Rules for taking medication 

Professor David Hunter, rheumatologist

Some important rules to remember when taking medication are to do it as prescribed or to do it as indicated if it's an over-the-counter medication as written on the box or the ointment tube. Irrespective it should be taken as prescribed and you should also be aware of the side effects that can come from that medication and what other over-the-counter medication may contain a similar product. An important example here is often times paracetamol (Panadol) is also contained in cold and flu remedies ideally you shouldn't take any more than 3 grams per day but if you're taking a cold and flu remedy it's quite easy to accidentally overdose  and that can cause significant concerns.