Reporting a Side-effect
Most medicines can cause side-effects (also know as adverse reactions). Most side-effects are predictable, mild, and do not last for more than the first few days of treatment. However, unexpected reactions can occur and in rare instances, side-effects can be serious and even life-threatening.
When you are prescribed a medicine for the first time, ask your doctor to tell you the common side-effects of the medicine and what to do if they occur. These are listed in a book called the "New Ethicals Compendium". All general practitioners have a copy of this book and so do most public libraries. Your pharmacist can also provide you with information about the medicines you are taking. Information about medicines is also available on this web site and others. Click on the links below to find out more about medicines:
If you are experiencing a side-effect from your medicine, you should either:
- contact your doctor if you think the reaction is serious or you feel very unwell. Your doctor will tell you what to do, and may want to prescribe a different medicine; or
- contact your pharmacist to find out whether the effect is an expected one for that medicine, and whether it is likely to wear off within a short time. If the side-effect is mild and is likely to be short-lived, your pharmacist will probably advise you to keep taking the medicine, and to report the problem to your doctor if you are still experiencing the side-effect after a specified time.
If you develop symptoms of allergy such as swollen lips or tongue, wheezing or difficulty breathing, you must seek medical attention immediately. Do not continue taking the medicine.
If you develop a rash when you start taking a medicine, you should tell your doctor so that a different medicine can be prescribed if necessary. You should also make sure your pharmacist knows you have had to stop taking the medicine so that the allergy can be noted in your computer record.
Most side-effects to medicines occur during the first few days or weeks of treatment. However, it is possible for a side-effect to develop after you have been taking a medicine for some time. If you develop unexplained symptoms while you are taking a medicine, report this to your doctor or pharmacist.
If you experience a serious or unusual reaction to a medicine, your doctor will report this to the Centre for Adverse Reactions Monitoring (CARM) in Dunedin. CARM collects reports of adverse reactions from throughout New Zealand and analyses the reports to look for patterns. CARM also contributes information to an international database of adverse reactions maintained by the World Health Organisation. While patients may report reactions directly to CARM, it is best for the report to come from the doctor, who can provide the necessary clinical details.