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Over the Counter Medication Use:

Over the Counter Medication Use:. Basic information for educators. Matthew Perri Ph.D, R.Ph., UGA College of Pharmacy. Goals for next hour:. Help you take better care of yourself and those you care for Learn about some key features of OTC medications including Problems Side effects Choices

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Over the Counter Medication Use:

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  1. Over the Counter Medication Use: Basic information for educators. Matthew Perri Ph.D, R.Ph., UGA College of Pharmacy

  2. Goals for next hour: • Help you take better care of yourself and those you care for • Learn about some key features of OTC medications including • Problems • Side effects • Choices • Special considerations • How use of these medications could affect classroom behavior

  3. How many of you have taken an OTC medication in the last week or two? We’ll come back to this in a minute.

  4. Basic Points: • Medication v. Drug • MOST medications can cause • Nausea • Vomiting • Diarrhea • Dizziness • Drowsiness

  5. Overview of OTC Medications (Harris Survey) • > 100,000 OTC Products • Few unique active ingredients • > 700 are former Rx meds

  6. Some Interesting OTC Facts: • 3/5 people have used an OTC medication in the last 6 months • This is slightly more than who used an Rx medication in the last 6 months • Implication: You are more likely to encounter OTC use in school than Rx!

  7. Interesting Facts and OTC Problems: • People don’t consider OTC’s real medicine. • People just don’t know what is in these medications, and many contain the same active ingredients. • Only 34% of consumers could identify the active ingredient in the medicine they were taking.

  8. OTC Medication Use by Category: • Most common uses include: • Pain (78%) • Cough, cold, flu (52%) • Allergy and sinus (45%) • Heartburn, stomach (37%) • Constipation, diarrhea (21%) • Skin problems (10%)

  9. For Example: • Pain • Most common ingredients: • Acetaminophen (Tylenol aka, APAP) • Aspirin (Many) • Ibuprofen (Motrin IB, Advil) • Naproxen (Aleve) and ketoprofen (Orudis) • Caffeine • Buffers, coatings, long acting, strongest pain reliever you can buy without a prescription….

  10. OTC Medication Use: Focus on School Age Children Some specific recommendations and considerations

  11. Key Point: • Recognizing the rules about medication use in school we still have to be aware of what people might be doing without our knowledge • Communicate with parents • If they are taking Rx meds, chances are they use OTC’s as well • Communicate with students • Dosed before school • Taken while at school without knowledge • Taken after school • Smoking? Illicit drugs?

  12. Pain • Acetaminophen (apap) • first line treatment in those < 18 • Generally causes few problems • Is very safe to use • Aspirin • should be avoided in the under 18 age group • Reye’s syndrome • Other problems usually associated with stomach distress (NVD)

  13. Pain • Ibuprofen • Fine to use in the <18 age group • Works about as well as apap • Caution if kids are dehydrated • Sometimes used in combo with APAP • Dizziness, plus stomach problems • CAUTION • Aspirin / ibuprofen allergies a concern, in some cases you are seeing students after their first dose of a medication! • Hives, shortness of breath, facial swelling, difficulty breathing or swallowing, itching, feeling funny • Seek medical assistance immediately

  14. Cough, Cold and Flu, Allergy and Sinus • Decongestants (stuffy) • Pseudoephedrine (Sudafed) • PPA removed from the market, others include phenylepherine, and some nasal sprays (Afrin) • Have been associated with hallucinations, hypertension, irritability and hyperactivity • Can also cause drowsiness, especially as as the dose wears off • Products are available for very young children, but dosing is critical, so use pediatric dosage forms and measure carefully

  15. Cough, Cold and Flu, Allergy and Sinus • Antihistamines (runny) • Claritin, Alavert (loratidine) Diphenhydramine (Benadryl), chlor and brompheniramine (Chlortrimeton, Dimetapp) • Alone, usually cause drowsiness • In combination, variable effects • NLD – 1:05 AM • Kids need plenty of fluids when taking these, helps with drowsiness and dry mouth, PLUS MORE

  16. Cough • Cough suppressants • DM = dextromethorophan • Drowsiness, dizziness, NV • Codeine • Have to sign for OTC use • Not recommended for infants • Small or young children, can be used with caution • Expectorants • Guiafenesin (basic ingredient in most) • Usually no problem, need to use with water, works about as well as water in OTC doses. • No, water probably works better…

  17. Combination Products • Robitussin and Triaminic brands are very popular with pharmacists because they have many choices • Plain, DM, CF, PE, Orange, Grape • These products may contain • Antihistamines • Decongestants • Cough suppressants • Expectorants

  18. Heartburn, Stomach, Gas • Antacids – many, many • Maalox, Riopan, Gaviscon, and plenty more • Tagament, Zantac, Pepcid, etc. • Gas • Simethicone • Breaks up the gas bubbles so they can be expelled and not cause pain. These products do not reduce the amount of gas! • Gas X • Mylicon • Many generics available

  19. Constipation and Diarrhea • The most amazing products that treat both! How do they know? • Equilactin • Balances water in the colon to properly form stools, adds fiber.

  20. Skin Problems • Key here is contagiousness • Is the problem going to spread? • Bacterial, fungal, yes. • Contact dermatologic problems, usually not. • OTC Skin products usually present few problems • Neosporin, Polysporin, Micatin, Lotrimin, Lamasil, Aveeno, Bacitracin, Ivy Dry, Calamine, Hydrocortisone, etc. • Local reactions possible, sensitivity

  21. Surprising? • 49 percent of consumers get information from ads • 57 percent get their information from a health professional

  22. Ask Your Pharmacist!

  23. 10 Tips on OTC use • Read the label • Treat only the symptoms you have • Know what to avoid while taking OTCs – beware of interactions • ASK before you buy • Use as directed on the label • Be careful if you take > 1 OTC • Don’t mix Rx and OTCs including herbals • Give your doctor a list of ALL meds • For kids, use pediatric formulas • Throw meds away if they are expired

  24. Keep in mind: • If you have students taking OTC meds, more than 1 medication, Rx and OTC meds, and something seems out of character, it could be the cause. • These kinds of problems need to be brought to the attention of a health professional asap.

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