001[Music] hello my name is dr. Richard Artemis and I'm the director of pharmacy services here at Cape Regional Health System do you know that nearly 100% of patients in the hospital receive a medication during their stay medications play a central role in the management of most diseases but medications can also cause side effects or may not work as well if they're not taken exactly as prescribed that said it's very important for us to make sure that our patients are well informed about the medications that they receive for the next several minutes members of our pharmacy staff or introduce you to many of the medications that we use here in the hospital some of which you may already be receiving so let's get started [Music] hi my name is Bev Poltorak I'm one of the clinical
002pharmacists here at Cape Regional Medical Center and I'm going to talk to you about a group of medications called beta blockers beta blockers are medications that we often start in the hospital especially if you are visiting our progressive care unit on the third floor the most common uses for beta blockers are for high blood pressure and a regular rapid heartbeat called atrial fibrillation or afib and heart failure sometimes we even use beta blockers before and after surgery to prevent heart problems that could be related to the surgery your doctor and nurse will tell you the specific reason for your a beta-blocker therapy and here's a list of some of the most popular beta blocker medications the benefits from beta blockers come from their ability to lower heart rate and blood pressure so most of the
003important side effects from these medications are also related to these actions these drugs can make you feel tired they can cause cold hands headache upset stomach and dizziness if you have diabetes or asthma we need to be careful with how we use beta blockers beta blockers can interfere with your asthma medications or make it more difficult to tell if you're having a low blood sugar reaction if you have diabetes or asthma please be sure to tell your doctor nurse or pharmacist once you start taking a beta blocker you should not abruptly stop taking it this could result in rebound side effects like a fast heart rate or even tremors and now I'm going to introduce dr. Marissa McAndrew and she's going to talk to you about our next category pain medications thank you [Music] hi
004my name is Marisa McAndrew and I'm the pharmacy resident here at Cape Regional Medical Center I'm going to talk to you about pain medications whether it's an over-the-counter pain reliever for headache or a strong narcotic for surgical pain most patients in the hospital will require some type of pain medication during their hospital stay these pain medications will help relieve some of your pain but may not always make you pain-free it is important to talk with your nurse and doctor to set your pain goal on a scale of one to ten so you know what results to expect when you get your pain medications if you have mild pain or a headache you may just need an over-the-counter medication such as one of these acetaminophen which is sold as the brand Tylenol is effective against fever
005and mild pain from conditions like headaches or muscle aches you should always read the label on your medication bottles because combination cough and cold medications might also contain acetaminophen and you should not take more than 3,000 milligrams or 3 grams of acetaminophen in one day ibuprofen which is known as motrin and advil is similar to acetaminophen and that it can help decrease fever and mild pain but it also can reduce inflammation ibuprofen is part of a drug class called non-steroidal anti-inflammatory or NSAIDs for short NSAIDs can be useful for conditions that involve inflammation such as swollen joints from arthritis or sprained ankle but they can irritate your stomach so you'll need to take it with food ibuprofen and other NSAIDs have been linked to greater risk of heart attacks and strokes so people with heart
006disease should use extra caution when using these medications on a regular basis more powerful pain relievers are often used after surgery or if your pain is more severe here are some of the more common medications used these medications carry the risk of addiction so you should take them exactly as directed powerful pain relievers may have an interaction other medications especially those for depression anxiety and insomnia and also with alcohol these drug interactions could interfere with your ability to breathe properly during sleep or could cause an overdose you should only take other medications with strong pain relievers after talking with a healthcare professional the most common side effects for pain medications include constipation nausea vomiting and being tired or drowsy these medications may also impair your awareness and could negatively affect your ability to drive or
007work safely now doctor Huff will talk to you about antibiotics [Music] hi my name is Chris often I'm a clinical pharmacist at Cape Regional Medical Center and I'm going to talk to you about antibiotics antibiotics are medications often given as IVs in the hospital for infections antibiotics will help you kill or stop the growth of bacteria in your body and different antibiotics work against different types of bacteria your doctor and nurse will tell you what sort of infection your antibiotic therapy is for here is a list for some of the most commonly used antibiotics antibiotics can make you nauseous have diarrhea sensitivity to the Sun or cause muscle pain if you get a rash hives or start to have trouble breathing you may have an allergic reaction to the antibiotic and should be seen by
008your doctor immediately you may be switched from an IV antibiotic to a pill when you start to get better make sure you are aware of the instructions for your antibiotic as some pills should be taken with food and others should be taken in an empty stomach you should also avoid alcohol when you are taking antibiotics it is important to finish the entire course of antibiotic therapy to get rid of all the bacteria if you don't take your antibiotic as directed the bacteria can come back stronger and harder to get rid of next time you have an infection hi its Bev again and now I'm going to spend a few minutes talking to you about a group of medications called ACE inhibitors ACE inhibitors are medications that we often start in the hospital again especially if
009you are visiting our progressive care unit on the third floor because like beta blockers these medications are useful for many things the most common uses for ACE inhibitors are for high blood pressure heart failure or if you've had a heart attack your doctor and nurse will tell you the specific reason for your ACE inhibitor therapy here's a list again of some of the most popular ACE inhibitor medications the benefits from ACE inhibitors come from their ability to relax the blood vessels and lower your blood pressure so most of the important side effects from these medications are related to these actions these drugs can make you cough feel dizzy or feel like you could faint be careful when you get out of bed or be careful not to get up too quickly or ask for help
010so you don't fall ACE inhibitors could worsen any existing kidney problems or increase your potassium too much if you do have kidney problems or high potassium levels make sure to tell your doctor nurse or pharmacist once you start taking an ACE inhibitor you should definitely have your blood pressure checked regularly and remember at any time if you have any questions at all about any of your medications always ask your doctor or pharmacist hi I hope that you're not feeling overwhelmed by this information there's just a few more groups of medications that we want to make sure you know about the next group of medications will recover our diuretics which some people call water pills the most common uses for diuretics are for high blood pressure heart failure lung congestion or fluid retention your doctor and
011nurse will tell you the specific reason for your water pill here's a list of common diuretic medications the benefits from diuretics come from their ability to remove excess salt and water from your body by increasing the amount of urine you make these drugs can make you dizzy increase your urge to urinate and lower your potassium levels if you have gout make sure to tell your doctor nurse or pharmacist because diuretics could trigger your gout to flare up remember the more powerful loop diuretics like lasix can really increase your volume and frequency of urination so if you take these pills twice a day take the second pill around dinnertime so you don't have to get out of bed and use the bathroom [Music] hi the group of drugs I'm telling you about now are called corticosteroids
012or steroids for short these steroids are different from the anabolic steroids or the steroids that you sometimes hear about athletes abusing steroids are medications that we often give in the hospital because these medications are useful for many inflammatory or allergic reactions the most common use of steroids are for asthma copd skin conditions irritable bowel syndrome and rheumatoid arthritis sometimes we even use steroids to prevent an allergic reaction before certain medications are given your doctor in or nurse will tell you what specific reason while you are given a steroid here's a list of some of the most commonly used steroids the benefits from steroids come from their ability to reduce the amount of inflammation in your body by suppressing the inflammatory mediators like cytokines histamines and cyclooxygenase so most of the important side effects from these
013medications are related to these actions these drugs can make you have nauseous restlessness or have insomnia you should also take these medications with food to decrease the risk of upset stomach if you have diabetes be sure to tell your doctor nurse or pharmacist steroids may increase the blood sugar and should be checked regularly if you take steroids for a long duration you should not stop taking them abruptly you may need to taper your steroid dose meaning you take a smaller amount every day to prevent rebound side effects like nausea and fatigue [Music] hi now let's wrap up by talking about a group of medications called anticoagulants or blood thinners anticoagulants are medications that we often start in the hospital to prevent any at-risk patients from developing a blood clot you're more at risk of forming
014a blood clot if you are not moving as much while you're in the hospital if you've suffered an injury or if you have had surgery if your doctor decides you may be at risk for having a blood clot while you're in the hospital you may be on a blood thinner such as heparin lovenox or a Rik straw the benefits from anticoagulants comes from their ability to make your blood thinner which means that it takes longer for your blood to clot so most of the side effects from these medications will have to do with minor bleeding since these medications may increase bleeding look out for easy bruising or bruises that keep getting bigger prolonged bleeding from your nose wet-looking coffee grounds if you throw up bleeding from your gums when brushing your teeth dark tarry stools
015or visible red blood in the toilet when you void these blood thinners are given as shots in your belly and should be administered in a different spot each time you may have some bruising where your shot was given now there are several other blood thinners that can be given as pills if you actually do develop a blood clot if that should happen a pharmacist will come up to your room and we will sit down and talk with you about that and answer any questions you have thank you Thank You Bev Morrison Chris I hope that this brief introduction and medications has given you a better understanding of the medications that you're taking here in the hospital especially any new medications that may have been started during your admission if you're taking a medication that we
016didn't talk about or if you have more questions about the ones we did let your nurse know and a pharmacist can come in and answer your questions from everyone in Department of pharmacy services we hope that you feel better soon and thank you for choosing kaif Regional Health System you [Music]