Over the Counter Medication : - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Over the Counter Medication :

• > 100,000 OTC Products
• Few unique active ingredients
• > 700 are former Rx meds

• 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

• Medication v. Drug
• MOST medications can cause
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Dizziness
• Drowsiness

• 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.

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

• 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….

OTC Medication Use:

Some specific recommendations and considerations

• 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)

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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…

• are very popular because they have many choices
• Plain, DM, CF, PE, Orange, Grape
• These products may contain
• Antihistamines
• Decongestants
• Cough suppressants
• Expectorants

• 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

• 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

• If patient takes OTC meds, more than 1 medication, Rx and OTC meds, and something seems out of character, it could be the cause of adverse reaction.
• These kinds of problems need to be brought to the attention of a health professional.