Your Everyday Medications May Be Killing You

Health Alert: Your Everyday Drugs May Be Killing You

As you grow older, your body becomes less efficient in absorbing nutrients. If you take everyday drugs for one reason or another, this can further complicate the problem. This dangerous combination can seriously interfere with the absorption of nutrients and become bigger problems down the road.

One example of how drugs can be harmful rests on those drugs that are used to prevent heartburn. These drugs have been shown to also decrease the body's ability to absorb vitamin B12, which is one of the most important vitamins your body needs for general health, as well as preventing dangerous conditions such as anemia.

Other every day medications are also culprits when it comes to robbing the body of nutrients. Antibiotics, blood pressure medication, tranquilizers, anti-depressant medications, cholesterol-lowering drugs, estrogen, and anti-inflammatory medications can all prevent your body from getting necessary nutrients.

In a recent Duke University Study, it was discovered that one in five senior citizens was prescribed a drug that was harmful to his or her health. These drugs are all compiled on the Beers List, which was developed in the early 1990s by Mark Beers, MD as well as others who were specialists in geriatric drugs. The list was comprised of drugs that were dangerous to nursing home patients. The Beers List has been amended over the years and is a tool that many doctors use as a guide as to which medications can be dangerous for their older patients.

The Duke Study took a look at outpatient prescriptions for more than 765,000 people who were age 65 or older to discover that more than 20 percent of them were taking inappropriate medication for people in their age group. In addition, the study also indicated that more than 15 percent of the people in the study were taking two of the drugs on the Beers List and four percent were taking three or more drugs on this list. The vast majority of the drugs that were prescribed to the older patients were anti-depressants, accounting for 40 percent of the prescriptions.

The second most common drug prescribed was muscle relaxants. These drugs should not be prescribed, according to the Beers List, for persons older than the age of 65. Dr. Kevin Schulman, a Duke University professor and one of the authors of the study, indicated that even though someone over the age of 65 may be in good health, it doesn't mean that they will not be affected by the use of these drugs. Why? Because kidney function is not as efficient at this age and medications such as antidepressants and muscle relaxants can put extreme stress on the kidneys.

If you or a loved one is over the age of 65, you should know about the Beers List and also make sure that your doctor is also well aware of this medical data. You should not be taking certain drugs (even though they may be deemed appropriate for the younger population) because these drugs can put you at risk for a number of different diseases, including kidney disease, heart disease and cancer.