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Healthy Aging Aging and Healthcare

Taking Medication

Summary & Participants

Taking your medication is more than just swallowing a pill!

Medically Reviewed On: November 01, 2007

Webcast Transcript

ANNOUNCER: Taking your medicine is about more than just swallowing, it’s about following directions on the label.

JOEL L. ZIVE, ZIVE PHARMACY: It’s really important to take their medications as directed for a variety of reasons. First of all, you want to have the best outcome for yourself, and by taking them as directed, you’ll be doing that. Also, especially with antibiotics, if you don’t finish the course of therapy, you run the risk of getting an infection that comes back that’s even worse than the one you originally had. A lot of times, antibiotic resistance comes from two reasons. One is overprescribing of antibiotics, but also people who don’t finish their prescribed course of treatment.

ANNOUNCER: And labels aren’t just about proper dose and how long to take medicine

JOEL L. ZIVE, ZIVE PHARMACY: There are drug-food interactions. So certain drugs you have to take on an empty stomach. There are certain drugs you should take with food. For example, naproxen or Aleve, pain medication, or if you take Motrin or ibuprofen, you might want to have some food in your stomach, because it would cause stomach upset.

ANNOUNCER: It’s equally important to check expiration dates

JOEL L. ZIVE, ZIVE PHARMACY: As a general rule, the prescription you get from a pharmacy is good for a year after you take it from the pharmacy. And when you’re talking about expirations, what you’re talking about is potency of the drug. You’re taking a medication that’s not as potent as it should be.

ANNOUNCER: The good news is that labels are easier than ever to read

JOEL L. ZIVE, ZIVE PHARMACY: The graphics are better, the labels are better. But more importantly, the wording is simpler for people to understand.

ANNOUNCER: Thanks for joining us on today’s Once Daily.