If you’re like 82 percent of Americans, you take at least one medicine each week. Whether you’re reaching for a prescription (Rx) pain reliever for a backache or an over-the-counter (OTC) medicine for a stuffy nose, you need to know what you’re taking. By reading and following the label directions before you take a pill, you’ll learn key facts to help you safely use the medicine.

Adverse drug events are the reason for 700,000 emergency room visits in the United States each year. What can go wrong? For one, medicines can interact with each other to cause an adverse reaction. Aspirin, for example, isn’t recommended for people taking a Rx blood thinner like warfarin (brand name Coumadin®). This is because both medicines slow blood clotting, which could cause excessive bleeding. Reading and following the label can help you avoid taking the wrong medicine.

Many Rx and OTC medicines can have the same active ingredients. For example, you’ll find acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol®, in more than 600 OTC and Rx medicines. These include cough and cold products, allergy medicines, pain relievers and sleep aids. If taken as directed, acetaminophen is safe and effective for reducing pain and relieving fever. But if you don’t read and follow the label and take more than one medicine that contains acetaminophen, you could take too much. This can put you at risk for liver damage.

“Reading and following the label is an important safeguard when taking medicine,” says Janet P. Engle, Pharm.D., Ph.D., professor and head of the Department of Pharmacy Practice at the University of Illinois College of Pharmacy in Chicago. Here are some key label facts that can help you take your medicine correctly and avoid potentially life-threatening side effects.

DECODING THE OTC DRUG FACTS LABEL

All OTC medicines have a standard Drug Facts label, which is
regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). It tells
you how much of a medicine to take and when. It also tells you
whether it’s safe to use with other medicines, along with other
important information. Here’s a
label overview.

Active Ingredients: Lists the ingredients of a medicine that make it work on the illness or symptom it’s treating. It also lists the amount of the drug in each dose. Many medicines have just one active ingredient. But a combination medicine, which treats more than one symptom, may have two or more. As a general rule, don’t take more than one medicine with the same active ingredient. Doing so can put you at risk for overdose.

Uses: Describes the symptoms the medicine treats. “If the symptoms listed are similar on different medicines, such as ‘sneezing, runny nose, itchy, watery eyes,’ call your doctor or talk to the pharmacist before taking [the medicines] to avoid possibly doubling up on similarly acting drugs,” Engle says.

Warnings: Tells you when a medicine shouldn’t be used. It also tells you when you should talk to a doctor or pharmacist before taking it. Any common side effects that may happen are listed. It also tells you what other medicines or substances to avoid while taking the medicine.

Directions: Tells you the amount of medicine to take and how often to take it. It also tells you how much you can take in one day. Don’t take more than the recommended dose on the label. Also, don’t take it for more days than the label recommends. “Just because one pill is good doesn’t mean two is better,” Engle says. Taking more than the recommended dose won’t bring you faster relief. Instead, it could put you at risk of an overdose.

Other information: Describes how to store the medicine. “If it says ‘protect from excessive moisture or heat,’ avoid storing the medicine in a bathroom where you take showers or right next to the stove,” Engle says. Instead, keep the medicine in a cabinet that’s away from heat and moisture. If you have children or pets, keep it on a high shelf in a closet. If you need to take your medicine each morning and you don’t have kids, it’s OK to store your medicine next to your cereal bowl. This can help you remember to take it. But don’t forget to put your medicines up