Questions to Ask to the Pharmacists

How many times have you bought medicines from a local pharmacy? Have you asked the pharmacists questions before buying these drugs?

Many people purchase prescription and non-prescription drugs every day. But most of us just ignore the possible dangers of getting these drugs on our hands. Instead of knowing all the information we need about the drugs, many of us just buy these medications clueless.

To guide us the next time we purchase our medicines, we should try memorizing these questions which Welcare Pharmacy & Surgical’s pharmacists can surely enlighten us about:

1.What is this medication called?
Every drug has two names, the generic and the brand name. The generic name is the standard name of the particular medication while the brand name is one under which a specific manufacturer markets the drug. It is necessary to know the names of the medication and list them to keep track of all the drugs we take.

2. What’s the medication supposed to do?
We should know what to expect with whatever medication we take. It is noteworthy that there are medications which are directly used to cure the illness but there are also some which are supposed to control the symptoms. Once we know what the drugs can do to our body, we will also have a heads up on whether certain side effect is normal or not.

3. How is the medicine used?
There are three things we should always remember about taking medications – the frequency, manner, and the dosage.

• First, we need to know the time of the day when the medication is best used and how many times it should be taken daily.
• Drugs do not have a uniform route of how they should be taken, so it is a must to ask the manner of how it should be taken.
• Lastly, we should take note of the prescribed dosage of the medication we buy. Since the dosage would depend on different factors like age, we have to ask the pharmacist of the prescribed dosage for you.

4. Are there any foods or activities I should stay away from?
Different medicines have varied effects. Some drugs cause drowsiness, nausea, and loss of appetite. Other drugs must not be mixed with certain food types because it might result in negative reaction in the body.

5. How should this medication be stored?
Once the medicine is already with us, we should not put them just anywhere. There must be a place where all the medications should be stored. It must be out of reach of children and preferably, somewhere at room temperature. But not all medicines should be stored at room temperature, so we should still ask the pharmacist the recommended storage for the medicines we bought from Medical Supplies in Brooklyn, New York.

When the medicine is put into our hands, it runs the risk of being abused or misused by anyone. Hence, we should always be careful not just when taking our medications but also when buying them. We should be fully enlightened about the medications we take before taking them. When it comes to your health, you need to make informed decisions, especially when it involves the medications we purchase and take. It’s the smart thing any patient should do.