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S E C TIO ND» T HURSDAY, JUNE 2, 2016
FLORIDA TODAY » FLORIDATODAY.COM
Biggest medication
questions answered
MARCI DIEHL
USA TODAY NETWORK
M
ovie characters love to snoop in
people’s medicine cabinets and
read the labels on prescription
pill bottles. According to the
Mayo Clinic, more than half of Americans
take two prescription medications, and
about 20 percent of us are on at least five
prescription medications.
Beyond the question of what your
friends and neighbors have in their medicine
cabinets, several key questions and
misconceptions linger. Here are some
answers from the experts:
If I miss a dose, should I take two the
next time or take the dose immediately
and then go back on the schedule I started?
In general, for certain drugs that need
to be at a constant state in your system to
“work” (such as birth control pills, thyroid
medicine, antibiotics), you should take the
missed dose even if it’s close to the next
dose, said Laura E. Gift, Doctor of Osteopathy,
Primary Care at the University of
Rochester Medical Center. But blood
pressure medicine should not be
doubled up. Because medications
differ, this question is something
you should ask your doctor about
specifically for what you’re tak-
Are generic drugs just as
ing.
go
ood as brand name ones ?
Is
the
ere ever a reasontonot
not go ow
with
generic?
In general, generic medications are just
as effective as brand-name medications —
but there can be a reason not to use them,
says Jason R. Smith, Pharm.D. ., associate
director of Ambulatory Pharmacy Ser-
to use a
vices at URMC. The only reason
brand-name medication over a generic one
— or a specific generic manufacturer —
would be if the patient has an allergy to a
dye in one of the inactive ingredients, or
an intolerance to an ingredient. But it’s
true that generic manufacturers are re-
and testing to prove that they are just as
quired to meet strict FDA requirements
effective as the brand name.
I’ve heard that expiration dates on
prescription drugs don’t mean they’re
unsafe after the date, but just might
not be as effective. Is that true?
It depends on the medication, says
Mary Freeman, Pharm.D., URMC/
Thompson Health. The expiration date
on the bottle is a guarantee that it will last
until that time. But tablets last
longer than
solutions. With ear or eye drops, it dependsd
on how well the person has kept the medinot
in the
optimum condition, you can’ts
say how safe
or unsafe they’ll be. According
to Smith at
cation sterile. If medication is
URMC, in very rare cases, some medica-
expiration
date.
tions can become toxic after the
What about over-the-counter
drugs? Do the same rules apply?
Yes, Freeman says. Over-the-
counter medications
do lose
potency. Things lik
ke aspirin,
i
Tylenol and ibuprofen all
have long
nger expira
tion date
s. Follow
those
expirati
tion dates,
or throw
them away if
they crac
k or show
changes,
even if
they’ren
e not
expired.
Is it tru
e that a bathroom o
medicine
cabinetis
is
too humid to be a good place
to store
prescription ion medications?
Where e is the best place to store them?
The temperature and humidityi
in the
bathroom
om can fluctuate greatly, aff
ffecting
the poten
cy of the medications
ns, says
reg
egis-
tered pha
rmacist Michael Koncilja and
Rachel Weber, Pharm.D., Rochest
ster
Re-
See Questio
ns, Page 2D
Four r
easons
s
patien
ents don’t
take medic
edicat
ions
proper
perly
y—a
and
solutions
s
» They forget
. Solution: on
Have
some kind of “alarm
arm system” —
like ethe a
larm on your phone —
to remind you.
» It’s too complex a regimen
.
Solution: Use a chart to tell
you
dosages and what times of day
to
take the medication.
» The pill is too big. Solution
:
Ask if a different size is available.
l
» People have problems get-
ting to a pharmacy
. Solut lution:
Use a mail-order service for home
delivery.
.
GETTY IMAGES/
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NUTRIT
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FOR
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TODA
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ON EAT
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