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.