Asthma: Beware of Drug Interactions

Sometimes when you take a medication for sleep and another for asthma the result can make you breathe more slowly and less deeply, which can be dangerous if you have lung problems such as asthma.  Other problems can be caused by taking asthma drugs and diuretics, used to treat high blood pressure and congestive heart failure…or asthma drugs and beta-blockers, used to treat conditions such as high blood pressure, heart disease or migraines. And it’s not just prescription drugs.  Over-the-counter drugs can cause drug-interactions as well.

Drug interactions may make your drug less effective, cause unexpected side effects or increase the action of a particular drug. Some drug interactions can even be harmful to you. Reading the label every time you use a nonprescription or prescription drug and taking the time to learn about drug interactions may be critical to your health. You can reduce the risk of potentially harmful drug interactions and side effects with a little bit of knowledge and common sense.

According to the Federal Citizen Information Center and the Council on Family Health, drug interactions fall into three broad categories:

• Drug-drug interactions occur when two or more drugs react with each other. This drug-drug interaction may cause you to experience an unexpected side effect. For example, mixing a drug you take to help you sleep (a sedative) and a drug you take for allergies (an antihistamine) can slow your reactions and make driving a car or operating machinery dangerous.
• Drug-food/beverage interactions result from drugs reacting with foods or beverages. For example, mixing alcohol with some drugs may cause you to feel tired or slow your reactions.
• Drug-condition interactions may occur when an existing medical condition makes certain drugs potentially harmful. For example, if you have high blood pressure you could experience an unwanted reaction if you take a nasal decongestant.

It’s vital to talk to your doctor about all the medications you are taking because your life may depend on it.

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