A. Yes. Some drugs should be taken in the morning, while others should be taken just before bedtime at night. Ask your doctor or pharmacist when it is appropriate to take your medicines.

A. Expired medicines should not be used. If they are past the expiration date, they often do not work as well and sometimes can be harmful. To make sure you do not take a potentially dangerous expired drug, examine your medicines every year and discard those that are out-of-date.

A. No. The heat and humidity of the bathroom can cause drugs to become less effective. A cool, dry place is best for storage of medications.

A. No. Just as patients should not store drugs in the bathroom, they should not leave them in cars because heat and humidity can reduce their effectiveness. All drugs have requirements for proper storage that can be found on the product package or a pharmacist can summarize them.

A. Ask your pharmacist. Some treatments are designed to have a long-acting effect and if they are crushed, the long-acting effect can be destroyed. Some drugs are available in liquids or tablets that easily disintegrate and you can ask the pharmacist if there is a formulation for you that is easier to swallow.

A. It does matter and a pharmacist should be consulted. In most cases, though, patients take medicines with water.

Q. The doctor prescribed me a brand name drug but the pharmacist gave me a generic. How are they different and why does the brand name drug look different from the generic?
(Greensboro, North Carolina)

A. The Food and Drug Administration (www.fda.gov) defines a generic drug as a copy of a brand-name drug in dosage, safety, strength, how it is taken, quality, performance and intended use.
While a generic drug must have the same active ingredient as the brand drug, colors, flavors, and certain other inactive ingredients may be different.

Q. I would like to print out drug information that is easy-to-understand on all of my medicines and my husband’s medicines to have for our records. I can’t remember what all of them are for and hate to bother my doctor.
(Albany, New York)

A. You can ask your pharmacist or go to the FDA website on Patient Information Sheets http://www.fda.gov/cder/drug/DrugSafety/DrugIndex.htm, click on the name of your specific medicine, and read the “patient friendly” description of things you should know about your medicine.

Q. I would like to be a pharmacy technician because I think it would help me to go beyond that level and become a pharmacist. I would eventually like to work in the pharmaceutical industry. Where can I learn more about the educational process of becoming a pharmacy technician as well as a pharmacist?
(Salem, Massachusetts)

A. It is best to contact your state board of pharmacy because requirements may differ, depending on which state you live in and plan to practice. See http://www.nabp.net/whoweare/boards3.asp.

Q. I visited a farm and my friend said that I should not drink the unpasturized milk because I could get a terrible stomach bug, called Listeria. What is it and how can I find out what foods I should avoid?
(Houston, Texas)

A. According to the FDA Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~pregnant/whillist.html), listeria is a harmful bacteria (listeriosis) that may be found in refrigerated, ready-to-eat foods such as meat, poultry, seafood, dairy and unpasturized milk. You can get listeria by eating contaminated foods processed or packaged in unsanitary conditions or by eating vegetables contaminated from the soil or manure used as fertilizer.
You can avoid this bacteria by taking a few simple steps. Maintain your refrigerator at 40 degrees Fahrenheit or below and the freezer at 0 degrees. Refrigerate or freeze perishables and discard food that’s left out at room temperature for longer than 2 hours. Use ready-to-eat, perishable foods, such as dairy, meat, poultry, and seafood as soon as possible. Clean your refrigerator regularly and wipe up spills immediately. Clean the inside of the refrigerator with hot water and mild dishwashing detergent, then rinse. Once a week, check expiration dates on all products in your refrigerator.

Q. I am looking for a doctor and would like to know how to find out more information on my physician (i.e. where he went to school, any special residencies, etc).
(San Antonio, Texas)

A. You can go to the American Medical Association website http://www.ama-assn.org/ and go to a section “For Patients: Doctor Finder.” The AMA Doctor Finder provides information on virtually every licensed physician in the United States, including more than 690,000 doctors of medicine and doctor of osteopathy or osteopathic medicine.

Q. I don’t know what some of the abbreviations mean on my prescription and my prescription bottle, such as “prn”.
(Troy, Texas)

A. The medical abbreviation “PRN” means “as needed.” Your provider determines the times of administration for a medication according to the individual patient needs. If you think that he/she intended for you to take it more regularly or if you have any questions, ask your provider for clarification.

Q. How many milligrams are in a gram?
(Tyler, Texas)

A. A milligram (mg) is a metric unit of weight equal to one thousandth of a gram (g) (1 gram = 1000 milligrams). Your correct dosage recommendation should be clearly written on your medication label. If you have any questions, you should ask your pharmacist or provider about your dosage questions.

Q. My 11 year old child was on a prescription. Because she is feeling much better, I don’t think she needs to take the rest of it, especially since it is an especially large pill. Is this okay?
(New Cumberland, PA)

A. The American Academy of Pediatrics emphasizes the importance of reading and following the directions on the label. For example, certain medicines may say “Take full course” which means that your child should finish taking the entire contents of the prescription, even if she is feeling better. This is especially true if your child is taking antibiotics because the infection can come back if you stop too soon. You should ask your doctor or pharmacist if this medicine may be crushed if it is too big for your child to swallow. Also, some medicines may come in liquid form. Check with your pediatrician.

Q. I was just diagnosed with OCD and my doctor said that this condition requires life-long medication in order to manage the symptoms. What is OCD and where can I get more information on it?
(Roseburg, Oregon)

A. The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) describes OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) as a condition that affects approximately 3.3 million people. Those with OCD may suffer from recurrent, unwanted thoughts (obsessions) or rituals (compulsions), which they feel they cannot control. These obsessions can severely affect a person’s life and treatment may be appropriate. A combination of medications and behavioral therapy are often effective in treating OCD. See http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/ocdfacts.cfm to find out more about OCD.