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5 Things You Must Know About Drugs and Medicines

Drugs and medicines help us to live longer and better but even they can cause some problems to your health if not taken properly. The drugs and medicines should be administered safely . If the medicines are not taken properly, they may be fatal or even harmful to your health.Hence there are 5 important things that you must know about Drugs and medicines. They are:

1. Right Dose, 2. Right Route, 3. Right Drug, 4. Right Patient, 5.Right Time. Lets see each one of them in detail:

1 Right Dose: It is very important to know the right dose of the drug that needs to be consumed. Usually the drugs are given in grams by the pharmacy, and it is our responsibility to clearly calculate the dose of the medicine that needs to be consumed. Always take medicines as per the doctor's advice. Liquid medicines are often given in a glass or a plastic bottle. Normally each liquid medicine will come with an ampoule or a small glass container which can to be used for measuring the volume of drug, that needs to be consumed as per the doctor. It is always good to read the doctor prescription with the clear description of dose that needs to be administered. The dose can be calculated in milligrams, dose on hand , volume on hand etc. If the drug is a pill or a Capsule make sure to consume the exact number of pills as administered by the doctor. The dose of pills or capsule will vary depending on age of the person, like child or an adult, weight of the body etc. Hence it is always advisable to take medicines and drugs as per doctor's advice.

2. Right Route: The next most important thing that needs to be considered is the right route for administration of drugs. There are many routes for drug administration. They are:

By mouth: These medicines will be usually capsules, pills or liquids, and they need to taken orally.

By injection: These drugs needs to be given parenterally by injecting them to the tissues of the body by using a syringe or a needle.

In a certain location or area: In this method, the medicines needs to be applied only in the mucous membrane or in the skin topically.

To be used through Eyes and ears: There are certain medicines that needs to be used only in the ears and eyes.

3. Right Drug : The third important thing that needs to be remembered is the right drug. The correct drug or medicine needs to be given to the right patient. While medication is administered, the name of the medicine in the medication card should be same as the label of the medicine bottle. The medicine in the doctor's prescriptions slip, is the one that needs to be ordered. And when ever buying a medicine we need to see the expiration date of the medicine and the manufacturing date. It is very important to check this to find out how old the medicine is and how long that drug bottle can be used. Always go for a medicine that has latest manufacturing date.

4. Right patient: This is one of the most important thing that needs to be known. We need to be sure that the right medicine is given to the right person. There are patients with similar names. Hence the medication card needs to be clearly checked against the name of the patient, to make sure that the right medicine is given to the right patient. This is often done in hospitals, where the patient will be asked to tell his or her name for identification before giving a medicine.

5. Right Time: This is one the very important thing that needs to be followed. The drugs used should be taken in the appropriate time, like before meals, after meals, etc. Antibiotics usually needs to be given once in every 6, or 8 hours. Diuretics are given normally in the morning hours as it does not affect the patient's sleep as they cause frequent urination. Hence taking the drugs in the right time is more important for getting an effective medication. Hence these are the 5 things you must know about drugs and medicines.