Older Adults

The elderly use a number of medications at the same time and therefore need to pay careful attention to drug-drug interactions between OTC medications and prescription medications. Older adults talk with their doctor their doctor about the medications they take and potential interactions with OTC medicines.

- there is a relatively high risk of kidney disease and GI bleeding in elderly patients who use NSAIDs. Discuss this risk with your family doctor.

- Pseudoephedrine can increase blood pressure and the pressure in your eye that can lead to glaucoma. It can also make existing blockages in the urinary tract worse. Pseudoephedrine interacts negatively with many other drugs such as beta-blockers, antidepressants, insulin, and some medications that treat low blood sugar.

- If you use a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI), a type of prescription antidepressant, or take any medication for a seizure disorder, you should avoid using pseudoephedrine.

- Pseudoephedrine can change the way these drugs work in your system. Some common MAOIs include Marplan (generic: isocarboxazid), Nardil (generic: phenelzine sulfate) and Parnate (generic: tranylcypromine sulfate).

- If you use a MAOI, you should not use dextromethorphan. Dextromethorphan interferes with the way MAOIs work.