Written By: Debjani Arora | Published : September 25, 2018 7:48 PM IST
OTC medications can be dangerous if not taken the right way. © Shutterstock
Over-the-counter or OTC medicines are the medications that you can buy directly from a pharmacist without showing a prescription. At present, there are more than 300,000 OTC medicines that you can buy without a prescription. But you need to be cautious all these medicines are serious drugs that need to be taken with care. This is a reason why you have to be careful while taking OTC drugs. If you buy OTC drugs too often, there are few things you should keep in mind:
Read the labels carefully: This will help you to know about the dosage you are taking and be aware of any warning signs that are applicable for you. Also, if you have knowledge about medications reading labels will help you understand if you have selected the right one for your symptom.
Look for OTC drugs symptomatically: Some medications treat one symptom and some multiple ones at the same time. Remember choosing the latter over the former doesn't necessarily mean that the medication is good. Instead, when it comes to OTC medications select a medicine that treats your specific symptoms. Like prescription medicines, all OTC drugs can cause side effects or reactions so read the label to see what to avoid while you are taking an OTC drug.
Talk to your pharmacist about the OTC medication: Just because you are taking it without a prescription, doesn't mean you are picking the right one. So if you have questions, ask your pharmacist about it.
Take the medicine EXACTLY as stated on the label: Don't do guesswork over here to lessen or increase the dose. Taking too much of a nonprescription medicine can be harmful. So, only take the recommended amount and at the exact intervals stated on the label to avoid complications.
Don't mix prescription drugs and OTC drugs together: Many OTC medicines contain the same active ingredients, (i.e., the same pain reliever you take for a backache may also be in cold medicine), which means you may be getting more than the recommended dose without even knowing it. Always compare active ingredients before taking more than one OTC medicine at the same time.
