Drug Dosages Often Wrong For Obese People
Most doctors prescribe the same drug dosages for obese patients as for normal weight patients.
But this may be causing obese patients to receive less medicine than they need to fight infectious diseases.
The problem is particularly worrisome with antibiotics.
According to a new study in the journal, Pharmacotherapy, obese individuals may receive only half the necessary doses of antibiotics and other prescription drugs.
With antibiotics, this could lead to failure to treat infections adequately as well as a rise in antibiotic resistance.
If you’re obese and you develop a severe or possibly life-threatening infection, the consequences of taking the wrong drug dosage could be serious, even fatal.
With medications such as blood pressure drugs, the problem is less dire because the drugs are taken for extended periods of time and your results are monitored.
So your doctor can adjust your dosage accordingly.
Drug companies are now beginning to test drug dosages for adults of different weights.
But a lot of factors influence how drugs react in your body, including weight, age, kidney function, other illnesses you may have, and the types of drugs you’re taking.
So it’s not as easy as just increasing your dose for weight alone.
Also, body fat may absorb large amounts of some drugs while having no effect on others.
There is often a small difference between the dosages that make a drug effective, ineffective, or even toxic.
If you’re obese, make sure you discuss the proper drug dosage with your doctor before taking any new medication, especially an antibiotic.
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