Over the counter medication is not as safe as most people presume. Over the counter medication can be conveniently purchased without a doctor's or a practitioner's prescription. However certain rules should be followed if you plan to go in for over the counter medication.

The labels should be very carefully read and understood as neglecting the same can cause great damage as they may react adversely with other medicines, drinks, food and supplements.

The over the counter medication usually distinguishes the dosage between Adults and kids. It should be noted that the dosage varies between the genders as well due to weight differences and the pharmacist should be consulted at the earliest to confirm the right selection of the over the counter medication.

A very interesting and useful acronym for OTC can help you practice certain basic rules for over the counter medication:

O- Obey directions written on the labels of the drugs and medicines
T- Talk to your pharmacist at the earliest
C- Choose the lowest dose in the beginning

Over the counter medication is mostly purchased for pains, aches, itches, athlete's foot, and tooth decay or for recurring problems like migraine. The authorities connected with The Food and Drug Administration in the US decides which drugs can be sold over the counter without a prescription. It is advisable to take small dosage for the minimum time when you are administering over the counter medication to yourself. If the symptoms linger or escalate you must immediately consult a doctor along with the OTC medication that you have been taking. Avoid risk at all cost and do not take drugs without consultation with an expert as far as possible.

Medical science is a blessing for humans, but all too often patients can find themselves victims of dreadful negligence made by a doctor, hospital staff or pharmacist. These mistakes can have serious consequences and they amount to prescription drug malpractice. Over a million such prescription drug malpractice cases are reported each year, with wrong dosage prescription, being the most common error.
The overwhelming amount of prescriptions being filled out daily may result a tired or rushed doctor to write out a wrong dosage, or pharmacy staff to overlook critical dosage and medical orders. Whatever be the reason, victims of erroneous prescription dosage can face prolonged illness, severe organ damage or even death, in some cases. Any such injury caused by the negligence of a doctor or a pharmacist is liable for a lawsuit. Contact a syracuse medical malpractice lawyer immediately for proper guidance.

To file a valid malpractice lawsuit, two things must be proved. Firstly, the victim needs to establish that the doctor breached the required legal standard of care, and secondly, that this breach of legal standards of care was the proximate or direct cause of some injury sustained.
Negligence can be proved easily, when the doctor's oversight in prescribing medication is shown. However, the doctor can only be made liable if the patient has suffered a substantial injury. The amount of damages that can be claimed depend upon the severity of the injury as well as long term implication of the same. For instance, a case of brain damage caused by a doctor's negligence would amount to millions of dollars in compensation,with the help of a good syracuse brain damage lawyer.

So if you or a loved one have been victims of a doctor's negligence, contact a malpractice attorney immediately.

Some disturbing reports have concluded that a broad range of chemicals, including over the counter medication and prescriptions drugs, have been found downstream from highly developed urban areas in US rivers. Drugs of all kinds are so plentiful in modern life that we may literally be swimming in them.

Studies have found that 80% of the waterways sampled contained one or more common drugs, including mood stabilizers, anti-convulsants, sex hormones, and antibiotics. Yet the level of risk to humans and other life forms that rely on a water environment is still unknown. In the southern US, this is a bigger concern because because stringent monitoring of the drinking water supply is not done and consequently, the levels of drug compounds in the drinking water are also higher. Still, the concentrations of drugs that were recorded in all of the waterways sampled were very low and thus likely to have little impact on humans.