Archive for date: March 11th, 2015

It was clear within the first few minutes of speaking to my aunt that the common person does not know much about medication. Luckily, she is pretty healthy and only has hypothyroidism, for which she takes synthroid. When I spoke to her about her medication, she did know what she was taking it for but was not aware of possible side effects or other significant drug facts. I also asked her about regular over the counter medications she takes or has taken such as the very common Tylenol. She was not aware that Acetaminophen meant the same thing or its possible side effects. More importantly, she did not know about withholding it when taking other medications with acetaminophen. It was a big eye opener, I couldn’t help but think that here I am with so much knowledge gained throughout the nursing program and I have not yet attempted to share my knowledge about things so simple yet so significant. Perhaps sharing our knowledge just for fun might actually be beneficial to some people, we can never assume what they do or do not know.

I interviewed my sister, my mom, and my dad asking them about the medications they usually take. I was surprised both at what they knew versus what they needed more teaching on.

(They look so colorful! Who knew there was so much to know about them?)

My sister: My sister takes vitamins and birth control pills. When asked if she knew how they work to prevent pregnancy she was unsure, stating she “had been told 3 times and still not quite sure.” So she learned how they work by preventing ovulation and changing the uterine lining. She named some side effects, such as weight changes, mood swings, and potential skin changes. I gave her more information on additional side effects, especially pointing out the risk for blood clots, which she was not aware of either. She did know about potential interactions of birth control and other items, such as grapefruit, but I let her know also about medications such as certain antibiotics that would require the use of additional birth control methods.

My mom and dad: My mom is a nurse, so I expected that she would know about medications she takes. She only uses albuterol and corticosteroid inhalers when needed for asthma. She was able to state the correct steps in using them, such as coordinating the MDI with inhalation, holding your breath for 10 seconds, and rinsing your mouth after the corticosteroid. I was surprised when asking my dad about the medications he takes, which includes OTC Tums, Tylenol when needed, and Prilosec. He explained how Tums work to neutralize the hydrochloric acid in the stomach, how Tylenol can cause liver damage, especially with alcohol. He answered almost every question I had correctly. I did remind him though to check other medication labels for acetaminophen to make sure he didn’t combine multiple drugs with Tylenol.

It can be easy to forget in the healthcare profession how other people do not get the same education regarding medications that we do. Things that seem so common sense to us now are not that way to others. I think it emphasizes the importance to educate our patients on the medications they are taking as we are giving them. It is something that has been engrained in us now since pharmacology, however it never hurts to survey people every now and then to see how much they really know.

Similar to the medication education we provide to our patients, when it comes down to our families and friends, we especially want to make sure they are fully informed about prescribed medications and over-the-counter (OTC) medications they take. Within my immediate family, my father is the only person that is taking prescription medications. Most of my family comes from a medical background. My father grew up with siblings in the healthcare field. Additionally, my father is a veterinarian technician and he has experience administering similar medications prescribed to dogs. My father has hypertension so his physician prescribed him valsartan which is an ARB. When I was taking pharmacology, I asked my father what he knew about the medication he was taking. As I expected my father knew about the classification, action, side effects, generic, and brand names of the drug. As for my mother and sister, they do not have prescribed medications, but they do use over-the-counter drugs such as Tylenol, Ibuprofen, Zyrtec, Nyquil, and Robitussin. My father usually advises my mother, sister, and I  to purchase generic names over the brand ones for pricing reasons. My mother and sister have some knowledge on identifying brand name OTC medications and their respective generic names. When my sister has any questions about medications, she usually comes to me for information and I direct her to what sources she can use to find medication information if I am not able to answer her or advise she discuss the medication with our cousin who is currently a physician. Overall, I believe that my family as a whole has a pretty good idea about the medications they often take. Whenever we don’t know what a certain prescribed medication is, we go to one another for any questions and concerns we may have as well as utilize technology.

Picture Reference: http://www.pbinstitute.com/how-to-know-if-youre-alcoholic/

So I actually found some humor in doing this assignment because I knew how clueless my family is regarding the medications they take. I think this sums it all up: “Isn’t tylenol and Advil the same thing!?” The first person I decided to question was my mom because she was my nurse growing up and continues to be my nurse to this day. I did a simple assessment and asked her regarding tylenol, Advil and Alendronate (which she takes for osteoporosis). She knew that both tylenol and Advil can be taken to reduce fever and pain. She did not know what was the maximum daily dose or frequency at which it should be given. Unfortunately she could not identify one side effect of either medication! I asked her if she knows the signs of an allergic reaction and she replied that you sneeze a lot (good thing I was not really allergic to these medications!). I was actually proud that she knew to take her Alendronate on an empty stomach and that it is only taken once a week. She could not identify any side effect. I also decided to interview my dad as I live in a household with only 3 people. My dad is currently only taking one medication because he chooses not to visit his doctor on a regular basis. When I asked him regarding common OTC medications he was as clueless as my mom, perhaps even a little more. He believed that tylenol was another name for Advil and that the only difference was the dosage strength! I think I just found another great reason why I chose to be a nurse.