Nowadays, many people prepare some commonly used medicines at home, especially the elderly, who have many basic diseases and do not like to go to the hospital, so they often take medicines at home. However, it should be noted that there are many misunderstandings in family medicine.
Common Misunderstanding 1: Drug selection is based on feeling
Choosing a drug by feeling is a common misunderstanding of home medication.
Some elderly people hold the mentality of "long illness becomes a doctor", and feel that they know their own bodies very well and have their own views and judgments about the disease. The experience to judge the disease, without authorization.
The survey found that a considerable number of elderly patients are taking medication by feeling. For example, if the elderly suddenly feel abdominal pain at home, they treat it as a stomach problem without knowing the cause and use analgesics or stomach medicine to deal with it, but this may cover up some acute abdomen or cardiovascular problems. It can lead to a delay in treatment and may even have serious consequences.
Common Misunderstanding 2: Drug Reuse
I don’t know that many drugs often have multiple effects. Some drugs have the same effect, but the shape or manufacturer is different, or the main corresponding symptoms are different, or the applicable population is different. For example, acetaminophen is available in tablet and liquid form, with the tablet suitable for adults and the liquid form suitable for infants and young children. Also, different medicines may contain the same ingredient. Take acetaminophen as an example, many cold medicines contain it, such as Tylenol (Phenomameimin Tablets), Quick (Compound Paracetamol Capsules), Gankang (Compound Paracetamol Tablets), Baijiahei ( Ammabenmei Tablets), Baifuning [Paracetamol Pseudo Mameifen Tablets (Day Tablets)/Ammonia Mamei Min II (Night Tablets)] and Sanlitong (Compound Acetaminophen Tablets), etc.
Some elderly patients believe that the more types of drugs they take, the faster their condition will get better. They simply think of healing as "fighting", as if the medicine they take is the soldiers they send out, the more the better. But many older adults simply can't tell the difference between medicines that contain the same ingredients. If you just add medicine blindly, it is likely to cause other damage to the body due to too much of a certain ingredient in the medicine. For example, taking too much acetaminophen can lead to liver damage.
Common Misunderstanding 3: Superstition of healthcare drugs and advertising drugs
Now many elderly people are very concerned about health programs, or related information and advertisements. However, due to the inability to identify that excessive publicity, some elderly patients prefer to listen to and believe in advertised drugs, believing that the latest and most expensive drugs are the best drugs for curing diseases.
As a result, these exaggerated drugs will not only affect the treatment of diseases but also cause a waste of resources.
Common Misunderstanding 4: Overuse of Antibiotics
Some elderly patients use antibiotics at will after a runny nose or sneezing, regardless of whether their body temperature reaches the standard for medication; or when their body temperature just exceeds 37°C, they use antibiotics at will without knowing whether it is a bacterial infection or a viral infection. Studies have shown that the blind use of antibiotics to treat inflammation caused by non-bacterial infections will not only fail to treat the disease, but will also cause bacterial resistance, and even super bacteria will appear. worked.
Not only that, the abuse of antibiotics can also damage the human body. Before the drug reaches the lesion, it needs to go through a series of metabolic processes, which increases a lot of metabolites, and these metabolites are harmful to organs such as liver and kidney. Therefore, the use of antibiotics should be cautious, and it is best to use them rationally under the guidance of a doctor.
Common Misunderstanding 5: Over-frequent drug replacement or sudden drug withdrawal
As the saying goes, sickness comes like a mountain, and sickness goes like a thread. It takes a certain amount of time for any drug to take effect, not overnight. Everyone knows the reason, but sometimes they are eager to improve their condition and frequently change their medicine. Some patients have even just taken the medicine for a day or two, and they feel that there is little effect and then change the medicine without authorization, or increase the amount of the medicine without following the doctor's instructions. In addition, many elderly people often stop taking medication as soon as their body temperature returns to normal after a fever. Little do they know that the bacteria in the body have not been completely removed at this time, and the condition may recur after stopping the medicine.
With the convenience of buying medicines offline and in the community, the issue of medication safety for the elderly is gradually emerging. As family members, we should pay more attention to the medication safety of the elderly, supervise and supervise the medication of the elderly, and avoid greater harm caused by medication errors.
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