The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warns that drugs with improper labels can be very dangerous.
These incorrect labels could identify the medication as something other than what is actually in the container, for instance. The label could also tell a person to take the wrong size dose. These are just two potential issues noted by the FDA during one recall, but they paint a picture of the risks people may face.
Do you know exactly what a specific pill is supposed to look or taste like? Would you know if the label was wrong and you were taking the wrong drug or the wrong amount?
Five critical health risks of improper labels include:
- Dangerous interactions between two different types of medications
- Accidental overdoses
- Unneeded exposure to toxicity
- Unneeded exposure to side effects
- A lack of positive therapeutic benefits: When a person is not taking a drug that is critically needed, even if the drug he or she is taking doesn’t have negative side effects, that person still does not get the health benefits he or she expects. This can be worse than any negative side effect, depending on the situation.
There is far more to drug and medicine safety than making sure that the products themselves are safe. They also have to be labeled properly. Even the smallest details can make a huge difference.
Have you been harmed by a drug that had the wrong label or had incorrect information on the label? If so, it is crucial that you know all of the legal rights that you have moving forward.
Source: FDA, “FDA Alerts Healthcare Providers that Drugs Distributed by Shamrock Medical Solutions May be Mislabeled,” accessed Nov. 06, 2017
