What is polysubstance use?The use of more than one drug, also known as polysubstance use, is common. This includes when two or more are taken together or within a short time period, either intentionally or unintentionally. Show
Intentional polysubstance use occurs when a person takes a drug to increase or decrease the effects of a different drug or wants to experience the effects of the combination. Unintentional polysubstance use occurs when a person takes drugs that have been mixed or cut with other substances, like fentanyl, without their knowledge. Whether intentional or not, mixing drugs is never safe because the effects from combining drugs may be stronger and more unpredictable than one drug alone, and even deadly. What to do if you think someone is overdosing It may be hard to tell whether a person is high or experiencing an overdose. If you aren’t sure, treat it like an overdose—you could save a life.
*Most states have laws that may protect a person who is overdosing or the person who called for help from legal trouble. **Naloxone is a life-saving medication that can reverse the effects of opioid overdose and save lives. It is available in all 50 states and can be purchased from a local pharmacy without a prescription in most states. (PDF version - 68KB) There are more opportunities today than ever before to learn about your health and to take better care of yourself. It is also more important than ever to know about the medicines you take. If you take several different medicines, see more than one doctor, or have certain health conditions, you and your doctors need to be aware of all the medicines you take. Doing so will help you to avoid potential problems such as drug interactions. 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. Drug interactions fall into three broad categories:
Drug Interactions and Over-the-Counter MedicinesOver-the-counter (OTC) drug labels contain information about ingredients, uses, warnings and directions that is important to read and understand. The label also includes important information about possible drug interactions. Further, drug labels may change as new information becomes known. That's why it's especially important to read the label every time you use a drug.
Learning More About Drug InteractionsTalk to your doctor or pharmacist about the drugs you take. When your doctor prescribes a new drug, discuss all OTC and prescription drugs, dietary supplements, vitamins, botanicals, minerals and herbals you take, as well as the foods you eat. Ask your pharmacist for the package insert for each prescription drug you take. The package insert provides more information about potential drug interactions. Before taking a drug, ask your doctor or pharmacist the following questions:
Know how to take drugs safely and responsibly. Remember, the drug label will tell you:
If you still have questions after reading the drug product label, ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information Remember that different OTC drugs may contain the same active ingredient. If you are taking more than one OTC drug, pay attention to the active ingredients used in the products to avoid taking too much of a particular ingredient. Under certain circumstances — such as if you are pregnant or breast-feeding — you should talk to your doctor before you take any medicine. Also, make sure you know what ingredients are contained in the medicines you take. Doing so will help you to avoid possible allergic reactions. Examples of Drug Interaction WarningsThe following are examples of drug interaction warnings that you may see on certain OTC drug products. These examples do not include all of the warnings for the listed types of products and should not take the place of reading the actual product label. Back to top Drug Interaction Information
This information is brought to you by the Council on Family Health in cooperation with the National Consumers League and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Back to top ResourcesForYou
What are two drug interactions called?Listen to pronunciation. (SIH-ner-JIS-tik) In medicine, describes the interaction of two or more drugs when their combined effect is greater than the sum of the effects seen when each drug is given alone.
What is an antagonistic drug interaction?An interaction between two or more drugs that have opposite effects on the body. Drug antagonism may block or reduce the effectiveness of one or more of the drugs.
What are 3 types of drug interactions?There are three types of drug interactions: Drug-drug interaction: A reaction between two (or more) drugs. Drug-food interaction: A reaction between a drug and a food or beverage. Drug-condition interaction: A reaction that occurs when taking a drug while having a certain medical condition.
Which term describes the drug interaction that occurs when two drugs are administered at the same time and only one drug increases the effect of the other?In toxicology, synergism refers to the effect caused when exposure to two or more chemicals at one time results in health effects that are greater than the sum of the effects of the individual chemicals.
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