The word “natural” can sound reassuring. A product may come from plants, minerals, or microorganisms, so it is easy to assume it will quietly mind its own business. Unfortunately, your body does not sort products into two neat boxes labelled…
Vacation packing has a way of making us feel impressively organized. Passport? Packed. Sunscreen? Packed. Four pairs of shoes for a three-day trip? Apparently essential. But while we carefully plan outfits, chargers and snacks, important health information may be left…
You hand in a prescription. The pharmacy team tells you it may take some time. You look behind the counter and wonder: “Why? Aren’t the tablets already sitting on the shelf?” It is a fair question. From the customer’s side…
Some medication names look as though the alphabet tripped, rolled down the stairs and landed on the pharmacy label. You may recognize the bottle, know when to take it and understand why it was prescribed. But when someone asks, “What…
A brown prescription bottle can look reassuring. It seems sturdy, protective and ready to defend your tablets from anything short of a kitchen-table invasion. But that amber colour is not a tiny pair of sunglasses for your medicine. The bottle…
A tablet can look very simple. It is small, solid and sometimes stubbornly unwilling to cooperate with anyone who has difficulty swallowing. That is when the spoon, pill crusher or kitchen utensil may make an appearance. Crushing a tablet can…
When a healthcare provider asks, “Do you have any medication allergies?” some people can name the medicine and describe exactly what happened. Others remember “the pink antibiotic,” “a painkiller from years ago,” or “something that started with an A.” Memory…
You are standing in the kitchen with a bottle of liquid medicine in one hand and a teaspoon in the other. The spoon looks reasonable. It holds liquid. It is nearby. What could possibly go wrong? Quite a lot, actually.…
A child-resistant medication cap can feel reassuring. You push, twist, line up the arrows and occasionally wonder whether the bottle is also adult-resistant before it finally opens. Because the cap takes effort, it is easy to assume that a young…
Sharing can be a wonderful thing. Share your snacks. Share your umbrella. Share the last slice of cake if you are feeling especially heroic. But prescription medication belongs in a very different category. Offering someone one of your prescription tablets…
