What you have to know about buying and taking medication safely

By following these tips, you can be sure to take your drugs properly, avoid interactions and learn what to look for when buying over-the-internet prescription drugs.

Only your doctor can prescribe medicines for you, but you are the one ultimately responsible for your health. Unfortunately, hospital admissions are sometimes the result of medication reactions and interactions, which suggests that too often people are taking their medicines incorrectly.

• Whenever you visit a new doctor, or visit your current doctor after a period of several months, bring every pill you're currently taking with you.
• Simply toss the bottle of each prescription medicine, vitamin, herbal product, supplement and over-the-counter drug — even the aspirin — that you take in a typical day into a bag.
• Then ask your doctor to look over everything to see if there might be any possible drug interactions or if you are taking more than one drug for the same purpose.

• Some medicines can be taken once a day in extended release form, which means that rather than taking it three times a day, you can take it only once. Some medications can even be taken once a week.
• Others can be taken in a combination product that can reduce the numbers of drugs you're taking so there are less of them for you to remember.

When your doctor prescribes a new medication, it's important that you understand what it's for and how to take it correctly. To help you get the information you need to take it safely and effectively, bring a copy of the following questions with you and ask your doctor:

• What is this medicine for?
• What side effects might I encounter?
• What side effects are dangerous and should cause me to stop taking this medicine and call you?
• If I have to stop taking this medicine because of side effects, is there another that I can take instead?
• What are the dangers for me if I don't take this medicine?
• What time of day should I take it?
• Should I take it with food or without?
• Can I take it with any kind of liquid, or only with water?
• How will I know if it's working?
• How long should this medicine take to begin working?
• For how long should I continue taking this medicine?

As long as we're talking about taking prescription drugs safely, let's talk about what you should know about buying them online.

• The Internet has boosted the sales of many prescription medicines.
• Many people, especially the elderly who are on fixed incomes, have gone online to reduce the cost of their medications.
• Since it's hard to know exactly what you're dealing with in cyberspace, you need to take some special precautions.

  Check the validity of any pharmacy website.

• With the exception of getting discount deals from verified suppliers, such as major supermarkets and pharmacy chains, buying medicines over the Internet is a risky business.
• The Canadian Pharmacists Association (CPhA) discourages buying medicines online.
• Some websites may look like legitimate pharmacies, when in fact, both the seller and the products are frauds.
• Purchasing medicines from an illegal website puts the user at risk of receiving a contaminated or counterfeit product, the wrong product, an incorrect dose — or no product at all.

  Meds not sold in retail pharmacies.

• Beware of purchasing drugs that aren't normally available in Canada.
• If in doubt, don't do it. It's not worth the risk.