When we feel uncomfortable and don’t want to see a doctor, we usually go to the pharmacy to buy a box of medicine.
Of course, the medicine should be kept, but the instructions and boxes are not so lucky.
In fact, they are also related to life safety. Every year, there are patients who [cure diseases and diseases] because they do not read the instructions carefully.
Today, let’s talk about how to read the instructions.
As for the instructions, it is better for us to make clear at least the following five important information.
- OTC Label-Which Drug to Buy; Quasi-characters-fake drugs or not; Validity period or expiration period-is this medicine still useful? Taboo crowd-can this medicine be taken or not? Route and dosage of medication-how much and how to eat.
What kind of medicine should I buy? Look at OTC logo.
Headache and brain fever, minor diseases that do not need to be hospitalized, can be solved by over-the-counter (OTC) drugs. Just identify the OTC logo in the upper right corner of the medicine box.
What many people do not know is that OTC can be divided into Category a (red background) and Category B (green background). The safety factor of green is usually higher than that of red.
02 Distinguish fake drugs and look at [quasi-characters]
At present, all regular drugs and health care drugs in China will have the words “Chinese medicine standard” written on the instructions.
If it is a drug, see that the instructions say [Wei Yao Jian Zi], fake drugs are undoubtedly. Throw it away and immediately turn around and complain.
Because the approval number [Wei Yao Jian Zi] has long been abolished.
As for health care products, unscrupulous merchants like to sell health food as health care drugs, blowing the [efficacy] of health care products, thus delaying the treatment of consumers.
If the instructions say [Wei Shi Jian Zi] or [Guo Shi Jian Zi], it means that the product is only health food, not health medicine. Talk about [efficacy] with health food? It doesn’t exist.
However, even if the instructions indicate [Chinese medicine standard], don’t be careless.
It is suggested to search [China Food and Drug Administration-Data Query] to find out whether the quasi-word corresponds to this drug. Because fake drugs from Zhang Guanli and Dai also exist.
Of course, the authenticity of drugs purchased from regular channels is relatively guaranteed.
03 [Validity] and [Expiration] are important
The validity period is such an important thing that it is usually found in the outer box and the instructions. Once the drug has passed the deadline or deteriorated, it is a trivial matter to cause failure, and it is a big trouble to cause toxic reactions.
Validity period refers to [valid until this day] and expiration period refers to [invalid until this day]. If the expiration period and expiration period are marked accurately to the date of year, month and day, it is better to understand. What is not very easy to understand is the situation that only the month is marked.
Distinguish the month and don’t take drugs that are close to expiration.
In fact, [valid until August 2019] and [expiring until September 2019] mean the same. It means that you can eat it in August, but don’t eat it in September. The medicine has expired.
Is it still edible on August 31? In theory, it is possible, but in fact it is not recommended to do so. Why?
Drugs with changed appearance cannot be taken.
It is not the expiration time, but if the medicine looks wrong outside, such as swelling, discoloration or mildew, it cannot be eaten.
Storage of drugs in accordance with the provisions of the instructions is a prerequisite for the establishment of the [validity period] of drugs.
Generally speaking, the storage of drugs requires normal temperature and dryness in the environment, some drugs require protection from light, and some drugs even require refrigeration.
Ordinary families may not pay attention to the storage conditions at all, or the environment cannot meet the requirements of the conditions, so don’t take drugs that are too close to expiration time.
After the liquid preparation is opened, the validity period will be shortened.
The validity period of liquid preparations, most of which refer to before and after Kaifeng, should be calculated separately, specifically subject to the instructions. For example, eye drops, the validity period after Kaifeng is mostly recommended not to exceed one month.
04 Taboo Crowd Don’t Forget to Look at
Even if you take the commonly used medicine conveniently, there will be several taboo groups. If you don’t pay attention to it a little, you may have something wrong with it.
The three synonyms of taboo commonly used [caution] [taboo] [disable] show that the difference lies in the different degree of warning.
[Caution] is a primary warning. Think carefully before taking medicine. It is mainly used to warn people who like self-diagnosis and self-medication.
For example, pregnant women should carefully consider the children in your belly. For example, children or the elderly should carefully consider whether they can bear the dose and whether there will be metabolic problems. For example, people with liver and kidney problems should carefully consider whether taking medicine will increase the burden on liver and kidney.
However, if the doctor personally prescribes this medicine to you and confirms that you have no problem taking it, there is no need to worry too much.
[Do Not Use] and [Disable] are both more severe warnings, while [Disable] is more severe.
If you find yourself in a forbidden or forbidden group, it means that the probability of adverse reactions on you is relatively high, and you must communicate with the doctor again for confirmation.
Special attention should be paid to disabling warnings, because once adverse reactions occur, the consequences will be very serious.
Pay attention to the dosage and taking method to avoid eating wrong.
Only by taking the medicine on time and according to the amount can the treatment process be better completed.
Here’s to sort out the common time of taking medicine:
- Fasting, before meals, refers to 30-60 minutes before meals; During the meal, it refers to the first bite of the meal or immediately after the meal. 15 to 30 minute after meal; Before going to bed, refers to 30 minutes before going to bed; When necessary, it refers to the use of drugs in case of special circumstances, such as painkillers used only when pain is needed, and antipyretics used when body temperature exceeds 38.5 ℃.
To sum up, the instructions are related to life safety and are by no means small waste paper strips. Please remind your family not to throw them about.