Tag Archive for: dept-none-3

I asked some of my family, friends and coworkers about their knowledge of the medications that they take, regarding to pharmaceuticals, over the counters, and homeopathic remedies. I found it interesting and surprising at the respond that I was given by many of them.

Mom/Dad: My parents both do not work in the medical field but are respected professionals in their own field of work. My mom said that she takes Lipitor for high cholesterol because she had lab work that showed her levels were elevated. She did not know exactly the mechanism of how the drug worked so I educated her that it inhibiting HMG-CoA which is an enzyme that is responsible for catalyzing an early step in the synthesis of cholesterol. She knew some of the side effects to look for based off the information on the box. Her and my dad both took a daily multivitamin. My dad did not take any daily perscribed medications, but had recently taken azithryomycin when he had a cold. He had a left-over unused unexpired one that he took when he felt he was sick. I asked him if it had helped him and he said no, he was still sick. I explained to him the importance of NOT taking prescribed medications unless you are actually prescribed one because that is how individuals become drug resistant! When I asked about other the counter medications, both stated that they read the information on the box to determine side effects and correct daily dosages especially for medications such as acetaminophen which could potentially harm the liver.

Friends: The majority of my friends stated that they did not take daily medications with the exception of albuterol for asthma or a multivitamin. When discussing how over the counter medications worked such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen, they did not know the mechanism or that there was possible harmful side effects from taking these medications because they were so commonly used. I talked to them about using different electronic resources such as skyscape or epocrates (which is free) to look up drugs and become more educated about what they are putting into their bodies.

Coworkers: I work with nurses so when I asked them about medications, they all seemed to kind of giggle about it. The majority of them stated that they do in fact look medications up in electronic sources or their drug books if they are not familiar with them

I thought that it was interesting the different individuals knowledge of medications. My family was somewhat knowledgeable, but still participated in bad habits that needed re-education. My friends were not really educated about the drugs that they take and hopefully they will become more educated! Co-workers, not surprisingly, were the most educated.