Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

Mixing Medicines

Aired October 21, 2003 - 08:46   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Dr. Sanjay Gupta has the day off today, but in medical news, the dizzying array of over the counter medicines now available is raising some new concerns about just how drugs interact. Could one medication, or even something that you eat, cancel the effects of another drug?
Joining us this morning from Chicago for a little guidance on this is Dr. Nathaniel Hupert of New York Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center.

Good morning to you, Dr. Hooper. Nice to have you. Thanks for joining us.

I know, obviously, doctors are often concerned about drug interactions, but how often does it happen that drugs actually cancel each other out?

DR. NATHANIEL HUPERT, N.Y. PRESBYTERIAN WEILL CORNELL MEDICAL CTR.: Well, it happens more often then you might think. About one in every five Americans takes over the counter pain medicine every week. And a study that was done in Finland showed that about one in 25 people who take prescription medicines have an important drug interaction that could potentially affect the amount of drug in their body and the effect of the drug.

O'BRIEN: Let's take a look at some of what you call are the main culprits in all of this. You say those that might block medicine, absorption of drugs, food, acid-blocking drugs, antihistamines, pain relievers, prescription drugs. Let's start at the beginning of that list. What foods possibly could be getting in the way of your drugs?

HUPERT: Well, there's some surprising ones actually. Grapefruit is one of the famous ones in medical literature. Grapefruit affects a wide variety of drugs. Another one is green, leafy vegetables, something that your mother always told you to eat. That could, in fact, affect one common class of drugs that are blood thinners. There are others that -- you know, the list is very long, some important, some less important.

O'BRIEN: When you go down that list a little bit further that includes the antihistamines and the pain relievers, which are most concerning to you? What's the most common thing that people are our there buying that they don't realize could be canceled out by something else that they're taking?

HUPERT: I think it's the really common drugs, things like oral decongestants for colds and pain-relieving medicines, like Ibuprofen and Naprocin. These are things that we all use on an almost weekly basis, according to the literature, and these can have important affects. They can either make it impossible for the drug to get into your body, or once the drug's in your body, they can counteract the effect of the drug.

O'BRIEN: So then what do you advise people to do? Because Obviously if you're taking the cold medicine or something in the short term, I mean, clearly, you're not going to advise people to stop eating leafy, green vegetables or avoid grapefruit altogether, right. What's the best sort of practical advice that someone can walk away with?

HUPERT: I think that this is a good opportunity to collaborate with your doctor and also with your pharmacist. I think the pharmacist is one of the least-sung heroes of the health care industry. And the pharmacists are really the experts on this. So I think that the best thing you can do is take the opportunity to let your doctor know if you're on any prescription medicines, or especially a number of different prescription medications.

Make an appointment to talk about the potential interactions between those medicines, and herbal supplements, or vitamins or food. And also when you pick up your medicines at the pharmacy, talk the opportunity to talk with your pharmacist. Sometimes they're rushed, but this is the most important thing you can do if you're on prescription medicines.

O'BRIEN: Maybe be a little more aggressive with your health care overall.

HUPERT: That's right.

O'BRIEN: Dr. Nathaniel Hupert, thanks for some great advice. Certainly appreciate it.

HUPERT: Thank you, Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Dr. Hupert coming to us from Chicago, even though he is with the New York Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired October 21, 2003 - 08:46   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Dr. Sanjay Gupta has the day off today, but in medical news, the dizzying array of over the counter medicines now available is raising some new concerns about just how drugs interact. Could one medication, or even something that you eat, cancel the effects of another drug?
Joining us this morning from Chicago for a little guidance on this is Dr. Nathaniel Hupert of New York Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center.

Good morning to you, Dr. Hooper. Nice to have you. Thanks for joining us.

I know, obviously, doctors are often concerned about drug interactions, but how often does it happen that drugs actually cancel each other out?

DR. NATHANIEL HUPERT, N.Y. PRESBYTERIAN WEILL CORNELL MEDICAL CTR.: Well, it happens more often then you might think. About one in every five Americans takes over the counter pain medicine every week. And a study that was done in Finland showed that about one in 25 people who take prescription medicines have an important drug interaction that could potentially affect the amount of drug in their body and the effect of the drug.

O'BRIEN: Let's take a look at some of what you call are the main culprits in all of this. You say those that might block medicine, absorption of drugs, food, acid-blocking drugs, antihistamines, pain relievers, prescription drugs. Let's start at the beginning of that list. What foods possibly could be getting in the way of your drugs?

HUPERT: Well, there's some surprising ones actually. Grapefruit is one of the famous ones in medical literature. Grapefruit affects a wide variety of drugs. Another one is green, leafy vegetables, something that your mother always told you to eat. That could, in fact, affect one common class of drugs that are blood thinners. There are others that -- you know, the list is very long, some important, some less important.

O'BRIEN: When you go down that list a little bit further that includes the antihistamines and the pain relievers, which are most concerning to you? What's the most common thing that people are our there buying that they don't realize could be canceled out by something else that they're taking?

HUPERT: I think it's the really common drugs, things like oral decongestants for colds and pain-relieving medicines, like Ibuprofen and Naprocin. These are things that we all use on an almost weekly basis, according to the literature, and these can have important affects. They can either make it impossible for the drug to get into your body, or once the drug's in your body, they can counteract the effect of the drug.

O'BRIEN: So then what do you advise people to do? Because Obviously if you're taking the cold medicine or something in the short term, I mean, clearly, you're not going to advise people to stop eating leafy, green vegetables or avoid grapefruit altogether, right. What's the best sort of practical advice that someone can walk away with?

HUPERT: I think that this is a good opportunity to collaborate with your doctor and also with your pharmacist. I think the pharmacist is one of the least-sung heroes of the health care industry. And the pharmacists are really the experts on this. So I think that the best thing you can do is take the opportunity to let your doctor know if you're on any prescription medicines, or especially a number of different prescription medications.

Make an appointment to talk about the potential interactions between those medicines, and herbal supplements, or vitamins or food. And also when you pick up your medicines at the pharmacy, talk the opportunity to talk with your pharmacist. Sometimes they're rushed, but this is the most important thing you can do if you're on prescription medicines.

O'BRIEN: Maybe be a little more aggressive with your health care overall.

HUPERT: That's right.

O'BRIEN: Dr. Nathaniel Hupert, thanks for some great advice. Certainly appreciate it.

HUPERT: Thank you, Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Dr. Hupert coming to us from Chicago, even though he is with the New York Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com