Overview 

Nowadays, many people consume medicine as part of their daily routine. Medications are used to relieve pain, treat infections, and improve overall health. The usage of medicines makes individuals feel better and aids them to recover. However, It is necessary to remember that all medicines, whether over-the-counter or prescribed, have some side effects along with their benefits.¹ 

In this article, we will discuss the adverse effects and consequences brought about by medicines in detail.

Side effects and adverse reactions

Side effects

When anyone consumes medicines there will be side effects due to the way the medication works in the body. Furthermore, most individuals can experience none to little effects but some individuals are susceptible to the side effects of the medicine. These effects can be rashes, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, itching, blurred vision, lethargy, and headaches. The side effects of the medicine are described in the patient information guide and it is given with medicine.²

Adverse reactions

When an individual gets a harmful effect that is suspected from medicine or vaccines it is known as adverse reactions. Sometimes they are also known as adverse drug reactions (ADRs), undesirable effects, or side effects. However, adverse reactions can occur in some people if they use medicines or vaccines. The symptoms are headaches, upset stomach, liver or kidney injury.³

The adverse reactions can be predicted for some cases, but some adverse reactions can happen randomly once the patients consume it such as severe allergy while most individuals take medicine without suffering any serious adverse reactions. Furthermore, if you want to know what adverse reactions you will experience when taking the medicines it is best if you read the medicine data sheet/consumer medicine information which you can find on the Medsafe website.³

Long-term health consequences

Life-saving medicines can have long-term effects on the body and they differ from one individual to another via the duration of the usage, type of medication, and the current physical or mental health issues. For instance, the side effects of insulin are different from the side effects of Adderall. Hence, the main long-term effects the individuals will suffer from the prescription medication are:⁴

• Cardiovascular disease
• Strokes
• Increased risk of cancer
• HIV/AIDS
• Hepatitis B and C
• Lung disease
• Mental health disorders

These side effects are avoidable if the individual's addiction is treated in time.

Usually, prescription medicines are legitimately prescribed by a physician to treat pain, anxiety, and other serious health issues the individual is suffering from. However, a large number of individuals think since it is legal as it is prescribed by a physician it is safer than illegal drugs.⁴

The medication is effective when it is medically supervised by a physician as every drug has side effects and can be uncomfortable and hard to deal with when taken for long-term or heavy usage.

Some individuals will begin to abuse the usage of the drugs and this is risky and fatal as an illegal drug and dependence on the medication will lead to addiction. Recently, there has been a rise of abusing prescription medication which has led to more deaths than illegal drugs.⁴ 

Prescribed drug abuse is under 3 categories which are stimulants, depressants, and painkillers. The long-term usage of these drugs is risky and fatal to individuals who abuse them.⁴

Economic and accessibility issues

Economic burden on patients and families

The price of prescribed medicines in the USA is nearly double or sometimes triple when compared with other industrialized nations as 20% of kids in the USA take medications prescribed by a doctor.

Insulin is a life-saving drug used to treat people with diabetes, while the EpiPen, used to treat severe allergic reactions, is overpriced for individuals with health insurance. Furthermore, insurance can help individuals with a high price by covering some of the cost. It is important to know that EpiPens cost hundreds of dollars, while insulin costs thousands of dollars.

The issue now arises for kids between 0 and 4 ages have a high chance of experiencing anaphylaxis when compared to adults. Due to the high costs of EpiPens parents are forced to send kids to school without them. Furthermore, the production of EpiPens is done by one pharmaceutical company which gives the monopoly to control the costs and they keep on increasing it steadily to the point it is more than $600 while before it was $100 with these prices it is hard for parents and consumer with good insurance plans to purchase EpiPens.⁵ 

High cost of life-saving medications

The high cost of life-saving medication is due to market exclusivity which means the pharmaceutical company making the medications is free to set the price as much as they want due to the lack of competition. Furthermore, until the patent expiry, the pharmaceutical company will be the only source to acquire the medication and because of this access to generic drugs will take to arrive on the market.⁶

Insurance coverage limitations

Researchers from the National Center for Health Statistics conducted a survey where they discovered that 8% of adult Americans do not buy the prescribed medicines as they cannot afford them. One of the money-saving strategies is insurance coverage where 6% of young adults with private insurance and 14% of young adults without medical insurance skip buying the medicine to save on cost.

As the individuals with financial issues or in poverty level nearly 14% of them did not take the medications prescribed by the physicians to save cost. Furthermore, some individuals will request doctors to provide them with lower-cost medications, buy from other countries, or use alternative therapies.⁷ 

Mitigation and management strategies

Enhancing monitoring and follow-up care

The best course of action for pharmaceutical companies can be monitored by the government which is the competition in the pharmaceutical market and the rise of the price of the drug. As in the US, several lawyers have passed legislation to the chambers of Congress to help monitor the price, particularly focusing on insulin.⁵ 

Policy recommendations

Kids who have registered in the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and Medicaid are safe from paying high costs for medications as these types of insurance have protection from the sudden rise of the medication from the pharmaceutical companies but the rise of these medications is not always covered by the insurance company.

However, millions of kids still don't have insurance altogether. The government can further action by using a combination of insurance coverage so people can purchase the drugs instead of not buying and this should be expanded to certain drugs such as: EpiPens, Insulin, etc.⁵ 

Summary

Many people rely on daily medications to manage infections, diseases, and overall health. While these medications are helpful, they can come with side effects like rashes, nausea, and headaches. More severe adverse reactions can also occur, sometimes unpredictably.

Long-term use of medications can lead to serious health problems like heart disease and mental health issues, especially if the drugs are misused or abused. The high cost of essential medications like insulin and EpiPens, often due to lack of competition, can be a heavy financial burden. Better monitoring and policy changes could help make these vital medications more affordable and accessible for everyone.