Harmful Help: Medications That Patients Should Be Extra Careful With

The majority of adults have likely taken at least one form of prescription medication. While medications help treat and manage a wide variety of health issues, it’s important to understand that there is often a cost in the form of side effects that vary in intensity.

Some medications, like these drugs that cause hair loss, have minor side effects. Other medications, like drugs that cause erectile dysfunction, have life-altering effects. While patients ought to strictly adhere to their prescriptions regardless of drug type, misusing these drugs will yield severe consequences. Here are some medications that you should be careful with.

Antibiotics

Some antibiotics like ciprofloxacin and levofloxacin have been found to increase the risk of a tendon rupture, tendonitis, and even nerve damage. As with all items on this list, it’s of utmost importance that patients consume them exactly as outlined in their prescriptions. They should also be aware of particular foods that they should avoid while taking medication.

Muscle Relaxants

Muscle relaxants are usually prescribed along with pain relievers. They are meant to stop muscle spasms and to help keep your body from causing further damage to itself (as is the case with neuromuscular diseases). People who suffer from kidney or liver diseases and have a tendency to abuse alcohol should avoid using muscle relaxants, as they may cause severe side effects such as liver or kidney injury.

Sedatives

While sleeping pills may seem harmless, they should never be used beyond their prescribed period. This is because sedatives are habit-forming drugs that are meant to be used over a short period. Users are bound to experience withdrawal symptoms if they use sedatives long enough for the body to form habits around the drugs. In severe cases, these medications can even cause seizures. Sedatives have also been proven to worsen sleep apnea.

Benzodiazepines

Benzodiazepines are drugs that are used to treat certain anxiety or panic disorders. These include Xanax, Valium, and Klonopin. These drugs enhance the effects of GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) to help reduce the activity of the nerves in the brain and spinal cord. The rationale behind this is that a person experiences anxiety because of excessive nerve activity.

When abused, benzodiazepines have been found to cause birth defects, increased ocular pressure, and they have also been found to hinder breathing.

Antipsychotics

Antipsychotics are drugs that are meant to manage mental conditions (such as schizophrenia) that cause a patient to hallucinate. Antipsychotics work by altering the effect of neurotransmitters to influence emotions, mood, and behavior. If misused, these drugs can cause your blood sugar levels to rise drastically. Since these drugs directly influence neurotransmitters, they can also create mood swings that may even lead a person to commit self-harm or even suicide.

Regardless of what drugs are prescribed to you, it’s important to take the time to discuss your medication with your doctor to be completely honest with your medical assessment as this helps your doctor select drugs that are least likely to interact with your diet and other medication.