Some medicines and driving don’t mix

The Department of Health and the Nursing Care Quality Assurance Commission are working with the Washington Traffic Safety Commission to help spread the word about impaired driving from prescription and nonprescription drugs.

Many people only think of alcohol and illicit drugs with impaired driving. Although most medications won’t affect your ability to drive, some prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) drugs can have side effects and cause reactions that may make it unsafe to drive. Some medicines can affect your driving for a short time after you take them. For others, the effects can last for several hours, and even the next day. And some medicines have a warning to not operate heavy machinery — this includes driving a car.

Look for opportunities on how you can help consult with your patients to make sure they are aware of any impaired drive risks with the prescription and nonprescription drugs they may be taking.

For more information, visit the U.S. Food and Drug Administration website.