Memphis Injury Lawyer Blog

Even Memphis trial lawyers catch the common cold. Hard to imagine, I know but it does happen. Today, when the bug bit me I grabbed my trusty bottle of "Grandma's Snake Venom Elixer" and glugged down a few slugs. Shortly thereafter, a warm glow began to spread from my toes to my eyebrows. During this time of year, Tennesseans are plagued by many annoying but rarely fatal conditions and most of us never think of the consequences of our over the counter (OTC) medications. Of course, this doesn't even take into account the interaction of prescription drugs with these preparations.

It is staggering to contemplate how many of our neighbors in the Mid South are at risk for driving problems resulting from this issue:

Consumer behaviors, beliefs, and attitudes provide context to the opportunities and challenges surrounding the selection, use, and monitoring of nonprescription drugs. Consumers have confidence in nonprescription drugs. A survey by the National Council for Patient Information and Education revealed that 92% of consumers considered nonprescription drugs effective and 83% of consumers considered them safe. In the same survey, 73% of consumers reported they preferred to treat symptoms themselves with nonprescription drugs. Of adults, 38% reported a higher degree of nonprescription drug use now than 2 years ago. In a National Consumer League survey, only 16% of consumers reported reading the nonprescription drug label completely and 10% of surveyed consumers indicated that they did not read the label at all before taking nonprescription drugs. Further, 44% of 4,300 adults exceeded the recommended dose of nonprescription pain relievers.

Sources: Uses and Attitudes About Taking Over-the-Counter Medicines: Findings of a 2003 National Opinion Survey. National Council of Patient Information and Education. Bethesda, MD, 2003. Available at: http://www.bemedwise.org/survey/summary_survey_findings.pdf Accessed November 29, 2006; Attitudes and Beliefs About the Use of Over-the-Counter Medicines: A Dose of Reality. Executive Summary. National Council on Patient Information and Education. Bethesda, MD, 2003. Available at: http://www.bemedwise.org/survey/final_survey.pdf Accessed November 29, 2006.

Having looked at the numbers, it is clear that using nonprescription medications is something that most of us do. Now, consider what can happen when "Snake Venom Elixer" is mixed with prescription drugs, other nonprescription drugs or alcohol.

When faced with an emergency situation, one has but a split second to respond. Darting children, or avoiding an impaired driver, or a puppy in the roadway, is challenging all by itself. But when you add to the mix, a substance or substances that slow your reaction time then you have a recipe for disaster. For those of you who may be interested, this link will allow you to test your reaction time both before and after being medicated. I am sure that you will find the results interesting, if not frightening. Reaction Time Test.