Drug Interactions

Drug interactions occur when the efficacy of a drug is affected by another substance, be it another drug, a food, or an herb. Certain drug interactions can inhibit the efficacy of a drug, intensify it, or produce a new--sometimes undesired or harmful--effect.

The effect of a drug is measured by four processes: adsorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME). These four processes influence the kinetics of a drug, and thus influence the drug�s efficacy. Drug interactions alter these four processes, manipulating the drug to affect tissues differently.

In some cases, certain drug interactions have been purposely utilized for the efficiency of a drug�s efficacy. For example, when penicillin is administered to a patient, it is mixed with probenecid, a drug usually used to treat gout. Scientists found that when administered with probenecid, the effects of penicillin last longer, making this particular drug interaction beneficial.

Such manipulation of drug interactions, however, should be left to science. When taking prescription medicines, one should always carefully heed the pharmacist�s advice. It is one of the chief responsibilities of pharmacists to spot harmful drug interactions. And no matter what the effect, one should avoid all drug interactions since many can be potentially dangerous, even fatal.

Online pharmacies provide these life-saving services conveniently over the internet. These pharmacies are similar in many ways to ordinary community pharmacies, but bypass the need to travel to the pharmacy and wait for your prescription. Many pharmacy customers choose online pharmacies for their convenience and for the money they will save.

Such progress in pharmaceutical convenience is necessary to promote a knowledge of drug interactions for customers.