COMMON AUXILIARY LABELS FOR MEDICATIONS
- Take with food or milk = ex) Warfarin< decreases upset stomach
- Shake well = ex) Amoxicillin < it levels the drug equally when shaken for better absorption. Shake 15-30 seconds
- Take on an empty stomach = ex) Penicillin< 1 hour before meals or 2 hours after meals. Foods may interrupt absorption of medication
- Do not drink with alcohol = Usually for medications that cause drowsiness, but then again it goes for all drugs just to be safe
- Swallow whole = Do not crush nor chew because it may effect the time release of medication
- Take on an empty stomach = Medications need fluids to dissolve, usually released from urine
- Refrigerate = ex) Xalantan< after xalantan is open it is to be kept at room temp
- For the eye only = ophthalmic < very important to label if its for the eye only because there are medications that are dangerous if mistakenly was put in the ear rather than the eye
- For the ear only = otic < in the pharmacy industry ou means both eyes so some techs get confuse that otic is for the eye because it has an O and it just sounds right, apparently is not for the eye its for the ear.
- May cause urine discoloration = ex) Sulfonamides, heparin, etc < some people may think something is wrong because of the urine color and might be scared, so its always good to put auxiliary labels on vials to warn the patients.
