The ABCs of Avoiding a Custody Battle

Take These Four Precautions To Prevent Dangerous Medication Errors

by Barry Webb

Medication errors have the ability to ruin both your health and your finances. Even if you get medical malpractice compensation, your life may never be the same due your injuries. Therefore, it is in your best interest to watch out for and prevent medication errors. Here are a few tips to help you do this:

Sort Your Daily Medication In Advance 

Mixing up drugs is easier than most people think. The confusion may arise either because of similar labels, colors shapes or even names. In fact, 10% of all medication errors occur due to drug name confusion.

The best way to avoid this is to sort out your medicines in advance. There are even mobile applications you can use for this purpose. Don't go rushing to the medicine cabinet and start rummaging for your drugs; you can easily mix them up that way.

Know All the Drugs You Are Taking

Apart from medicine confusion, mixing drugs that should not be taken together may also put your life in danger. For example, there are drugs that can react with morphine, so you shouldn't take them and the analgesic simultaneously. Don't forget that drugs can also react negatively when combined with some foods so your doctor or pharmacist will advise you on the right nutrition while taking certain drugs.

To avoid such dangers, you should tell your doctors and pharmacists about all the drugs you are using. You can only do this if you keep track of all these medications. It's not just about the prescription drugs either, remember to include even the nonprescription drugs and supplements you are using.

Administer Drugs Properly

The third common error involves the application or administration of drugs. Examples include using skin ointments in open wounds, swallowing medicine you are meant to swish in the mouth and spit, and swallowing medicine meant for injection.

The easiest way to prevent this mistake is to read, understand and follow instructions on medicine labels or given by your pharmacist or doctor. This means you need to keep all medicine packaging, bottles, and prescriptions, so you don't use them the wrong way.

Take the Correct Dose

Lastly, you should also be wary of using more drugs than you should. It is easier to overdose than most people think. For example, your tolerance for a painkiller may rise after taking it for some time. If you are not careful, you may overdose on the drug thinking that you need to take more to deaden your pain. This is dangerous because even if you don't notice an immediate effect, repetitive overdoses may lead to a cumulative effect on your internal organs.

Therefore, you need to take your drugs exactly as prescribed, and confirm with your doctor if you are confused on a dosage. Also, if you are not feeling the effect of a drug, contact your doctor (it may be possible to switch to a more potent drug) instead of upping your dosage.

Sometimes, however, medication mistakes occur despite your best efforts. If this is the case, and you think it was due to another person's negligence, you may be entitled to a compensation for your injuries. Consult a personal injury attorney, like Randall A. Wolff & Associates, Ltd, to see what can be done.

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