| Medications help us combat disease and treat plenty of medical problems. Most of us take prescription medications - drugs that, by law, must be prescribed by a doctor. If everything goes well, the medication works for you as it is supposed to. But there is no "magic bullet", or medication that works the same for everyone without any risks or side effects. Basically, a side effect is an unintended occurrence that results from taking a medicine.
The commonest cause of side effects is the simple fact that prescription medications are extremely concentrated and commonly do not exist in nature, so they are hard on the liver. Once your liver is chronically stressed out by using a medication daily, any other strain you place on it, such as exposure to toxins, can weaken your well-being. As we age, the liver works less effective, so prescription drugs accelerate aging. Side effects can be subtle at first, and you might not refer them to the drug you are taking. Common symptoms are fatigue, weakened muscles, forgetfulness, dizziness when you first stand up, trouble thinking clearly, uncharacteristic depression. Definitely, aging can have all those effects on us, but prescription medicines can advance and hasten the process.
Once you start combining drugs the side effects amplify. When some medications interact, they may get life-threatening, inefficient or cause potential problems to your wellness. At times, drug-to-drug interactions might trigger serious side effects, which may range from mild to deadly. Prescription drugs might interact with each other and with non-prescription medicines. Some kinds of food may also slow down drug absorption, raise or reduce its effectiveness, or cause unexpected side effects.
Alcoholic beverages and caffeine might also impact upon how drugs work. For example, mixing alcoholic drinks with beta blockers, a type of medication used to cure hypertension and cardiac problems, might reduce your blood pressure considerably. Alcoholic beverages might increase drowsiness and make it life-threatening to drive or operate machinery if used with certain medications. Mixing large amounts of caffeine with bronchodilators – used to cure asthma, chronic bronchitis and emphysema – may not be secure, as this type of medicine and caffeine both stimulate the central nervous system.
So, before you begin taking a medicine, ask your doctor about potential side effects and drug-to-drug interactions. If there is a herbal remedy for the medical condition you are having, pick out the safest treatment. |
