AHS Views

Did you know that half of all Americans take at least one prescription drug? And that one in six Americans take three or more prescriptions? That seems extreme, but would explain why prescription drug abuse has become such an epidemic in the US right now.

So what happens if you take one or a couple of prescriptions on a daily basis and you accidentally take the wrong pill? Believe it or not, this is pretty common amongst us busy-bodied Americans who are usually on the go for most of our daily routines.

According to the Food and Drug Administration, since the year 2000, they’ve received over 95,000 reports of medication errors. Some of which were by medical professionals like pharmacists and the doctors who write the prescriptions, but mostly by the consumers.

With all of the different types of medications being prescribed out there, and families loading up their medicine cabinets with pill bottles, tubes of prescription creams and perhaps some liquid medications, how hard do you think it would be to accidentally take the wrong pill?

It’s very important to keep your medications in order and not to get them mixed up. The consequences could range from annoying symptoms due to taking the wrong medication, to more serious effects like allergic reactions or overdose. It’s also important to properly dispose of medications that are no longer being used. Sometimes people think it’s handy to hang onto prescriptions “just in case” they’re needed. But, what they’re really doing is opening the door to misuse by minors or self medicating, possibly with the wrong medications.

While we as a nation are dealing with the issue of prescription drug addiction, let’s keep in mind that we need to be responsible with the drugs that are medically necessary to live our lives. And, if you do know of someone who is misusing those types of drugs, get them some help. You could absolutely be saving their life!