{"id":145001,"date":"2026-01-11T05:21:57","date_gmt":"2026-01-11T10:21:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sleepyeyeonline.com\/goodnews\/?p=145001"},"modified":"2026-01-11T17:23:49","modified_gmt":"2026-01-11T22:23:49","slug":"family-living-focus-avoid-drug-interactions-part-ii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sleepyeyeonline.com\/goodnews\/family-living-focus-avoid-drug-interactions-part-ii\/","title":{"rendered":"Family Living Focus: Avoid Drug Interactions – Part II"},"content":{"rendered":"

Gail Gilman, Family Life Consultant, M.Ed., C.F.C.S. and Professor<\/em>
\nEmeritus, University of Minnesota<\/em><\/p>\n

Caregivers need to be aware of the potential for drug interactions for their
\ncare recipient.\u00a0 There may be times when multiple medications are needed to
\nmanage symptoms or provide relief in some form. Interactions occur when
\nmedications do not work in tandem with one another and instead one of the
\ndrugs or both of them together adversely affect your loved one’s health.<\/p>\n

Prescription and over the counter (OTC) medications should both be
\nconsidered when looking at drug interactions.\u00a0 Herbal remedies and food
\ninteractions can be a source of concern as well. Drug reactions are just as
\ncritical as interactions since they can cause problems for the patient as
\nwell.<\/p>\n

Food-Drug Interactions:<\/p>\n

Certain foods can also affect medications, usually in ways that the medicine
\nis absorbed throughout the body.\u00a0 Some of these foods or additives to foods
\ninclude caffeine and vitamin K (found in broccoli).\u00a0 There are also
\nmedications that interact negatively with grapefruit juice which reduces or
\neliminates the effect of the medicine.\u00a0 There are many other foods to
\nconsider, and the pharmacy may have this information for specific
\nmedications.<\/p>\n

*\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Food can slow the absorption of some medicines throughout the body.
\n*\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Meals high in carbohydrates can adversely affect the absorption rate
\nof some medications.
\n*\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Some medications need food to help it absorb for the body’s use.<\/p>\n

Alcohol-Drug Interactions:<\/p>\n

Although not technically a food, alcohol is often grouped with foods when
\nconsidering interactions with medications.\u00a0 Each year many emergency room
\nadmissions have alcohol-drug interactions as a component of the underlying
\nproblem.\u00a0 The elderly are especially at risk for this type of interaction
\nsince they consume a large percentage of all prescription medications
\nconsumed in the U.S. today and the risk for alcohol abuse is also
\nsignificant in the elderly population.<\/p>\n

Alcohol intensifies the effect of some medications, such as sedatives or
\npain medicines.\u00a0 Some medications increase the effects of alcohol causing
\ndizziness, drowsiness, and inability to control balance or walk properly, as
\nwell as many others.<\/p>\n

Whether it is alcohol or other foods, be certain to check with your doctor
\nor pharmacist to determine whether there is any concern with foods that are
\nused in the home.\u00a0 Keep track of any adverse reactions and check with your
\ndoctor immediately if there is cause for alarm.<\/p>\n

Drug Reactions:<\/p>\n

While there are concerns about foods or medicines interfering with one
\nanother, there is also the question of how a person will react to a
\nmedication.\u00a0 Side effects are possible with any medication on the market
\nsince there are many different types of people and diseases.\u00a0 It is
\nimportant to minimize side effects while treating the underlying condition.<\/p>\n

Keep a diary at home of any reaction that seems unusual. Some of the items
\nto include in the diary include:<\/p>\n

*\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 When was the medication given?
\n*\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 How long did it take to notice the reaction?
\n*\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 What is the nature of the reaction?
\n*\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Does it seem to get better or worse as time goes by?
\n*\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Is this a known side effect of the medication?
\n*\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 How much discomfort does it cause in the patient?<\/p>\n

Your physician may suggest other areas to observe.<\/p>\n

By keeping a comprehensive diary of reactions, you can determine whether
\nthis is a true drug reaction or a symptom of the underlying disease, or even
\na new one that may be developing. Your doctor will want to see the diary, at
\nleast in part, when trying to figure out how best to treat the reaction.<\/p>\n

As caregivers, giving medication can be one of the scariest
\nresponsibilities.\u00a0 Being diligent and staying informed is perhaps one of the
\nbest remedies.\u00a0 Be certain that you maintain open lines of communication
\nwith both the doctor and the pharmacy in order to better provide care for
\nyour loved one.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Gail Gilman, Family Life Consultant, M.Ed., C.F.C.S. and Professor Emeritus, University of Minnesota Caregivers need to be aware of the potential for drug interactions for their care recipient.\u00a0 There may be times when multiple medications are needed to manage symptoms or provide relief in some form. Interactions occur when medications do not work in tandem …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":142950,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[191],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-145001","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsletters"],"aioseo_notices":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":true,"date":"2026-05-16 17:21:58","action":"change-status","newStatus":"trash","terms":[0],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sleepyeyeonline.com\/goodnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145001","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sleepyeyeonline.com\/goodnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sleepyeyeonline.com\/goodnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sleepyeyeonline.com\/goodnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sleepyeyeonline.com\/goodnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=145001"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.sleepyeyeonline.com\/goodnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145001\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":145002,"href":"https:\/\/www.sleepyeyeonline.com\/goodnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145001\/revisions\/145002"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sleepyeyeonline.com\/goodnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/142950"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sleepyeyeonline.com\/goodnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=145001"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sleepyeyeonline.com\/goodnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=145001"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sleepyeyeonline.com\/goodnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=145001"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}