Why do commercials for medications say “don’t take if you’re allergic to it”? If it’s a new medicine for you, how would you know you’re allergic?
In: Biology
Presumably to stop lawsuits where someone says I took it and my lips swelled, but I kept taking it for another month to see if it worked better. Instead my throat swelled shut and someone had to intubate me with a spork and a straw at the KFC buffet.
Partly, or mostly, it is there for legal reasons. If the warning label is there, then they can make the argument, should anything bad happen, that it is the consumers responsibility to heed the warning.
Secondly, this is why even OTC medicine should normally be taken with a doctor’s recommendation or approval. Most people with severe interactions and allergies (hopefully) know about them from prior doctor’s visits and would be prudent to check before taking anything new.
They usually say not to take meds if you’re allergic to the *class* of medications it belongs to, or any other med in that class. This is because lots of meds are processed by the body in a similar way to others, so could cause similar problems if you’re allergic. For example, if you’re allergic to penicillin, you’re also probably allergic to many other antibiotics that are derived from it.
That similar processing in the body is also why they sometimes say not to take the med if you’re currently taking other ones. If they’re similar, they could lead to an overdose. Really, the good advice in this case is to talk to your doctor *and* pharmacist to be sure. They have the expertise and resources to be able to tell you what’s safe and what’s not.
Also, as a Canadian, it’s super weird seeing drug ads on TV. Around here, MDs prescribe what they see the evidence supporting, and usually not a brand name. It’s really weird that they’re pushing *drugs* at people as if they’ll know better than the medical professionals.
Well you can be allergic to a family of drugs. Like with antibiotics you can be allergic to penicillin and there’s a good change you’ll also be allergic to other drugs in that family.
– Some people are really dumb and/or litigious. This makes it harder for them to sue if they are allergic and knowingly take the medication.
– Some medications are closely related to other medications. For example, someone with a known allergy to amoxicillin shouldn’t take anything else that ends in -cillin, because they’re all derived from/related to penicillin and would likely trigger the same reaction.
While you may not necessarily know you are allergic to a certain medication, you have a higher chance of knowing if you are allergic to one or more of the medicine’s ingredients.
It’s there for legal reasons, but also to tell the consumer this medicine may contain ingredients that are known possible allergens, and that they should probably have a look at what the drug contains to see of they spot something they’re aware of.
Especially if someone already experienced an allergic reaction with a similar purpose drug in the past, they would know what to avoid in a new drug.
My understanding is most drugs are brand names, so them saying like “Dont take Tylenol if youre allergic to acetaminophen”. The drugs name isnt the name of the actual active ingredient
You can know that you are allergic to certain types of medicines or medicines with certain components.
For example, my wife is sensitive to “sulfa” antibiotics, a class of antibiotics that share certain chemical properties.
It’s not always a new medication for someone. Some people are desperate for something that might work that they will try a medication they’ve had a reaction to before in hopes that it will help whatever condition they are taking it for but not be allergic anymore.
Where’s theres blame, theres a claim. If they didn’t advertise you to NOT take it of your allergic to any of the ingredients, and someone knowingly took it and got ill, they could try to file for a lawsuit and say “well nobody told me”
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