Medicines and you: a bitter-sweet mixture

(PhysOrg.com) -- More medicines than ever can be bought without prescription, but do the benefits outweigh the harm?

The safety issues surrounding over-the-counter medicines will be discussed at the last in the current series of Café Scientifique talks taking place this Wednesday (May 11) at 7pm at Waterstone’s Union Bridge, Aberdeen.

Professor Phil Hannaford, NHS Grampian Chair of Primary Care and Head of Division of Applied Health Sciences at the University of Aberdeen, and Dr Margaret Watson, Senior Research Fellow at the University, are the speakers at the free event.
Professor Hannaford said: “Our talk will explain that there is a major move to get more medicines available over the counter - for many good reasons.

“Safety, however, has to be paramount and there have been some examples where over-the-counter medicines can cause harm - sometimes because people who use them do not tell their healthcare professionals about such usage.

“We will look at the factors which influence the safety of medicines and will discuss how we can try and optimise drug safety.”

Dr Watson added: “The audience discussion will also give us a chance to highlight how members of the public can achieve the best safe use of over the counter medicines”.

The Café Scientifique series is organised by the University of Aberdeen Public Engagement with Science team. The talks aresupported by a Science Engagement grant from the Scottish Government. For more information about the Café series please see: www.abdn.ac.uk/science/cafescience/

Provided by University of Aberdeen