After staying up late at a friend’s house in mid-May, junior Theo Lach came to school with a pounding headache. To provide some relief, he took some Advil and his headache went away shortly after.
For Theo and dozens of other students, this is a regular routine. However, health professionals suggest that students approach taking medication with caution as they may be unaware of the risks of taking OTC medications.
Sophomore Morgan Shields, who takes OTC medication to manage recurring issues like headaches and period cramps, believes that students should be able to self-administer OTC medications at school.
“I usually have ibuprofen on me wherever I go because it’s good to have on hand and easier than going to the nurse,” Morgan said.
However, U-High nurse Mary Toledo stresses that convenience should never come at the expense of safety.
“When it comes to pain, or you’re starting to feel sick symptoms, we ask students to not self-medicate but to come and get checked out at the nurse’s office,” Ms. Toledo said.
While Ms. Toledo acknowledges that visiting her office might be an inconvenience to a student’s daily routine, it is important for a student’s health to be checked out professionally.
“That headache that you thought was just a headache might be happening because you’re starting to develop a fever,” she said.
If a student does take medications like Advil or Motrin, Ms. Toledo advises students to take with food to avoid stomach irritation. Furthermore, many students may not realize that Tylenol contains acetaminophen and therefore should not be taken with cold medications like Dayquil or Nyquil, which also contain acetaminophen.
“Let’s say if you take Dayquil and then you’re like, ‘Oh man, I still have a headache.’ You don’t want to go ahead and just take Tylenol on the side if you know that you recently took Dayquil,” she said.
It is important to make students take care of basics like hydration and sleep before turning to medication. When medication is necessary, the choice of drugs matters. For example, Ms. Toledo explains that while Tylenol is good for general pain, it is not an NSAID and won’t reduce swelling.
Ms. Toledo explained that because sports medicine isn’t her area of expertise, she directs student athletes to Hannah McCarrell at the Fitness Center for specialized guidance and recommendations.
Additionally, following the specific instructions on the packaging for dosage amounts is crucial.
“It’s very important to be mindful and to always pay attention to labels because, especially with Tylenol, it can cause liver damage if you take too much,” Ms. Toledo explained.
According to an article by Harvard Health Publishing, the body breaks down the majority of the acetaminophen, but some of the drug is converted into a byproduct that is toxic to the liver.
Even when students are careful, dosing can be complicated. For students like Morgan, who uses children’s ibuprofen due to a past difficulty with swallowing pills, figuring out the correct dosage amount can require further instruction.
“I take children’s ibuprofen because I didn’t learn how to swallow pills until recently, so the dosage instructions on medications aren’t accurate for me,” Morgan said. “I usually take the amount my mom says I should take.”
For other issues, like seasonal allergies, Ms. Toledo notes that doctors might recommend daily doses of antihistamines or nasal sprays for management. While saline sprays are safe for students to carry and self-administer at school, because they are essentially salt water, she maintains that for most other medications, the nurse’s office is the safest place for treatment.
“We ask students to come to the nurse’s office, so that we can take their temp and ask them about their symptoms,” Ms. Toledo said. “That way we can help figure out what could possibly be going on.”
