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Although we have become accustomed to them and take them we see it as something everyday,
taking medications is something that we must take very seriously
.
And it is that doing it in an inappropriate way, abusing them or not keeping them according to the instructions can entail significant risks to our health.
My mother always told me that you
don't play games with food
... something to which I would add: and
neither with medications
.
1. Can the capsules be opened?
As a general rule, no.
This is a very common question since some people find it difficult to swallow the entire capsule, but there are three main reasons why a drug is encapsulated: either because it has an extremely bitter taste, a very unpleasant odor or an unappetizing appearance;
because we want to avoid stomach acid as it would destroy the active principle and thus we get it to be released in the intestine;
or, because the drug is aggressive with the mucosa of the mouth and esophagus.
A
little trick
to be able to swallow it is to hold it in your mouth for a few seconds, salting it well so that it lubricates and makes it easier to swallow.
2. Can I split any pill?
It depends.
If the tablet is grooved, that is, it has
a slit in the middle, then it
can be split taking advantage of that mark.
But there are a series of
drugs that cannot be
freely
split
under any circumstances, and these are:
Modified Release Medications
.
They are drugs with a special coating that allows them to be slowly released once ingested.
If we split it, all the content will be released at once.
They are easily identified since the word retard, golds, neo, ocas or prolonged / modified release will appear on the box.
Enteric-coated pills
.
They are drugs with a coating that allows them not to dissolve in the stomach, but in the intestine.
The word gastro-resistant always appears on the packaging.
3. Can I crush the pills?
As a general rule,
the only tablets that can be crushed are the same ones that can also be split
, that is, any medicine that only says "tablet" on the box, without further names, or "scored tablet".
Of course, it would not be strange if the taste was unpleasant since they are not designed to be consumed that way.
4. Can the patches be cut?
The
patches contain a transdermal medication drug to be releasing
and absorbing slowly through the skin of the patient.
If we cut them without consulting, the active principle they contain can be released suddenly.
For this question
there is no clear answer
, since there are many types of patches on the market and some can be cut (such as cordiplast, nitroderm matrix or nitroplast) and with others it is not possible (such as exelon, nitradisc or the trinipatch).
My recommendation is that you consult your case with your pharmacist.
5. What day does a drug expire?
In most of the packages when we look for
the expiration date
we will
find something like "November 2020", without specifying a specific day of the month.
When we see this written, it means that this drug expires on November 30,
the last day of the month
.
6. And the syrups and eye drops, when do they expire?
As long as we do not open them, we will take into account the date of the container, but
once opened, things change
.
It is not possible to speak of a common duration for all because it will depend on the drug, being able to have a duration
from 14 days once opened to 12 months
, so we must always consult the leaflet included in the box and do not forget to write down the date of opening in the container itself.
7. What can happen to me if I take an expired medicine?
If by mistake we take a drug that exceeds the expiration date,
chances are that nothing will happen to us because surely the drug has lost all its effectiveness
.
But be careful, because it can also happen that once that date has passed the drug
begins to have a toxic effect
and then the remedy is worse than the disease.
8. Can I dissolve the medicine sachets in juice?
No. Both when we talk about effervescent tablets and medicines that come in powder form in
individual sachets
, the question of whether it can be prepared in milk or juice is very common.
The answer is that
we will always do it in water
.
9. Is it better to take the pills on an empty or full stomach?
It depends on the drug
.
Normally the answer to this question will be found in the leaflet, otherwise we will consult a healthcare professional.
When the leaflet recommends taking them with meals, it must be done
during the meal or just after
eating.
If the recommendation is to take it
outside of meals
, we will wait
at least 2 hours
between eating and taking the medication.
10. What happens if I drink alcohol and am taking medication?
Depending on the drug, two things can happen: either the alcohol modifies the effect of the drug (enhancing or decreasing its effect) or the drug modifies the effect of the alcohol (enhancing its toxic effect or increasing its absorption).
Whatever happens
is never a good idea
.
To give common examples, benzodiazepines will increase their effect, antibiotics will decrease their effect, paracetamol will increase their liver toxicity and metoclopramide will increase the absorption of the al
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