical trials in humans must happen before a drug can be marketed. Phase 1 studies focus on a drug's side effects and how the drug is metabolized and eliminated from the body. Phase 2 studies focus on a drug's effectiveness. And Phase 3 studies gather more information on safety and effectiveness, which includes using the drug in combination with other drugs. 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. But it is good way -- consumers remind doctors of everything they take when they are prescribed a new medication. So a patient might say: "Now remember, I'm also taking birth control pills. Is there a risk of interaction with this new medicine?" 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.
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