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Drug interaction occurs when the drugs you are taking different medications at the same time and the different chemical and biological components of such drugs may react with one another in different ways. Drug interactions may also occur when the medications you are taking react with what you are eating or drinking. Drug interaction may result in the way drug metabolites act in your body and this interaction may even result in potentially dangerous hazards. Drug interactions can also make medications become less effective in the body, it is very rare to see drug interaction leading to a positive impact in the body.
The risks of drug interactions often increase with prescription medications, prescription drugs, OTC drugs, multi-vitamin supplements and several herbal products may trigger drug interactions within the human system, and they may lead to more catastrophic aggravation of the health problems an individual is dealing with.
Some of the commonest drug-to-drug interactions occur in the following ways;
Combining some OTC antacids with some antibiotics. The components of some OTC medications may interfere with the absorption of antibiotics into the blood stream making them become less effective in the treatment of some bacterial infections.
Some anti-fungal medications used in the treatment of fungal infections may also react with the components of cholesterol treatment medications. It is therefore advisable to stop using one medication when the other is already in use.
Combining some blood thinning medications with pain relievers like aspirin may also lead to excessive bleeding especially in women. In a similar way, combining an herbal agent- Ginkgo Bilbao with aspirin may also result in bleeding.
Looking at the interactions of drug with food components, one can clearly say that different food components possess different magnitude of reaction with different drugs. Dairy foods have been found to be he foods that most react to drugs, foods such as yoghurt, cheese and milk can react with the absorption of antibiotics in the body causing the individual to vomit or suffer from minor side effects such as nausea or constipation. It is believed that there are almost 100 prescription drugs that contain some ingredients that may react with grape juice, it is believed that some components of grape fruit juice inhibit the actions of some enzymes in the intestine which breaks down drugs and in so doing the whole drugs enter the blood stream without being broken down.
The effectiveness of some drugs used for blood clotting can be decreased when foods such as spinach, broccoli, and some other vegetables that contain much Vitamin K are consumed. Alcohol is another class of food that interacts with several kinds of drugs and makes them less effective, anti depressants for instance may react with alcohol and cause some side effects on the brain functions. Mixing drugs with alcohol may result in fatigue, slow reaction and several other malfunctioning of the brain.
Stomach bleeding and liver damage may be induced when alcoholic wine is taken with some drugs, acetaminophen, and aspirin are just two of such drugs that can create counter-productivity with drugs in a system. Other complications such as beta- blockers used in treating high blood pressure reacting with food to worsen asthma conditions is also common, likewise , some decongestants may worsen the effect of hypertension in the body. Diuretics can also elevate blood sugar levels in the blood and cause serious complications in diabetic people.
There are some steps you can take to avoid drug interactions and its complications
Always let a health care giver such as a doctor or pharmacist be aware of Multi-vitamins that you are taking. You must be able to read instructions on the label of drugs and don’t hesitate to ask a pharmacist about the kinds of foods and other drugs that may trigger adverse reactions with the drugs you are buying. Always check labels for warnings.
One of the best possible ways of avoiding using multiple medications for one problem is to choose just one pharmacy store which can record the details of all the medications sold to you, by doing this , the pharmacist can easily get records of the past drugs you bought and see if there is any likelihood of using drugs that can interact with each other.
