The advancements in medications within the last 50 years are an incredible achievement. Millions of people are now surviving with diseases, ailments, and injuries that they may not have otherwise been able to handle without medication. However, some pharmaceutical drugs can cause more harm then help. This is why you should always be cautious of the potential dangers when taking prescription or over-the-counter medication.
Medications are meant to fix a specific problem and either make you feel better by stopping the cause of your ailment or by increasing your body’s ability to fight off the problem. However, several factors may cause medications to damage other areas of your body while it’s fighting. Some of these factors include:
- Using a drug for an amount of time longer than recommended
- Overmedicating – taking more than the recommended dose
- Side effects inherent to the drug itself – blood thinners can result in excessive bleeding, if cut
- Over-performance of drug – dosage is incorrect, causing your ailment to worsen on the flip side (medication for high blood pressure causes you to have low blood pressure)
- Drug incompatibility – when two or more medications do not work well together, causing severe side effects
- Wrongly prescribing – doctor prescribes a medication that attacks the wrong ailment
- Drug manufacturing errors
These factors, as well as human error, can cause a lot of varying health issues such as:
- Kidney and liver problems
- Psychological dependency
- Internal bleeding
- Irregular heartbeat
- Breathing problems
- Death
Medications and prescription drugs have become a necessary part of our lives and, for the most part, are helping millions of people survive. Sometimes you just can’t face the day without an aspirin, while others need medication to keep their hearts beating. Either way, if you use it to keep your body working, or to help a headache, you need to be aware of the dangers associated with that particular medication. Do not hesitate to discuss side effects and potential problems with your doctor.
The Utah pharmaceutical injury lawyers at James Esparza know all too well about the suffering that can come from a medication injury. If you have any questions, concerns, or if you believe that you may have been injured because of your medication, call us for a free consultation at 800-745-4050. Don’t let your questions go unanswered. We’re here to help.