Learn to Read Medication Boxes, Part 2

So let's begin on this journey again. Last time we discussed something important, changing our mindset when it comes to medicine purchases. We need to think in terms of buying an ingredient instead of buying a name. Today we are going to start looking at boxes.  Most times, over-the-counter (OTC) boxes have a few sides that are dedicated to cramming as much information into the space as possible.  Or, it seems that way at least.

If you have a brand name box, on the front of the package you'll see its brand name. In this instance, we see the name Advil®. Notice that below the name Advil® is the active ingredient, ibuprofen. That active ingredient is what is responsible for helping reduce fever and inflammation. If you rotate the box, you will also find the name of the active ingredient at the beginning of the Drug Facts section. As you will see further below, the ingredient in not Advil®, rather, the ingredient again is ibuprofen.

This is not an endorsement of a particular store brand.

Now I know there's a lot of tiny print in the Drug Facts section. It can be overwhelming to look at. However, there's a lot of important information found here. Don't worry, we'll go through it slowly together. The different sections found in the Drug Facts section are:

 

-Active Ingredient

-Uses

-Warnings

-Directions

-Other Information

-Inactive Ingredients

So let's take a closer look at the Active Ingredient portion.  It starts out saying "Active Ingredient (in each caplet)." Just that little amount of information already tells me something. It gives me a dose amount/serving-size - 1 caplet. Let's go a bit further. Next is says "Ibuprofen 200mg (NSAID)" Therefore, when you ingest 1 caplet, you have just taken 200mg of ibuprofen.

Notice how after the (NSAID)* there is a *. This * means that the manufacturer has something extra to say, like a definition, about that sentence or word. We need to find another * on the box to see what it means. As it happens, the next line says *nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug. We found the second *! Therefore, that * after (NSAID)* is saying that NSAID stands for *NonSteroidalAnti-Inflammatory Drug.

Let's look at a another example of this on the front of the box. After "100 Coated Caplets" there is another *. That star means we have more information somewhere on the box about what a caplet is. Very conveniently, it happens to have the matching single star right below it saying Capsule-Shaped Tablets. It's a definition saying what a "Caplet" is. Let's say the box said 100 Coated Caplets***. See how there's three stars? Well, then you'd look somewhere on the box for *** to see what additional information the company is trying to relay.

There's one other piece of information that the Active Ingredient section will give - the purpose of the ingredient. In the example above, the purpose next to ibuprofen is pain reliever/fever reducer. In other words, it is telling you what the ingredient does. 

Whew! That was a lot of information in such a tiny space!  Great job keeping up though. These steps will make you an informed consumer, something that I think is very important. Know what you are putting into your body and what it will do for you. Next time, we'll examine more areas of the box.

Questions?  Leave a comment below if anything is unclear so far. 

Got Darts? Protect Your Wall.

We'll revisit medicine boxes later next week...

It seems that whenever the hubby leaves town on business, I get so many more projects done than normal (love you babe!).  You see, after his long hour and a half commute home, most times we just want to have dinner, "chillax," and catch each other up on our day.  So with all the time in the world on my day off, I set to work.

I am dangerous with darts in hand.  Dangerously bad.  

My walls fear me because they have no idea where my inconsistent aim will go.  Drywall or wood-trim?  All are fair game in this struggle to hit the mark.  For this reason, I've been meaning to nail up an extra layer of wood or drywall so I won't keep damaging the existing surface.  I have to say, it turned out pretty well too.  My goal was to go to Home Depot and not spend too much for this job.  We're trying to stick to a tight budget for the next few months, so every dollar counts.  After all was said and done, I didn't spend a dime doing this fix!  I had all the materials I needed lurking out in the garage.

When we bought our home, the former owners left behind a large sheet of drywall.  For over a year it has been sitting in a garage corner.  Little did I know that it was waiting there to be drug out and put to use.  My first task was to learn how to cut drywall.  It was really easy too.  All I needed was a box cutter, tape measure, and long yard stick (broom did well in my case).  Then, for the rest of the job I used nails, spackle, fine grain sander, and paint.

1.Mark needed measurement on one side of drywall.  Score drywall with boxcutter using a yard stick (broom in my case) as a guide.

2.Place object underneath drywall.

3.Gently bend along scored line.

4.Cut other side of paper surface.  Tah dah! You just cut drywall!

5.Nail drywall to surface.  Make sure you locate the wall studs so your nails grab onto more to carry the weight of a heavier dart board.  Spackle nail holes and sides of drywall that were cut.  Allow to dry.  Lightly sand.

6. Paint.

7.Hang dart board and have fun!

Before I hung this dart board, we had a cheap board from x-mart on the wall.  The darts were very light and flew everywhere.  After using my fabulous Discover Rewards to purchase a nicer board, I noticed that heavier, metal darts are the way to go.  They remain true to your aim so much better.  If I'd have switched to the new darts earlier, I probably would have saved my walls a few holes.  However, now my walls are prepared for any throw that may come their way.

Learn to Read Medication Boxes, Part 1

I kept debating about what my next post should be about.  What I finally decided on surrounds a topic that I run into on a daily basis....how to read a medication box.  I want to begin to teach you something important.  When you walk into the pharmacy and ask for Tylenol®, what you are buying is a name brand.  What I want you to start thinking about, rather, is buying an ingredient.  

There are only a select number of prescription medications that require consistency when sticking to a brand or generic product - thyroid supplementation, seizure, and some heart medications to name a few.  Buying a generic medication is not like buying off-brand Oreo's, where you don't know what quality you are going to get.  

Why should I trust generic medications?  Well, straight from the FDA website, "To gain FDA approval, a generic drug must:

·         Contain the same active ingredients as the innovator drug (inactive ingredients may vary)
·         Be identical in strength, dosage form, and route of administration
·         Have the same use indications
·         Be bioequivalent
·         Meet the same batch requirements for identity, strength, purity, and quality
·         Be manufactured under the same strict standards of FDA's good manufacturing practice regulations required for innovator products.*"

Bioequivalent means that a generic drug is identical to a brand name drug “in dosage form, safety, strength, route of administration, quality, performance characteristics and intended use.*”

For example, ibuprofen is an active ingredient used for inflammation, pain, and fever.  It has multiple brand names like Advil® and Motrin®.  In my medicine cabinet, I have plain old ibuprofen, no fancy name brands.  I know that when I buy any ibuprofen over-the-counter, it's going to contain the same amount of active ingredient and work the same way as the ibuprofen in the Advil and Motrin.  Why? Because ibuprofen is ibuprofen is ibuprofen...it's the same ingredient no matter how you package it.  Some companies may give an ingredient a cool name and put it in a box with pretty colors, but if the ingredient is the same as a store-brand version, why pay more for something that works just as well?

This is not an endorsement of a particular store brand.  It simply happens to be the  bottle of ibuprofen I currently have in my medicine cabinet.

Why then does my doctor recommend a brand name over-the-counter medication at my office visit?  Well, name brands are easy to remember.  Companies have done a lot of marketing research beforehand on what names stick in people's minds.  It's a lot easier for a doctor to recommend a name like Allegra® (uh-lay-gruh) than have to train patients how to ask for its generic fexofenadine (fex-oh-fen-uh-deen) in the pharmacy.  Allegra® is a whole lot easier to spell on a piece of paper too :)  If you have a name brand medicine in your cabinet, take out the box and look at it.  Somewhere next to or below the title will be smaller print saying what the active ingredient is, or it should say that at least.  So, below the word Allegra, you'll find the word fexofenadine, the active ingredient.  Once you locate what the active ingredient is, you can compare store-brand boxes around it to find a comparable generic version.

I find it easier for patients to remember what I'm saying if I don't overwhelm them with too much information.  So, I'm going to keep these lessons short so you can absorb the information as it comes.  The one main point to take away from today's lesson is:

Generic medications will work just as well as brand name medications.  The FDA requires it.

*Generic Drugs: Questions and Answers. FDA website. 11 October 2012.  http://www.fda.gov/drugs/resourcesforyou/consumers/questionsanswers/ucm100100.htm