| There are times in our lives when we need a quick patch or remedy for a few days or a few weeks. Most of us take prescription medicines - drugs that, by law, must be prescribed by a physician. If all goes well, the medication works for you as it is supposed to. But there is no "magic bullet", or drug that works the same for everyone without any risks or side effects. A side effect is basically an unexpected occurrence that results from using a medicine.
The commonest cause of side effects is the simple fact that prescription drugs are highly concentrated and commonly not found in nature, so they badly affect the liver. Once your liver is chronically stressed out by taking a medication daily, any other tension you put on it, such as exposure to toxins, can undermine your health. As we age, the liver works less effective, so prescription drugs accelerate aging. Surely, aging can have all those effects on us, but prescription medications can advance and speed up the process.
Once you begin combining drugs the side effects increase and amplify. When some medications interact, they might get life-threatening, inefficient or bring on possible health problems. Sometimes, drug-to-drug interactions might lead to side effects, which may range from mild to deadly. Prescription medications may interact with each other and with non-prescription drugs. Some kinds of food may also decelerate drug absorption, increase or diminish its potency, or bring on unexpected side effects.
Alcohol and caffeine might also impact upon how drugs work. For instance, combining alcoholic beverages with beta blockers, a kind of drug taken to cure high blood pressure and coronary problems, might reduce your blood pressure excessively. Alcoholic drinks may raise sleepiness and make it life-threatening to drive or operate machinery if consumed with certain medications.
So, before you begin taking a drug, consult your doctor about potential side effects and drug-to-drug interactions. If there is a herbal remedy for the medical condition you are suffering from, choose the safest oral treatment. |
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