DEAR DR. GOTT:
I have two questions that many of your readers might like to have answered.
First, my wife was given a prescription that instructed her to take one pill three times a day. She is of the opinion that she is to take the pill morning, noon and evening in the same time frame as breakfast, lunch and dinner. When I saw the instructions, take one pill three times a day, my thoughts were that my wife is to take one pill every eight hours.
Second, my wife is 78 and I am 86. We spend more time than I like in our doctor’s waiting room. As soon as we check in to wait for our appointment, my wife reads magazines that sick people have handled while waiting for their appointments. I think my wife’s habit is not the best thing for her to do.
DEAR READER:
Generally speaking, a medication prescribed three times a day signifies morning, noon and night. People are not expected to set an alarm clock to awaken in the middle of the night to take medication.
I agree with your wife’s theory. She might stretch the program by taking the first pill in the morning, the second around 3 o’clock, and the third at bed time. The difficulty here is that it’s too easy to forget. If pills are taken with meals, a person is much more inclined to take them.
People in a doctor’s office are there for a variety of reasons. They read magazines, lick their fingers to turn pages, cough, and do all sorts of unpleasant things. Common cold viruses can live from a few seconds to 48 hours depending on strain, environment and object.
Let’s take this to another level. Did you close your front door when you last headed out, or kiss your wife? Did you touch the door handle of your automobile, take public transportation and touch the rails on either side of the door as you entered the bus? Did you go to the grocery store and put your hands on the bar of a shopping cart? Handle money? Did you open the doctor’s office door or use the bathroom once you arrived? If so, did you flush the toilet, wash your hands at the sink and turn the faucets on and off? Well, you subjected yourself to more germs than you want to know about. So, reading a magazine in a doctor’s office is just another step in the exposure game.
I recommend you keep antibacterial, waterless hand gel available in the glove box of your car, in your wife’s hand bag, or in other appropriate areas. Then, if you feel you have been exposed to germs, you can use the gel to reduce your risk of contamination.
To give you related information, I am sending you a copy of my Health Report “Consumer Tips on Medicine”. Other readers who would like a copy should send a self-addressed, stamped, number 10 envelope and $2 to Newsletter, PO Box 167, Wickliffe, OH 44092. Be sure to mention the title.
About Dr. Gott