(What you need to know about medication first appeared in the Public Opinion Newspaper in June 2015.)
Paul Berkebile, PharmD, retail pharmacy manager and pharmacist at Keystone Pharmacy, shares the three different types of medications and what you need to know before taking over the counter medications and supplements.
Three Types of Medications
There are three main types of medications – prescription, over the counter, and supplements. It’s important to understand the differences and to disclose to your physician all types of medication so there are no interactions or problems. In all cases, your health care provider must be involved and know what you are taking so there are no potential side effects which can range from inconvenient issues to loss of life.
Prescriptions
Prescription drugs must be proven to be safe and effective. This means that they should not hurt a person if taken as directed and there is a reasonable expectation that they will help the condition for which they are being prescribed. However, if a person is allergic to a certain ingredient in a drug, it may cause a serious reaction. Also, if a person takes more than advised, there may be a serious reaction. For most people, prescriptions drugs are usually safe and will help their condition.
OTC
Over the counter (OTC) medications are held to fewer, less stringent standards than prescription drugs. One hundred years ago, there were no regulations on these medications. After a few incidents of people dying from taking some of these remedies, the government passed laws demanding that manufacturers prove these products are safe. However, the proof for them being effective is much less stringent. This allows for non-traditional forms of medical remedies to be made available.
Supplements
Supplements have the least amount of oversight. These consist of vitamins, herbal products, and natural products. They don’t have to show themselves to be effective. Also, there are no standardized strengths for supplements and no uniform standard directions. For example, 60 mg ginkgo biloba capsules from brand A may or may not have the same amount of ginkgo biloba as in a 60 mg capsule of brand B. Each manufacturer is free to prepare the capsule as they see fit.
More to Consider
For supplements, determining what is right for a particular individual is difficult at best. Take Vitamin D, for example. Does the product contain Vitamin D3 or a different form of vitamin D? D3 is the most usable form and is usually the preferred form. At one time it was generally believed that 400 units of Vitamin D3 was plenty for anyone. Recent studies have shown that the actual number is highly variable and depends on how much sunlight a person gets as well as the latitude where the person lives.
