Q: Which doctor should I consult for drug-drug interaction?
A: You should speak to your doctor who prescribes the medication or to your pharmacist regarding the possibility of drug-drug interaction.
Q: Is it safe to use statins with macrolide antibiotics?
A: Co-administering macrolide antibiotics like clarithromycin with statin drugs like simvastatin is not safe. These drug combinations lead to increased concentration of statins in the blood. This could lead to serious effects on liver and kidney, leading to hospitalization or even death.
Q: How different is drug allergy from drug-drug interaction?
A: Drug allergy is a reaction to a particular drug. In this case, the body becomes sensitive to a substance in the medication, perceives it as a foreign invader and releases chemicals to defend against it. These chemicals may lead to rashes, wheezing or difficulty in breathing.
Drug-drug interactions occur when two or more drugs are consumed concomitantly.
Q: What are some of the drug-drug interactions involving over-the-counter (OTC) medications?
A: Some antacids prevent many medications like antibiotics and blood thinners from being absorbed into the blood, as they should. This may cause the medication to be less effective or not effective at all.
Decongestants, which are present in cold and cough medicines, may cause significant increase in blood pressure in people taking anti-hypertension medications.
St. John’s Wort, a herbal product, commonly used as an OTC supplement for depression, when co-administered with other prescription anti-depressants like fluoxetine or sertraline, may lead to a rare but serious interaction, with symptoms including confusion, hallucination, extreme changes in blood pressure and even death.
