Starting Out With Taking Medicines Correctly
Taking Medicines Correctly: the few things that matter most, and the mistakes that catch people out early.
Using prescribed and over-the-counter medicines as intended.
Key takeaways
- Ask a pharmacist: free, no appointment needed
- Structured medication review: available from a GP or pharmacist
- Most useful single change: Keep a single up-to-date list of everything you take.
- Commonest mistake: Stopping a medicine without discussing it.
- See a doctor if any of the signs under "When to speak to a doctor" below apply to you.
Why bother
Most medicine-related harm in the community comes from ordinary medicines taken in ordinary ways, not from rare reactions.
Start here
Two to start. There is no prize for doing all of it in week one.
- Keep a single up-to-date list of everything you take
- Ask what each medicine is for and whether it is still needed
Then add these
When those have settled in, these are worth adding.
- Use one pharmacy so interactions are visible
- Ask a pharmacist before adding anything over the counter
The numbers, in one place
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Ask a pharmacist | free, no appointment needed |
| Structured medication review | available from a GP or pharmacist |
| One pharmacy | makes interactions more likely to be spotted |
| Keep one list | including over-the-counter and herbal products |
Common early mistakes
- Stopping a medicine without discussing it
- Sharing medicines with anyone else
- Assuming herbal products are free of interactions
Where to go next
- Your Questions About Taking Medicines Correctly, Answered
- Taking Medicines Correctly in Five Minutes
- Taking Medicines Correctly — the reference entry
- Paracetamol Dosing Limits: What Published Guidance Supports
- Antibiotic Stewardship: Sorting the Evidence From the Noise
When to speak to a doctor
Never stop steroids, beta blockers or anticonvulsants abruptly. Seek urgent help for a widespread rash, blistering, mouth or eye involvement, swelling of the lips or tongue, difficulty breathing, or yellowing of the skin after starting a medicine.
Where this comes from
How this page was put together
Every figure, recommendation and warning above is taken from the guidance named in Where this comes from. Nothing on this page is inferred, summarised or generalised beyond what those bodies publish: where they give a number, it is their number, and where they are silent, so are we. Pages are rebuilt whenever the underlying record changes. Sign-off by a named clinician, where it has happened, is shown at the top of the page along with the date.
Medical disclaimer
This article is general information, not medical advice. It cannot account for your own history, medication or circumstances. Always speak to a GP, pharmacist or another qualified health professional before making changes that affect your treatment, and never delay seeking medical advice because of something you have read here. In an emergency, call 999.
Spotted something wrong? Report an error on this page. We correct on the page and say what changed.
