Tips for Medication on Spring Festival

        The Lunar New Year is approaching, which is an important time for family reunion. When we have dinner or travel with friends and relatives, don't forget to care about the health of ourselves and our family. What regular medicines should be prepared at home? How to choose a safe New Year gift? This issue of "Health Column" provides practical medication tips to accompany you to welcome the New Year!

        Secret 1: "remove the old and replace the new" medicine

                First of all, we should inspect the medicine boxes in our homes and carry out the year-end cleaning of waste drugs. If there are expired or deteriorated drugs, the principle of "six steps of drug recovery" - "pouring, washing, concentration, mixing, sealing and recycling" should be followed.

        After taking out the tablet or capsule from the original package, "pour" it into the chain clip bag; For liquid medicine, first "pour" the chain clip bag, then "wash" the container containing liquid medicine with clean water, and then pour the waste liquid into the chain clip bag. The used toilet paper, waste paper, toilet paper, coffee residue or tea residue can also be put together. Finally, the chain clip bag can be "sealed" and discarded with general garbage.

        In case of antibiotics, cancer drugs, immunosuppressive drugs and hormonal drugs, it is recommended to take them to the hospital or drug bureau for treatment in comparison with medical waste to avoid environmental pollution.

        In addition, under the correct storage conditions, oral medicine or ointment after opening can be stored for up to six months; The eye drops, ointments or oral liquid should be stored for one month at most. If the drug has expired or has discoloration, mildew or peculiar smell, it should be discarded. As for other health food or scientific Chinese medicine, it should also be noted whether there is moisture. If the powder is found to be caked and discolored, it can not be used again.

        Secret 2: home medication small advice

        During the Spring Festival, people usually eat more high-salt and high-fat foods. In addition to overeating or irregular meals, gastrointestinal discomfort (abdominal distension, abdominal pain, diarrhea, constipation, indigestion) and even gastroenteritis are likely to occur. It is advisable to prepare antacids, laxatives, digestive aids, etc. to alleviate the discomfort. If they still do not improve after taking them for a period of time, it is recommended to go to a doctor to avoid delaying the illness.

        Moreover, the Spring Festival is at the peak of colds and flu. The symptoms of upper respiratory tract caused by colds (sore throat, sneezing, nasal congestion) can usually be alleviated within a few days. If it is serious enough to affect life and rest, some people will choose to take the commercially available comprehensive cold medicine, but it can only relieve symptoms, not shorten the course of disease or kill the virus. It is recommended to consult the pharmacist before purchasing to facilitate the remedy to the case. If there is no relief after taking the medicine, or there are high fever, shortness of breath, wheezing, severe throat pain and other conditions, you should go to the hospital for further examination and evaluation.

        Many people don't know the difference between colds and flu, but in fact, the main reason is that the virus causing the disease is different. The latter is an acute respiratory tract infectious disease caused by influenza virus, which is different from the common cold. It will have obvious headache, fever, tiredness, muscle soreness, a longer course of disease, and is more likely to cause complications. If the above symptoms occur, it is also recommended to seek medical treatment as soon as possible.

        It is worth noting that the drugs that are used for the first time or have caused discomfort should be vigilant. Once there is discomfort in the eyes, swollen throat, fever, oral ulcer, skin rash and itching, which may be the early symptoms of drug allergy, it is necessary to immediately return to the hospital and actively inform the medication history or drug allergy history. However, not all allergic reactions will occur immediately after taking the drug. Due to different types of drugs or mechanisms, some reactions may be delayed. Therefore, please keep the original medicine bag during the use of medicine, and make the judgment of the medical personnel to make appropriate disposal as soon as possible.

        Secret 3: Please prepare medicine in advance for chronic patients

        During the Spring Festival, chronic patients (hypertension, hyperlipidemia, hyperglycemia, heart disease, etc.) should also take medicine regularly. They should not stop or adjust the dosage. If they forget to take the medicine, they can take it as soon as possible after thinking about it in a short time. If they are close to the next time of taking the medicine, they should not take it again, nor should they take twice the amount at one time.

        Due to the different time of rest in different hospitals, chronic patients should confirm in advance whether the dosage is sufficient, especially for some emergency drugs, such as nitroglycerin sublingual tablets to relieve angina pectoris and bronchodilators used during asthma attacks.

        If the time limit for receiving drugs on the chronic prescription paper is just during the annual holiday, in order to avoid drug interruption, the Ministry of Health and Welfare has opened to receive drugs in advance, and then pay attention to the announcement information of the hospital. People who plan to go abroad or return to the outlying islands can show their certificates and get back the amount of slow notes at one time to ensure uninterrupted medication.

        Secret 4: Be careful when giving gifts on New Year's Day

        When visiting relatives and friends for the New Year, it is necessary to bring a hand gift. When choosing gifts, it is necessary to pay attention to the possible interaction between health food and some specific traditional Chinese medicine and western medicine. For example, oral antiplatelet drugs and anticoagulants should not be taken together with ginseng, angelica, astragalus, ginkgo and other blood-activating drugs, otherwise it may strengthen the anticoagulant effect and increase the risk of bleeding.

        In addition, some healthy foods are labeled with monascus, whose structure is similar to that of statin, a lipid-lowering drug. If taken in combination, it may increase the suspicion of side effects (myopathy, rhabdomyolysis). As for clam essence and chicken essence, which are often seen in the market, because they contain high concentration of concentrated nutrients, they are not suitable for patients who need to limit protein and prin (such as gout, chronic kidney disease). Some foods and drugs are also easy to interact with each other. For example, the combination of hypertension drugs and grapefruit juice may affect the efficacy; When taking anticoagulant drugs, you should not suddenly ingest a large amount of vegetables rich in vitamin K (broccoli, spinach, kale, etc.) to avoid reducing the efficacy and causing thrombosis.

        In addition, it is inevitable to take a small drink during the Spring Festival, but alcohol may prolong the action time of some drugs in the body, such as benzodiazepines (BZD) drugs with central sedation and anti-inflammatory and analgesic drugs, and alcohol consumption should be minimized to ensure the safety of medication.

        conclusion

        As long as we grasp the above four principles, take medicine on time, maintain a balanced diet and regular work and rest, carry out hand cleaning when going out, and wear a mask to strengthen the health management of the respiratory tract, we can have a healthy New Year!

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