MEDICINE MYTHS

See what we did there? Medicine, not medical. There is a difference. On the other hand, medicine myths are just as plentiful as medical myths. Here’s one we have all heard, and perhaps believe: package dosage instructions are merely suggestions. For example, the label says “take two for pain,” but your pain is pretty bad so you take three. Or the directions are “Take one tablet every 8 hours for pain.” Again, because your pain is beyond the realm of anything previously experienced in recorded medical history, you pop your second pill after 6 hours. These common actions have a certain superficial logic: if I take a bigger dosage than recommended or take it on an accelerated time line, I’ll get better quicker.

Nice try, but that logic is indeed superficial. The dosage instructions on medicines, whether Rx or OTC, are careful calculations based on years of research, clinical testing and real world experience. Ignoring those instructions increases the risk of side effects, in some cases with serious results.

Think of it like this: instead of waking up in severe pain you wake up incredibly hungry. Would you wolf down a larger than normal breakfast, and follow that up an hour later with lunch? Of course not. Medicine is no different. For optimal benefit, stick with the plan.

Now that we’re square on taking medicine as labeled, let’s move on to Chapter 2: how to swallow a pill.

Do not adjust your Medical Examiner! This is actually a legit topic. We would not lie to you.

There are people who sometimes wash pills down with beer or other alcoholic beverages. Or so we are told. Not a good idea, since alcohol can interfere with how the body absorbs medication. The same is true for some medicines with grapefruit juice. Usually these are labeled as such, and as we have already discussed, labels should not be ignored. When in doubt, ask your doctor or pharmacist.

When it comes to taking pills with water, some of us pop the pill and swallow it with a sip of water. It’s better to make sure enough water is involved to be certain the pill reaches the stomach. A little sip and it could get caught halfway down. It could dissolve at that location, which might not be good at all, or it could cause a big time coughing jag, what in medical terminology is known as a hack attack.

Sometimes people cut pills in half. Perhaps they are trying to stretch their pharmacy budget, or they have trouble swallowing pills due to their size. The issue there is that most pills have a coating which is designed to dissolve slowly over time, in effect offering time-release dosage. Short-circuiting that creates dosing that is not what the manufacturer intended. Ask your pharmacist for easier to swallow options.