ALWAYS READ THE LABEL!

Last week, my husband Jerry had a small operation, and was advised to use ibuprofen as a painkiller.  The doctor told him to take the tablets with food.  However, when he went to bed that evening, Jerry swallowed the pills with water, not food.  In the middle of the night, he woke up wheezing and  covered in red, itchy hives.  Unsure as to the cause, he read the paperwork that came with the ibuprofen.  It takes a lot to shock him, but he was shocked at what he found.

The guidelines said to stop taking the medicine and tell your doctor if you experienced: unexplained wheezing, shortness of breath, skin rash, itching, bruising, facial swelling, indigestion, heartburn, abdominal pain, yellowing of skin and whites of the eye, eye pain, blurred vision, sore mouth, difficulty passing urine, hallucination, swollen ankles, severe blistering or peeling of the skin, anaemia and severe sore throat.  The list of mild side effects included stomach discomfort, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, indigestion, flatulence, weight gain, headaches, tinnitus, tiredness, pins and needles and constipation.  But there’s more!  Rare side effects included confusion, depression, dizziness, vertigo, blood disorders, kidney / liver failure, colitis or Crohn’s disease, severe itching, hives (we got there eventually!), high blood pressure and aseptic meningitis.  Even after all that there was still more!

When I see people in my clinics, I always ask them to bring along any medication they are taking.  You would be surprised at how often their presenting condition is matched by a side effect of the medication.  Just like my husband, they hadn’t bothered to read the paperwork.

We are lucky in Ireland to have a superb network of pharmacists, and if you have any doubts about the side effects of your medication, they can advise you.  With medication, it is vital to follow the instructions about not only dosage but also how to take it.  My husband had no reaction to the ibuprofen when he took it with food.  After breaking out in hives, he stopped taking the ibuprofen immediately and changed to Paracetamol – but not before reading accompanying paperwork thoroughly!