How often do you hear about the importance of following your doctor’s orders? Probably quite often, and that’s because skipping your prescriptions can be detrimental to your health, even if you don’t notice it immediately.
Prescribed medications can seem like they’re more of a hassle than worth, but missing doses, especially if you have chronic health issues, can lead to lasting damage and increased costs down the road.
The importance of prescribed medications cannot be understated, and skipping doses can lead to many negative health consequences.
Here are four reasons it’s crucial to adhere to your prescribed medications — even if you think you don’t need them.
Worsening of Symptoms
When you’re feeling under the weather, it’s tempting to skip a prescription and hope that the symptoms will go away on their own. However, skipping prescribed medications can lead to worsening symptoms.
Without the proper medication, your body is left vulnerable to whatever illness or injury you’re trying to recover from. In addition, skipping prescriptions can develop resistance to certain medications, making them less effective when you need them.
So next time you’re tempted to skip your medication, remember that it could end up doing more harm than good.
Spread of Infection
When you don’t take your prescribed medications, it’s not just you who suffers. Everyone around you is put at risk as well.
Here’s how it works: let’s say you have an infection and are supposed to take antibiotics to clear it up. But instead of finishing the full course of antibiotics, you stop taking them as soon as you start feeling better. The problem is that your infection may not be completely gone.
Stopping your medication early gives the remaining bacteria a chance to mutate and become resistant to antibiotics. If you get sick again in the future, the same antibiotics may not work. And not only that, but those antibiotic-resistant bacteria can spread to other people, making it harder for them to fight off their infections.
Increased Hospitalizations
It’s a scene that’s all too familiar: you’re feeling under the weather, so you decide to head to the doctor. After a few tests, the doctor returns with a prescription for a medication that will help you feel better.
But instead of filling the prescription, you decide to skip it and ride out your sickness. Unfortunately, this decision could end up costing you more than you realize.
A new study has found that skipping prescribed medications is a major factor in hospitalizations. In fact, patients who skipped their medications were nearly four times as likely to be hospitalized than those who took their medications as prescribed.
So next time you’re tempted to skip your medication, remember that it could cost you more than just a few dollars.
Additional Health Problems
When people are first prescribed medication, they may be concerned about the side effects or the cost. As a result, they may decide to skip doses or stop taking the medication altogether. However, this can lead to additional health problems.
When medication is skipped, it can be ineffective in treating the original condition. Additionally, skipping doses can also lead to developing drug-resistant strains of bacteria. For these reasons, it is always best to follow the instructions of a healthcare provider when taking medication.
Ending Notes
Maintaining adherence to your prescribed medications is vital to ensure the highest effectiveness. The longer you go without taking your medication, the more likely you are to get sicker.
For example, if someone with diabetes does not follow their prescribed regimen, they may experience higher blood sugar levels and an increased risk of heart disease and stroke. At Sunshine Drugs, we want to help you by making a medication schedule that will fit well into your lifestyle. We have 15 locations that you can visit to get more information. Stop by today!