When taking a medication, if you miss one dose, don’t double up on the next one. In some cases, more can be worse than not enough.
If you don’t take all of a prescription, don’t save the rest for “later”. This can cause all sorts of negative consequences that only your healthcare provider or pharmacist can foresee.
Make sure you can read the label and instructions on a medication bottle before leaving the pharmacy.
Keep medications out of reach of children. Pain medications, in particular, are the most frequently reported cause of poisoning deaths among children that are reported to Poison Control.
Don’t ever increase your dose of a medication without permission from your healthcare provider. Doing so won’t make your medication work faster and it might make things worse.
Don’t share your medications with anyone else. A drug or dose that is good for one person can harm another person. If this happens, you could be held responsible.