Are we becoming too dependent on medication?
Amarillo, TX - Some health officials are questioning if we have become too dependent on medications.
According to the CDC, almost 50 percent of people in the past 30 days took a prescription pill.
The concern is that most of these pills being used are done so without proper care.
Research from the consumer healthcare products association found that 81 percent of adults in the U.S. use over the counter drugs as a first response to a minor condition.
This figure proves we are more dependent on medication than ever before.
"As individuals, we also have very busy schedules. So a lot of people think it's easier just to take a medication and not implement healthy lifestyle changes, such as diet and exercise, but it's important to implement those in conjunction with your medication," Sara Labus, TTUHSC Pharmacy Student, said.
The worry with self-medication is that we don't always know what's in them, and can create a type of "prescription cocktail" if not careful.
"So some of the potential hazards that you can see is that if you're taking multiple medications, from different providers, this can lead to the providers not knowing all the medications that you're on because they may not be communicating with each other," Labus said.
A mixture of drugs can be toxic and even cause liver failure. "Also, we're seeing direct to consumer advertisement on television to patients about new medications. So a lot of times individuals go to their prescriber requesting a medication and what happens is that sometimes they pressure the prescriber and they give them medications, just to make the patient happy," Labus said.
Labus also said these type of factors all contribute to the risks health officials are concerned with, such as addiction, overdose, and antibiotic resistance. However, Labus said although there is a concern, there are individuals who need these medicines, so it is hard to determine what being "too dependent" on medications comes down to.
She adds with proper physician guidance, benefits of prescription drugs should outweigh the risks.
