Pill-popping Aussies

230,000 people go to hospital each year with side effects

AUSTRALIANS have become a nation of pill poppers with nine million of us taking a prescription drug every day, two million swallowing over the counter meds and another 7 million taking vitamins.

But our love affair with pills is seeing 230,000 people admitted to hospital each year suffering side effects and interactions. And two in three parents are worried they haven’t given their children the correct dose of medicine a new survey shows.

A survey of more than 1000 adult Australians conducted by YouGov Galaxy for NPS MedicineWise has found two in three parents have difficulty remembering how often to give their children medicine and half worry whether they are administering medicines correctly. Sydney mum Kylie Robb knows first-hand the dangers of medicines in the home with her three year old Annabel almost swallowing the prescription ear drops meant for Harvey, the family dog because they were packaged in the same way as her craft glue.

“She’d only just had a growth spurt and was for the first time able to reach the bench top and she picked it up and asked if she could do craft and she was taking the lid off,” the Sans Souci mum said. “I caught her just in time,’ The label on the bottle warned to keep the ear drops out of the reach of children and said hands had to be washed after using the drops.

NPS MedicineWise Medical Adviser Dr Jeannie Yoo says medicines are part of many people’s lives, so it’s critical we have access to information about why we’re taking them and how to take them correctly.

“It doesn’t matter whether our medicines have been prescribed by a doctor or bought from a supermarket or health food store, medicines can have side effects, and can interact with other medicines if you are taking multiple medicines,” Dr Yoo said.