CHARLESTON, WV (WVNS) — During this time of year, illnesses and sicknesses are more prevalent.

Due to more people getting sick, more medications are used to help ease their ailments. If used correctly, medicine can be safe and effective, but sometimes this is not always the case. People of every age group experience medication misuse.

According to Dr. Elizabeth Scharman, the Clinical Director of the West Virginia Poison Center with West Virginia University, medicines being used incorrectly is more common than you think.

“People having mistakes with medication and then calling the poison center is actually really common. We get a few hundred cases every year of medication mishaps. Importantly, they occur in all ages. So, we get mistakes with parents giving their children or people they’re taking care of medication incorrectly. We have adults taking medication incorrectly and then we have our senior citizens, older population taking medication incorrectly, so it’s one of those that crosses all age groups” said Scharman.

When a mistake does occur, the West Virginia Poison Center can significantly help with medication mishaps. Providers there can determine what medication was taken, how much of it was taken, and whether or not the dosage is life-threatening or not.

Some common mistakes include doubling up medicine, or the other parent giving their child another dose of medicine without them knowing, using the wrong measuring utensil, taking the wrong dose, taking medication too often, or storing your medication together.

“For our older adults, a very common scenario, and we get it, people sometimes have small bathrooms with not a lot of counterspace, and both husband, wife, or friends or whatever people they live with have medication and they store their medication together. Their pill minders are stored side-by-side, their medication bottles are stored side-by-side, and a frequent thing that happens is that they accidently take the other person’s medicine, and with many people on multiple drugs or multiple medications, you’re not just getting one wrong medication, you’re getting multiple wrong medications,” added Scharman.

You should also always read labeled directions to make sure what you are taking and to make sure you are taking the right dose. Never take more medication than what is directed. For example, you could take three different medicines to treat three different ailments, but all three medicines might contain acetaminophen, and triple the amount of that ingredient could be harmful to your body, especially your liver.

Another concern is senior citizens who may suffer from Alzheimer’s or dementia. They may accidently take something other than their medicine and not knowing it causing themselves harm.

“And unfortunately, sometimes that will happen too is, if they have a liquid medication, if you have a cleaning product that’s next to where you store their medication, a patient with dementia will grab the cleaning product and drink that because it’s colored and it looks like a drink and it usually has pictures of lemons or cherries, or whatever the smell of that cleaning product is,” Scharman mentioned.

Scharman also concluded that adolescence need to learn correct doses and how to read a medication label on a bottle, so they know what is in it and know how much to take. It is also a good idea to label your medications so you know which ones our yours and how much of it to take when the time comes.

For more information and if there is a medical emergency, you can contact the West Virginia Poison Center at 1-800-222-1222. You can also visit online at www.wvpoisoncenter.org. The West Virginia Poison Center is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

Learning about the benefits of common medication mistakes can potential save lives.