If you have any questions or concerns about your prescription medicine contact your pharmacist for advice.
Pharmacists must complete 4 years of University study followed by one year as an intern in a pharmacy practice before being registered with the degree BPharm.
Pharmacists know about medicines, care about people, and are well qualified to answer questions people may have about their medicines.
Side effects are unwanted effects caused by medicines.
All medicines, just like food and drink can cause unwanted effects (side effects.)
Most people who take medicines never experience side effect problems, if they do they are they are usually mild and temporary while the body gets used to the medicine. However some medicines such as medicine to treat cancer usually cause side effects. These side effects are well known and their management is part of the overall cancer treatment.
All med+info leaflets have a special section for side effects and the action to take for each side effect. The side effects are grouped according to whether they are common, uncommon or rare. The action to take is listed alongside each group.
If you notice any unexpected change to your health or behaviour or your condition is getting worse get medical help immediately.
The cause of a suspected side effect is often not straight forward.
Everything we put into our body has risks, the food we eat, the drinks we enjoy, and the medicines we take. For most people there is no problem but for some people there are difficulties or unwanted effects (side effects). For example some people are allergic to various foods, or can’t eat anything with gluten or particular foods upset them. So it is with medicines, however most people take medicines without experiencing any side effects.
Doctors balance the benefits of the medicine against known risks (side effects) to ensure the benefit of the medicine is greater than the risk of side effects. It is not surprising that a temporary mild upset stomach is a very common side effect of medicines. It is simply the body’s way of alerting you that you have taken something new. If you continue to take it the body recognises that and the stomach upset and any other mild side effects should settle down, if they do not tell your pharmacist or doctor.
Some of the many possible causes of side effects
- It may be a recognised side effect of the medicine.
- It may be a serious allergic reaction.
- It may be caused by the symptoms or condition getting worse.
- The medicine dose may need reviewing. (It may be too high).
- The wrong medicine may have been dispensed.
- Has the medicine brand been changed?
- The new medicine may have a limited history of side effects.
- Have changed to a long acting once daily dose
- The new medicine may be reacting with another medicine being taken
- The medicine may have been taken at the wrong meal time.
- The medicine may be reacting with food or drink.
- A new health problem has developed independent of the existing health problem.
Contact your doctor or pharmacist if you think you have a serious side effect.
If you think you or someone else may be having a serious allergic reaction immediately phone New Zealand 111 or Australia 000.
What the medicine does, and how to get the best effect from it dependents to a large extend on how carefully the doctor and pharmacist’s instructions are followed.
Non-compliance is a very serious problem and often makes the patient’s health unnecessarily worse, it is also wasteful of medicine and health resources.
It is important to know what condition the medicine is treating, the risks and benefits of the treatment and to appreciate that medicines can have unwanted effects (side effects) that in rare cases can be very serious or even life-threatening
Some medicines taken to treat long standing health problems such as blood pressure and epilepsy give no obvious indication that they are working. It is important to understand this so that the medicine is not stopped because the patient is feeling well.
Medicines generally are developed treat a particular conditions such as insulin for diabetes or antibiotics for infections. However some medicines have been found useful in treating conditions other than their main use. For example some antidepressants can be useful in treating peripheral nerve pain. Med+info leaflets always tell the main use of a medicine, and if there are other recognised uses these will be listed also.
More information: med+info leaflets section 2 “How this medicine helps you”
If you have any concerns about your medicine or treatment, talk to your pharmacist and or doctor, they are there to help you.
You should never drive or operate machinery while on medicine until you have read the Driving/using machines section of your med+info leaflet or asked your pharmacist or doctor if it safe to take your medicine while driving or using machines. Make it a policy never to drive or operate machinery until you know how the medicine affects you.
If taking any medicine for depression, mental illness, or to help you sleep you must not drive until you are sure the medicine does not affect your ability to drive safely, you may get sleepy and loose attention, causing you to have an accident, injuring or killing yourself and others.
If driving on a long journey, make sure you have lots of off-road breaks on the way.
Don’t eat a large meal during the journey – the digestive effort will make you sleepy and dangerous to yourself and others.
More information: med+info leaflets section 3 “Driving/using machines”
Medicines should only be taken during pregnancy if the benefit to the mother is thought to be greater than the risk to the unborn baby. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist if you are not sure what do.
Women of child bearing age who could get pregnant must be aware that many medicines may harm an unborn child causing birth defects.
All med+info leaflets contain detailed pregnancy information and more information can be found at the Pregnancy section of this website or you can ask your pharmacist or doctor.
If you are taking medicine and get pregnant or suspect you are pregnant. Check with a med+info leaflet or ask your pharmacist what the pregnancy category of the medicine you are taking is. If it is any category other than category A make an immediate appointment to see your doctor.
If you are planning to get pregnant tell your doctor and ask if the medicines you are taking would affect an unborn baby.
Paracetamol is suitable for the short term relief of headaches and pain if taken in normal doses when pregnant.
DON’T drink Alcohol while pregnant
Drinking alcohol while pregnant is a known cause of serious birth defects and may cause the baby to develop severe behavioural problems when it is older.
DON’T Smoke while pregnant
There are proven serious risks to the future health of the unborn child if you smoke or are near passive smoke such as in a car or a house, where someone smokes.
More information: med+info leaflets section 3 “Pregnancy”
When possible breast feeding is best for baby
The breast feeding section of med+info leaflets provides the latest information for easy reference.
Where there is evidence of a serious risk to the baby if the mother breast feeds and takes the medicine med+info leaflets advise not to breast feed while taking the medicine.
The decision to take the medicine and not breast feed or to stop taking the medicine and breast feed must always be taken with medical advice, the risks and benefits having been carefully considered.
Never stop taking your medicine without consulting your doctor or pharmacist.
There may be risks to the mother’s serious health problem if she suddenly stops taking her medicine so she can breast feed. Your doctor may change your medicine to a medicine that is suitable to take if breast feeding
For many medicines there is not sufficient evidence about whether or not the medicine passes into breast milk, or whether the medicine will harm the baby. For these medicines med+info leaflets advise that breast feeding is not recommended and to ask your doctor for advice.
If you are taking medicine and are breast feeding, take the medicine immediately after feeding the baby. This allows the body time to use up the medicine, reducing the amount of medicine likely to be in the breast milk when the baby is next feeding.
Stopping breastfeeding for a week or more may result in permanent weaning as the baby may not return to the breast.
If a medicine is safe to take while pregnant then it may be able to be taken when breast feeding, but always check with your pharmacist first.
Caution: Babies can’t easily get caffeine out of their body, so avoid coffee and drinks containing caffeine while breast feeding. Caffeine may cause problems for the baby such as poor sleeping, poor feeding, nervousness and irritability.
Smoking: Do not smoke while breastfeeding or near the baby. Smoking it will harm the baby and cause breathing difficulties. If you must smoke do it outside.
More information: med+info leaflets section 3 “Breast feeding”
Because we are all unique individuals is difficult to predict how an individual may react to a combination of food and medicine. For most people it will not be a problem and for others caution will be needed.
Some medicines can cause stomach irritation if taken on an empty stomach, taking them with food usually stops this problem.
Medicines pass through the stomach and mainly get absorbed from the small intestine into the bloodstream. This explains why some medicines work faster on an empty stomach.
It is important to be consistent with daily doses taking them at the same time each day in relation to food. Either before, during or after food.
Some medicines for special conditions such as diabetes and mental illness have strict guidelines regarding food.
Tell your doctor if you have a special diet.
More information: med+info leaflets section 3 “Food”
Never drink anything containing alcohol such as beer, wine, spirits, sherry, RMD’s, cider while on medication until you have read the alcohol section of your med+info leaflet, or asked your pharmacist or doctor if it safe to take them together.
Taking alcohol while on medication can cause serious health problems:
- Make the medicines side effects worse
- Decrease the effectiveness of the medicine
- Increase the toxicity of the medicine
- Some medicines may slow the elimination of alcohol from the bloodstream, causing blood alcohol levels to rise, increasing the risk of serious harmful consequences.
Elderly people in particular must keep their doctor fully informed of their drinking habits, so appropriate advice and medication can be provided. They generally tend to have an increasing range of health problems and their bodies no longer have the strength of youth.
The Liver: Because alcohol is processed and eliminated by the liver, people with liver problems must be very cautious about their drinking habits or not drink at all. They must follow their doctor’s instructions carefully if they are to avoid damaging their liver by drinking alcohol or having alcohol competing with their medicine for elimination by the liver.
After drinking, alcohol it is absorbed into the bloodstream and slows the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) depressing emotions, vision, hearing, and reactions.
Drinking small amounts of alcohol may help people socialise by feeling more relaxed and less anxious. However drinking more alcohol (excessive drinking), depending on the people involved may cause them to: stagger; slur speech; fall over; get sleepy; be confused, talkative, abusive, angry, very friendly.
Reaction times slow dramatically which is why people are told not to drink and drive.
Binge drinking: Is when people drink large amounts of alcohol in a very short time.
They get alcohol poisoning: Vomiting; extremely sleepy; unconscious; difficulty breathing; seizures and possible death.
Alcohol Abuse is when people continue to drink alcohol knowing that such excessive drinking causes personal health problems and social and relationship problems.
Alcoholism or alcohol addiction is when people are not able to stop drinking alcohol.
Youth drinking alcohol frequently (daily) or binge drinking are at increased risk of alcoholism and serious health problems later in life.
What happens to alcohol in the body?
Alcohol is absorbed faster on an empty stomach because the empty stomach allows rapid passage of the alcohol into the small intestine where most of the absorption takes place. The alcohol is then processed by the liver where enzymes convert it to acetaldehyde then to carbon dioxide and water which is excreted from the body.
If the drinking rate exceeds the processing rate the amount of alcohol in the blood rises and the person get intoxicated or drunk.
On average Women have a lower proportion of total body water in which to distribute the alcohol. This means that women generally have higher blood alcohol concentrations than men after drinking the same amount of alcohol.
More information: med+info leaflets section 3 “Alcohol”
All medicine MUST be stored out of the reach and sight of children.
Every year children die from eating medicines that were not kept out their reach and sight.
All med+info leaflets medicines have the following phrase in two places.
Keep all medicines out of children’s reach and sight
If children are visiting grandparents, elderly relatives or friends make sure there are no medicines or tablets lying around anywhere and make sure empty medicine containers are disposed of with the rubbish and not available for children to play with.
Medicines such as antibiotic syrups that must be kept in the fridge MUST be kept out of children’s reach and sight in the fridge on the top shelf. Always return the medicine quickly to the fridge after giving a dose, don’t leave it on the bench.
Adults: Do not take doses of medicine when in VIEW of children. They may think you are taking lollies and watch to see where you keep them and then raid the cupboard.
Where there are special storage requirements for a medicine the information will be printed on the appropriate med+info leaflet.
More information: med+info leaflets section 5 “While using this medicine”
Because of their chemical nature medicines can and will react with each other and sometimes cause interaction problems. Some interaction problems are so serious that some medicines must never be taken together.
Medicine interactions may reduce or increase the action of one or other of the interacting medicines and cause serious problems from mild to life threatening.
The area of medicine interactions is very technical and complex, however, pharmacists are able to check on behalf of patients and see if there are any interaction problems likely with their medicines and advise accordingly.
Warning: If you start taking a new medicine and get a sudden unexpected change in your health, behaviour or your symptoms get worse contact your pharmacist or doctor immediately. It may be a serious interaction problem.
To help reduce medicine interaction problems:
- Always go to the same pharmacy, they will keep a list of all the medicines you take.
- When you get a new medicine ask if your pharmacist has checked to see if it is safe to take with your other medicines.
- Make sure your doctor knows about all the medicines and supplements you take.
- Periodically have your pharmacist check your medicines, supplements and herbal remedies for interactions problems.
More information: med+info leaflets section 3 “Some medicines may cause problems”
All med+info leaflets list in section 3 medicine that must not be taken together (if applicable) and medicine that may cause interaction problems.
Yes other health problems will affect the choice of medicine. Some medicines should not be taken by people who have a particular health problem. For example if you have a serious liver problem you may not be able to take some medicines that are processed by the liver. Some blood pressure medicines must not be taken by people who have asthma as the medicine could affect breathing.
For this reason it is very important that the doctor knows your full health history and has an overview of your families’ health history.
All med+info leaflets list in section 3 health conditions the doctor must know about when prescribing. Where applicable we also list health conditions that the medicine must not be prescribed for.
More information: med+info leaflets section 3 “Medical conditions”
In section one on all med+info leaflets there is a clear description of what the medicine looks like and In addition there are images of most tablets and capsule.
Always check that your medicine fits the med+info leaflet description, if it does not then ask your pharmacist to check that you have the correct medicine that the doctor prescribed.
Sometimes the Government will change the “brand” of a particular medicine to a more cost effective brand that is just as effective. This cheaper brand will normally be a generic medicine and will probably look different from the other brand. The med+info leaflet for the generic medicine will have a clear description and image of the medicine for you to check.
If you suspect an overdose immediately phone The National poisons centre.
New Zealand: 0800 764 766 or 111
Australia: 13 11 26 or 000
All med+info leaflets have a prominent text box in section 5 explaining what to do if an overdose or allergic reaction is suspected.
If an overdose is life threatening we print the usual overdose signs in the text box.
A generic medicine is a medicine whose active ingredient is identical to the active ingredient in a patented medicine that is out of patent.
In the USA medicine Patents provide for 20 years of protection and are applied at the start of a medicines development making the actual patent protection once the medicine is marketed less than 10 years. The developer gives the new medicine a unique name known as the “brand name” of the medicine.
When the 20 year patent protection expires the company no longer has a monopoly on the medicine and other companies can produce copies. These copies are called Generic medicines.
They have the same “dose form, safety, strength, route of administration, quality, performance characteristics, and intended use” as the original patented medicine.
They may have different inactive ingredients and have a different colour and shape from the patented medicine but this should not affect the effectiveness or quality of the generic medicine.
All generic medicines must pass the same quality standards as the original patented medicine and are manufactured by government approved companies.
Because generic medicine companies do not have research and development costs they can manufacture and market generic medicines considerably cheaper than the patented medicine companies. For this reason a major portion of our prescription medicines are generic medicines enabling our government to get maximum value from the health budget.
Comments and suggestions: This section is aimed at patients who need more information about their medicines. We rely on patients’ and health professionals’ feedback to help us ensure we meet their expectations. If you have any comments or suggestions to contribute click here.
