Prescription & Over-the-Counter Drugs: Get the Facts Lesson 2-4

Objectives TSW differentiate between proper use, misuse and abuse of prescription and over-the-counter drugs. TSW correctly read sample labels for prescription and over- the-counter drugs.

Health Terms Dosage Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Over-the-counter Prescription

Intro Transition In your student journals, write about a time you were given a prescription from a doctor for a medicine, or a time you took medicine purchased from a store for a cold, allergies, or other illness. What were your symptoms and how did the medicine help?

Intro Motivate What are some other medicines you’ve heard of or may have taken? What do all of these drugs have in common? What’s the difference between prescription and over-the- counter drugs?

Intro Prescription Drugs Drug gotten legally from a pharmacy with a written prescription May be stronger or have side effects Used to treat critical or chronic health condition Over-the-counter Drugs Bought from a drug store or grocery store Used to treat symptoms of common illnesses Limited – there are sometimes limits, must be 18 to buy Today you’re going to look at how to use prescription and over-the- counter drugs properly, ways these drugs can be misused and abused, and some of the dangers associated with taking them improperly.

Teaching Steps Survey What do you know about how drugs used for medical purpose are classified and regulated? Explain U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) – federal agency that determines what drugs are going to be prescription drugs and which ones will be over-the-counter drugs Some start out as prescription drugs then become over-the- counter drugs (Claritin, Zantac) All drugs must be approved by the FDA, shown to be safe and work correctly, and labeled with the proper instructions

Teaching Steps Ask and Discuss What are some similarities between two labels? Name of the drug/active ingredient, amount and strength of the drug, instructions of how often and when to take What are some difference between the labels?

Teaching Steps Prescription drug label: Person’s name prescribed too Prescribing doctor’s name Quantity in the container Number of refills allowed Expiration date Drug store contact info Specific directions Over-the-Counter drug label: Uses and symptoms to relieve Purpose of the drug Warnings – side effects, who shouldn’t take drug, Amount and timing of doses Other info – how to store Inactive ingredients

Teaching Steps Ask and Discuss Why do you think there are differences between prescription and over-the-counter drug labels? Summarize Over-the-counter labels – more info because it’s not known who will be taking the drug Not needed in prescription drugs because it’s prescribed for particular person not just anyone

Teaching Steps Review Let’s apply what you’ve already learned about drug misuse and abuse specifically to prescription and over-the-counter drugs. What are all of the ways you can think of that a person might misuse a prescription or over-the-counter drug? Taking more of a drug than suppose to Taking the drug more frequently than suppose to Using an over-the-counter drug longer than suppose Taking 2 or more drugs at the same time Not finishing a prescription until its gone

Teaching Steps Review What are some ways you can think of that a person might abuse a prescription or over-the-counter drug? Taking a drug when there’s no medical reason Taking a drug to get high Taking a drug that was prescribed for someone else Obtaining a prescription drug with a doctor’s order Getting multiple prescriptions from different doctors or pharmacies Using drugs with alcohol or other illegal drugs

Teaching Steps Summarize Drug Misuse: Over-the-counter drugs – people believe taking more or taking more often will lead to symptoms to stop (WRONG!!!) Prescription drugs – forgetting to take dose or stop taking once symptoms get better Major difference abuse and misuse – intent and how habitually a person misuses any kind of drug  addiction

Teaching Steps Create and Share Create a list as many reasons people might misuse or abuse prescription and over-the-counter drugs as you can think of in 1 minute.

Closure Close What’s the most important thing that you learned today to help you avoid misusing or abusing prescription or over-the- counter drugs?