Why You Should Never Share Prescription Medication
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 may feel helpful, especially when they say they have the same pain, cough, rash, sleepless night or other symptom that you experienced. You may think, “This worked for me, so perhaps it will work for them too.”
Unfortunately, medication does not operate like a restaurant recommendation.
The same symptom does not always have the same cause, and the medication that was selected for one person may be inappropriate—or unsafe—for another.
A Prescription Is Personal
A prescription is written for a particular person after considering information about that person’s health.
That may include the person’s diagnosis, age, allergies, other medications, medical conditions, previous reactions and the dose that is appropriate for them.
The name printed on the prescription label is not decorative. It identifies the person for whom that medication and those directions were intended.
Health Canada recommends using medications according to the directions provided by your doctor or pharmacist. It also notes that using the same pharmacy can help the pharmacist identify possible harmful interactions between medications.
Passing a prescription to someone else removes many of those safety checks.
The Same Symptom May Have a Different Cause
Two people may both say they have a headache, stomach discomfort, trouble sleeping or a persistent cough.
That does not mean they have the same underlying problem.
One person’s symptom may be temporary and minor. Another person’s similar-looking symptom may require a different treatment or a professional assessment.
Taking someone else’s medication could temporarily change or hide the symptom without addressing its cause. It may also delay the person from seeking the care they actually need.
In other words, matching symptoms do not automatically make two people medication twins.
The Dose or Formulation May Be Wrong
Even when two people are prescribed the same medication, they may receive different strengths, doses, formulations or directions.
One person may take a medicine once daily while another takes it twice daily. One may have a regular-release tablet while another has an extended-release form. A dose selected for one person may be too high, too low or otherwise unsuitable for someone else.
The full directions matter—not just the medication name or the number printed on the tablet.
This is why understanding the difference between the dose and directions on a prescription label is so important. A familiar-looking tablet does not tell you the entire treatment plan.
Allergies and Interactions Are Not Always Obvious
The person offering the medication may not know everything the other person takes.
That includes prescription medication, over-the-counter products, vitamins, herbal products, supplements, inhalers, creams and occasional medicines.
A borrowed prescription could interact with one of those products. It could also be unsafe because of an allergy, pregnancy, kidney or liver concerns, breathing problems or another health condition.
Some medication problems appear quickly. Others may be less obvious at first.
“This tablet never bothered me” is not proof that it will be safe for someone else.
Certain Prescription Medications Carry Additional Risks
Sharing any prescription is unsafe, but certain medications deserve particular caution.
Opioids, sedatives, sleeping medications and prescription stimulants can carry risks involving severe side effects, dependence, misuse or overdose.
Health Canada specifically says opioid medication should never be shared. It notes that sharing it is illegal and may cause serious harm or death to another person.
A prescription should never become a community supply simply because the bottle still contains a few tablets.
Do Not Share Leftover Antibiotics
Leftover antibiotics are another common example.
Someone may think, “These helped my infection last year, and my relative seems to have the same thing.”
But antibiotics do not treat every infection, and different infections may require different medication, dosing or treatment duration.
The Public Health Agency of Canada advises people not to share antimicrobial medication, use medication prescribed for someone else or use leftovers from a previous prescription.
Unused antibiotics should not wait in the cupboard for the next family member who coughs.
Your medicine cabinet is not supposed to operate like a tiny pharmacy with no pharmacist.
Helping Does Not Have to Mean Sharing
You can still help someone without giving them your prescription.
You can:
- Encourage them to contact their pharmacist or healthcare provider
- Help them arrange an appointment
- Offer transportation if they need medical care
- Help them write down their symptoms and questions
- Locate an open pharmacy or appropriate health service
- Stay with them if they are feeling unwell
- Call for emergency assistance when necessary
That is meaningful help without adding another health risk.
Keep Medication in Its Original Container
Keeping medication in its labelled container makes it easier to identify who it belongs to, what it contains, the strength and the directions.
It also reduces the temptation to place loose tablets in an envelope, bag or unlabelled container for someone else.
Read more about why you should keep medication in its original container, particularly when storing, organizing or travelling with prescriptions.
The container is the medication’s identification card. A mystery tablet in a sandwich bag has very little useful information and far too much confidence.
What Should You Do With Leftover Medication?
Do not save unused prescriptions for another person or another illness.
Health Canada states that unused and expired medications can be returned to a pharmacy in Canada for safe disposal.
Your pharmacy can advise you about returning old or leftover medication safely. Do not give it to someone else simply because it was expensive, appears unchanged or “might be useful one day.”
Medication should not audition for a future illness.
What If Someone Already Took Another Person’s Medication?
Do not guess about whether the amount was safe.
Contact a pharmacist, poison centre or healthcare professional promptly and provide as much information as possible, including the medication name, strength, amount taken and approximate time.
In Ontario, the Ontario Poison Centre is available 24 hours a day at 1-800-268-9017.
Call 911 immediately if the person collapses, stops breathing, has a seizure or has another severe or life-threatening reaction.
Keep the original medication container nearby so the healthcare professional can identify exactly what was taken.
The Simple Takeaway
Sharing may be caring, but prescription sharing is not safe caring.
The medication was chosen for one person, using that person’s health information and specific directions. Another person may have different allergies, interactions, medical conditions, dosing needs or reasons for experiencing the symptom.
Share the snacks. Share your concern. Share the phone number for the pharmacy.
Keep the prescription with the person whose name appears on the label.
For more simple medication-safety reminders, visit the NatalieRx blog.
Disclaimer
This article is for general health education only and is not medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Prescription requirements and individual health needs vary. Never take medication prescribed for someone else, and never give your prescription medication to another person. Speak with a pharmacist, doctor or other qualified healthcare professional about personal medication questions or symptoms.