We all have to take medication in our lives, at least at some point, if not often. While the drugs we consume can help us beat pain, infections, allergic reactions, depression, anxiety, and many other mental and physical challenges, there can be downsides, too.
Unfortunately, some medications cause adverse reactions for those who take them, with issues ranging from mild and short-lived to very serious. As such, it’s crucial for all of us to understand common side effects, how to protect ourselves from them as much as possible, and what to do if our medications cause the ones we love to get very ill or us. This blog will tell you everything What You Need to Know About Medication Side Effects.
What are Side Effects?
The term “side effects” is used to describe something that happens to a person when they take a treatment, and it causes a problem for them. Theoretically, side effects can be positive, but we generally talk about these impacts as adverse, unwanted, negative events. These can range from minor to severe and even, at times, life-threatening.
Side effects can come about when someone takes medication, uses complementary and alternative therapies, has a surgical procedure, gets a vaccine, or makes use of some other type of intervention. Also, such adverse effects can vary from person to person and depend on numerous factors such as gender, age, weight, disease, genetics, and more. What causes a negative reaction or complication for one person can be absolutely fine for another.
Reasons for Side Effects
It’s good to understand, too, that side effects can pop up for all sorts of reasons. For instance, users might take the wrong dosage amount of a medication or other substance, whether accidentally or because they were prescribed too much or too little. People can have an individual reaction to one or more ingredients found in the drug, too, or medication can kill one type of unwanted cell (such as cancerous ones) but also destroy healthy cells in the process.
Plus, side effects often happen because of interactions between drugs. If someone is taking multiple substances, one of these may affect the activity of another, either increasing or reducing the effect of it, or even, on occasions, causing a different action to occur. These interactions can happen between different drugs or between medications and food, vitamins, essential oils, supplements, or other things.
Common Side Effects
The list of potential side effects that can arise for patients is long and varied. Common mild effects include skin rashes, dermatitis, nausea, diarrhea, constipation, fever, fatigue, or headache. Plus, people can feel dizzy or drowsy, get a dry mouth, or struggle with insomnia.
Other effects include muscle and joint pain, skin burns, swelling, difficulty swallowing, or hair loss. More serious side effects include internal bleeding, cancer, suicidal thoughts, and abnormal heart rhythms. At times, people might get a stroke or have a seizure, or go into anaphylactic shock.
These are just some of the side effects people have to contend with each year. Always read the pamphlet or online details about any new medication or other treatment option you take to learn precisely what effects are possible for users.
How to Stay Safer
While you can never be sure of not having to deal with any side effects from treatments, you can take steps to be safer and minimize the risks. For example, ensure you buy goods from trusted sources, such as through Plushcare online prescription services or a trusted pharmacy near you, so you know you’re getting authentic products. You can be sure that these products went through sufficient due diligence consulting procedures by professionals and undergone the required clinical trials for safety.
Discuss any allergies you’re aware of with your doctor and mention the various medications you’re already taking so they can prescribe you the most appropriate drugs possible. Ask, too, if there are ways to prevent or limit side effects, such as by taking medicine with or after food or at certain times of the day. You may need to be very careful about not drinking alcohol when you’re taking some items, too.
Always read the information printed on medicine labels or otherwise made available that discusses potential side effects. That way, you know what possible issues to watch out for. If any mild symptoms arise and only last a short while, you likely won’t need to do much except note your reaction and let your doctor know for next time.
However, if you have any more severe side effects that come on, ring your physician’s practice ASAP or get yourself to the hospital or a clinic if it seems the side effects could turn nasty in a hurry.
Taking various medications throughout the year is normal and often necessary. Unfortunately, though, there could be some about medication side effects from doing so. As such, educate yourself on the topic and know what to do if the worst happens.
