When you’re prescribed treatment or medicine for an ailment the doc will have considered your case carefully & decided the safest way out for you.

For those with prescriptions they may feel that the drug is not working & consider taking a higher dosage than recommended. It can be highly hazardous to do this without consulting a doctor. With prescribed medicine it is important also to never share medicine with other people. They may have an identical condition to you but their body or condition may say that they take a different medication & by taking yours they may be doing more damage to themselves.

Below are 10 tips to ensure you’re safe when carrying out your medicine.

1. Ask your doctor are there are any foods or drinks that should be avoided when on your medication, sometimes they can conflict or worsen your condition.

2. By all means visit another doc for a second outlook but always disclose any conditions or treatment you’ve taken from another doctor so that the second one does not prescribe conflicting drugs or supplementary of the same.

3. Continue the course of treatment even if you feel better, the drugs may have eradicated the noticeable symptoms but will still be working away behind the scenes to fully treat your problem.

4. Don’t be afraid to ask your doctor about the drug you’re prescribed; what does it do? What to expect from it? Also know how to identify it from other pills by their markings/shape/etc.

5. Familiarize yourself with the name of the medicines you have been prescribed by your Doc, and check the container when given the drugs if you go to a pharmacy, there’s always a chance for human error.

6. If you’re prescribed multiple drugs or pills make certain you check when it’s safe to take each one, some drugs may not respond well when taken together.

7. If you miss a time when you should have taken your dose do not double up at the next time to take your medicine, if it is vital not to miss the time then contact your doctor or pharmacist to find out what to do.

8. Use a pill case/organizer to help remind you of when to take various pills with their correct dosage too. Set alarms on your watch or computer to remind you or keep a diary.

9. When on prescription drugs try to stay away from alcohol all together, lots of prescribed drugs do not mix well with alcohol & can be deadly, consult with your doctor as to whether you can drink alcohol even as your course of medication is going on.

10. When you’ve finished your treatment don’t flush remaining drugs down the toilet, certain drugs would not be filtered out by water treatment processes. Go to your doctor or pharmacist for suggestion on responsibly disposing of surplus medication.