Chester County Medicine Fall 2019 - 9

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Share Your History
* Medical History - Share your personal and family health
history with your doctor.
o There is no way to determine who will become addicted
to a prescription painkiller; however, people with a personal
or family history of substance use disorder (to any kind of
alcohol or drug), and those with a mental illness are more
vulnerable.
* Other Medications - Talk to your doctor about any other
medications you are taking because drugs may interact with each
other.
o Sleeping pills and anti-anxiety medications, especially
benzodiazepines (such as Xanax, Alprazolam, Valium,
Diazepam, Ativan, Lorazepam, etc.) are not recommended in
combination with opioid painkillers.
* Other Medical Conditions - Some medical conditions may
increase the health risks associated with taking opioid painkillers,
such as:

Store Medications Safely
* Secure Location - Do not store these medications in your
medicine cabinet or a desk drawer at work.
o Select a very secure location for storage, such as a Pill Pod,
Safe Rx, or locked cases or cabinets.
o These drugs are often taken from family or friends, or stolen
from unsecured places. Realtors and clients trying to sell their
homes should be aware that unsecured medicines may be
stolen during open house events or house tours.

Don't Share Your Medications
* Your Medications Only - When a doctor prescribes a
medication to you, that medication is for you and only you.
Even if someone (family members, co-workers, friends or anyone
else) has the same symptoms or ailments as you, DO NOT
share any medication your doctor has prescribed. Sharing your
medications may endanger someone's life, or enable someone
else's dependency or addiction.

o Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
o Sleep apnea
o Depression
o Anxiety
o Chronic constipation

Take As Directed
* Label - Carefully read the prescription label.
o Do not take more pills than prescribed, or take the next dose
sooner than it is due.
* Dosage - Do not increase your dosage of the prescription
opioid without talking to your doctor.
o If you take an opioid prescription painkiller, over time your
body begins to build a tolerance, meaning you may feel less of
the effect. If you feel the need for better pain control, talk to
your doctor.
o The safest use of prescription opioid medications is generally
at the lowest possible dose for the shortest duration of time.
* Driving - Some medicines interfere with your ability to safely
and effectively drive or operate complicated machines.
o Ask your doctor about the effect of the medication for safe
driving.
o In addition to the safety risk, legal consequences, such as
driving under the influence (DUI) infraction, can result from
driving while using certain prescription medicines (not just
alcohol or illegal drugs).
* IF YOU CANNOT REMEMBER IF YOU TOOK THE
PREVIOUS DOSE, DO NOT TAKE ANOTHER.

Dispose of Old and Expired Prescriptions
* Safe Disposal - Once you have stopped taking a prescription,
safely dispose of medications.
o Chester County has over 20 locations which accept
medications. More information may be found at https://
chesco.org/2673/Medication-Drop-Off.
o Other locations and events for secure medication collection
may be found at https://takebackday.dea.gov/.
o Drug deactivation bags,
such as Deterra or Medsaway,
may be used to make sure the
medicines are unusable before
throwing them in the regular
garbage.
The good news is that prevention
and education efforts like these
are starting to work. Visits to
the emergency room for medicine
poisoning of children under age 6
decreased 32% from 2010 to 2016.
According to provisional data for
2018, drug overdose deaths may have
declined. Awareness of safer opioid
prescribing practices has increased,
among both prescribers and
consumers. It is too soon to declare
victory when it comes to medication
poisoning prevention, but we can
continue to build on these successes.
Contact the authors: email
rcassidy@chesco.org or @
ReneeCassidyMD on Twitter.

FA L L 2 0 1 9 | C H E S T E R C O U N T Y M e d i c i n e 9
http://www.chestercms.org https://www.chesco.org/2673/Medication-Drop-Off https://www.chesco.org/2673/Medication-Drop-Off https://takebackday.dea.gov/
Chester County Medicine Fall 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Chester County Medicine Fall 2019
