One common trait with we Nigerians is our laziness to read, even the small things/details, hence the popular saying that if you would hide something from an African, hide it in a book, because they’re certain that he wouldn’t read it. Sadly, it remains a common disease till date. One, great men with generations-worth of legacy such as Dr. David O. Oyedepo has dedicated a significant part of their lives to cure. Remember those terms and conditions you didn’t read and somehow feel like you got away with using the service unharmed, if you do, then you should know it’s a habit not worth risking your life on with medical labels on prescriptions. Needless to say your pharmacist could be wrong or your doctor could misdiagnose a health issue, and what may just save you at that moment is a bit of curiosity.
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One thing some of us, and I bet many don’t know is that we can ask our doctors questions, they owe it to us to explain the functionality of medications and even their side effects, that way, when you read a drug label, you can alert your physician if you see any contradictory or inconvenient information. Have you been in a scenario were your physician prescribed medications for you, you failed to go through the labels, and so when the side effects of the drugs kicked in, you found out you were only as useful as a docked ship at work or you were drowsy and unable to achieve much or anything at all that day. Well, side effects are another important composition of the drug label, and so they should be read.
Drug manufacturers don’t just put labels on drugs for nothing or for doctors alone. For instance, how do you know to take Paracetamol when you have a headache?! I hope it’s not mere hearsay but an informed decision/action. We need to be careful at this point, before, a quack doctor or a mistake would mean the end, and we don’t pray for that either. Yes! Medical terms can be a headache when it comes to understanding them, but that shouldn’t worry or discourage you, details you ought to know are usually written primarily in plain English in a separate piece of paper that comes with the drug or sometimes on the drug itself, such as liquid medicines. There are some of us who check the expiry date of every packaged food we eat.
If you are one of such, kudos. Expiry dates are another thing to look out for on your drug labels, in fact, you shouldn’t accept any drug that doesn’t have an expiry date on it. If it’s something we do for the food we eat, why not for your medications too. I want to believe that I have been able to scare you enough or motivate you enough to read your drug labels before taking them. Cheers
Conclusion
In this article, we have discussed how looking out for medical labels on prescriptions is very important.
P.S. Rumor has it that Michael Jackson died of misdiagnosis, so it could happen to anyone.
So let us know what you think? Do you think always looking out for label descriptions is a good thing, or should we all leave that to the medical practitioners? Have you had any dire experiences you would love to share? Let us know in the comment section below.
