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“Prescription drug overdose,” says Sun Life Family Health Center Pharmacy Director Matt Bertsch, “is much more common than you’d might think.”
According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC),

approximately 183,000 people died in 2012 from drug-related overdoses, with opioid painkillers being the biggest cause.
In the United States, overdose deaths have steadily increased over the last 12 years. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, there was a 2.5-fold increase in the total number of deaths for men and women related to drug overdoses from 2001 to 2013. Over 16,000 people died due to drug overdose in 2013. That’s nearly 44 people a day.
Here are some tips to keep your medicinal intake safe:
Always keep your prescription pills in the same bottle they came in. Some people will put all their pills in one bottle, thinking that they will be able to tell the difference between them. This is not always the case.
If you want to put your pills into one place that is easy to remember, get a pill box divided out by the weekday or by morning/afternoon. This will ensure you are taking the right pills at the right times each day, no matter what the pills look like.
Don’t switch pills from one bottle to another. While this may seem harmless on the surface, putting “like” pills together may be hazardous.
This is especially dangerous when you have two or more pills of the same relative size, shape and color. It could also be a problem if the pharmacy you use changes pill manufacturers, and suddenly your pills look a little different.
This practice could be harmful especially if dosage amounts have changed – which also could alter your instructions for taking them. If you aren’t paying attention, you could be taking much more than you need if you continue to take your medication according to instructions for a lower dose.
Additionally, if the number of refills are listed on your bottle labels, switching bottles could confuse you about how many refills you actually have. If you think you still have one left and the doctor is asking you to come in for a visit to allow him to write another prescription, you may be without your prescription a lot longer than anticipated.
Don’t take the labels off your prescription bottles. Your prescription label is your source for important information such as dosage, instructions for taking your medication, your prescribing doctor, the name and number of your pharmacy, and other assorted data related to the drug manufacturer. Without it, you, your family or your medical providers don’t have this vital information should an unexpected emergency happen.
Many people believe that their medical files are open to every and any doctor they may see, and this is not the case. So if you do not have the labels on your bottles, you may not be able to accurately tell a new doctor or specialist the drugs prescribed to you. Wrong dosages or types of drugs could be filled for you, or new ones prescribed that could have potential bad interactions with ones you are already taking.
Keep drugs out of reach of children. One easy way to prevent accidental overdoses is to keep your medications out of reach and out of the sightline of children. This not only includes over the counter and pharmaceutical pill bottles, but medications that come in patch-form as well. Sun Life Pharmacy Director Matt Bertsch recounts how some children have found medicinal patches, and start using them like stickers. Be sure even when disposing of patches to fold the sticky parts together before tossing them in the trash.
“Another thing that parents should be cognizant of is to NEVER tell kids that medicine tastes like candy,” Dir. Bertsch added. “It can cause an unfortunate association. Because for example, iron tablets can look like M&M candy without the logo.”
And never allow children to play with or use your old pill bottles.
“Because even if you wash it out, even the slightest residual residue inside of it can cause harm to a child,” Dir. Bertsch added.
Keep the contact number for Poison Control at hand at all times. If you suspect that either you or someone in your household has accidentally overdosed on medication, contact Poison Control at 1-(800)-222-1222.
“But everyone should have that phone number memorized,” Dir. Bertsch added. It helps save many lives.”
For more information on medication overdose, visit the Center for Disease Control website.
There are news or informational items frequently written by staff or submitted to the Copper Basin News, San Manuel Miner, Superior Sun, Pinal Nugget or Oracle Towne Crier for inclusion in our print or digital products. These items are not credited with an author.
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