Medication Knowledge
It was interesting to find out how much my family and friends knew about their medications. Many of the responses I received entailed that they knew what the medications was for and when to take their medications. One of my friends knew that medications, the purpose and time to take the medication, but was unaware of any of the side effects or what to do if they miss a dose. Another friend of mine was visited her primary physician and was sent home with codeine and a cough suppressant. My friend was not aware that the medications would cause her to be drowsy and only knew that the medication was to help her cough. I have also noticed that many of the questions with my family’s medications begin to form when they begin to take the medications at home. My family would have questions about what do when they miss medications or what they should do if they developed specific side effects of the medications.
Additionally, my family had developed their knowledge of medication through generations. A family member of mine is notorious for pulling medications from multiple bottles and putting them all in another bottle. When she offers me Tylenol I will only take the medications if it is in the labeled Tylenol bottle. It scares me when I see her pull out her bottle of medication that had many other medications mixed in the bottle and she is trying to distinguish between which medication is an over the counter medication and what her prescription. There was a time she gave another family member one of her prescription medication by accident. It was fortunate the medication did not have any damaging effects on the other family member, but it could have. Upon asking that family member about their medications they were unaware of the interactions between over the counter medications and prescriptions. She was aware of the indications, side effects she has experienced and when she should take her medications. This way of medication management can be seen through multiple generations in my family. I hope with my educational background I can alter those practices.
