Lesson on Drugs

While I was laid off from my full-time job I did some substitute teaching. Today at the school for students with behavioral disorders I was one of 5 adults in a classroom of 6 students in grades 4, 5 or 6. I learned a lot!

The health lesson was about medicines and drugs. What are they? When should you use them? Why are there labels? Then we all shared the names of the various medications we take to get through the day.

It is important to know, so I learned, what a prescription is and what its label means. First there is the pharmacy's name, which is good to know so you can call and get more of the stuff. Second, there is the doctor's name. The example shown had a doctor S.Peterson M.D. The M.D. stands for Medical Doctor. What does Ph.D stand for, asked one student. Um, well, none of us adults really knew. Remember, though, I was a substitute for the actual teacher and the other adults were either aides or mental health providers. That still doesn't sound good, does it? The best explanation we came up with is it means the person has lots of higher education and has a doctorate degree, like a Ph.D. in English, but cannot prescribe drugs. Anyway, instead of an M.D. name many of my prescriptions have J.Jones P.A. or D.Daley N.P on them. Personally I have a "don't ask, don't care" policy about that, as long as I get the goods.

Also, we learned, it is important to leave the drugs in the original, labeled container so there is no confusion about what is inside. That might have eliminated the mix up when one time I opened my combo-bottle of pills and gave my mother a calcium pill for her headache. I had a hard time convincing her, 2 hours later when her head still hurt, to try this other white pill which was more likely to be Tylenol. In reality calcium is probably stronger for a headache than Tylenol, but that's not the point. I might have given her my husband's Flomax or something.

Another important thing to remember is never, ever take another person's prescription. The doctor who prescribed it did an in-depth study of the prescribee's medical history and symptoms, and taking another person's prescription might cause an unexpected reaction, like "Hey, this stuff is great! I've gotta get some from my own doctor!" That's pretty much what my friend says when I send her (by USPS in total violation of Federal Law) one of my prescriptions because she runs out of her own bottle of the same medication, and her doctor won't prescribe more this year. So really she is taking her own prescription medication just refilled by me 3000 miles away, right?

We discussed the date on the prescription label. The teacher asked the students what they thought people should do with old prescriptions, and one boy's hand shot up. Oh! Oh! I know! Store them!! That's what he said and that's what I do. In my cupboard are some decongestants I bought in Mexico about 10 years ago. I'm afraid to take them but can't just throw them out. Also, I have some pain pills prescribed 4 years ago by the vet for my cat when she was declawed. She wouldn't take them but in a pinch I might pop a couple.

Lastly, heed all warning labels on medicine packages. 'Do not operate heavy machinery while taking this drug'. Wait until it wears off and your excruciating pain returns. Take all medication. That is like saying 'Eat all ice cream'. How about the warning 'Do not take if you are pregnant or nursing'. Good advice. You will need something much stronger than this prescription.

Next week's health lesson might be "Why Sudafed is now behind the counter" and "Why some parents might remove the labels from their prescriptions."