Feature Article | Hidden Risks

You know that smoking is bad for you and that you should always wear a seat belt. But how smart are you about the other, less obvious health hazards in your life? The hidden risks of drug safety and food safety are everywhere, but most of us don’t give them a second thought. But that doesn’t make them any less dangerous, or deadly.

If you eat at a restaurant, at a picnic or in your own home, food poisoning could happen to you. And if you have a medicine cabinet, harmful drug interactions, accidental overdoses or prescription drug abuse could affect you or a loved one in your home.

The good news is you can protect yourself simply by being aware of drug safety and food safety and by taking these common precautions.

Hidden risk: Drug safety

The hidden risk of drug safety is it’s not so hidden. Nearly 4 billion prescription drugs are dispensed every year and many Americans take five or more drugs a day. With all those prescription and over-the-counter drugs circulating, accidental overdoses and harmful drug interactions are on the rise.

“One of the things that all of us need to understand is there is no such thing as an absolutely safe drug,” says Michael Maves, MD, former CEO of the American Medical Association. “All drugs have side effects. All drugs have interactions.”

And with the ready availability of prescription drugs, more and more young people are abusing prescription drugs and over-the-counter medications like cough syrup. One in five teens has abused painkillers; one in 10 has abused cough medicine.

“More kids are coming into prescription pain relievers than are into marijuana,” says Steve Pasierb, president and CEO of The Partnership at Drugfree.org. “And I think that would be shocking news to a lot of parents.”

“We see many more kids entering into treatment with prescription drug abuse” seconds Laurie Delong, director, Phoenix Academy of Austin. “And we see it starting at an earlier age.”

(See Dr. Maves, Steve Pasierb and Laurie Delong discussing drug use and abuse at Be Smart. Be Well. Drug Safety.)

Hidden risk: Food safety

Just like drug safety, food safety is an issue that has wide impact. In fact, the risk of foodborne illness is more prevalent than you think. Each year in the United States there are about 48 million cases of food poisoning–that means one in six Americans is affected by foodborne illness. Food poisoning leads to 128,000 hospitalizations and 3,000 deaths every year.*

Food can become contaminated during growth and harvesting or processing or even during preparation or storage at a restaurant or in your own kitchen.

“Everybody is at risk in one way or another because we all eat food,” says David Goldman, MD, assistant administrator for the Office of Public Health Service, USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service. “And if any of us eat contaminated foods, we have the potential for becoming sick from that food.”

(See more of Dr. Goldman and other experts at Be Smart. Be Well. Food Safety.)

Taking control of the risks

Though danger seemingly lurks everywhere, the steps to manage the hidden risks of drug safety and food safety are–thankfully–fairly straightforward. For drugs:

• Keep both prescription and over-the-counter drugs out of common areas. One-third of all accidental drug poisonings in children involve a grandparent’s medication. And be sure to track how much you have left, so you know if someone it was not intended for is taking any.
• Keep track of all your medications, including over-the-counter drugs, herbal products and dietary supplements. Ask your doctor about possible interactions before starting any drug, and make sure you understand the potential side effects and medical risks.
• For kids, there’s a lot of pressure to experiment with drugs. And today the drugs of choice are prescription or over-the-counter because they’re easy to find at home, through friends and on the Internet. Young people view them as “safe” because they’re legal and prescribed by doctors. So talk with your kids about what’s out there and how misuse or abuse of “legal” drugs can be dangerous and potentially fatal.

(Read more Habits to Have at Be Smart. Be Well. Drug Safety.)

For food safety:

• Always wash your hands before eating or preparing food.
• Harmful bacteria multiply more rapidly between 40° F and 140° F. Keep cold food cold. and hot food hot. Put an appliance thermometer in your refrigerator and get a reliable meat thermometer.

And be sure to follow the follow the four basic rules of food safety:

• Chill your food.
• Separate raw meat and poultry from other food.
• Clean your hands, your produce and your kitchen surfaces.
• Cook meat and poultry thoroughly and always check the internal temperature.

(Read more Habits to Have at Be Smart. Be Well. Food Safety.)

Be smart, not afraid

Another way to keep you and your family safe from food poisoning and harmful drug interactions is to speak up. If the food served to you at a restaurant seems undercooked, send it back. If you don’t understand how to take a medication your doctor prescribes, ask.

“A lot of times older adults feel that by asking questions of their doctors that it seems as though they’re questioning the authority or the knowledge of that individual, and that’s just not so,” says Miriam Mobley Smith, PhamD, Chicago State University, College of Pharmacy.

With both drug safety and food safety, the key is to be smart, not afraid. The risks of drug interactions, teen prescription-drug addiction and food poisoning are frightening; but by being smart about what you put in your body, and being open and honest with health care providers and loved ones, you can lower your risk for these hidden dangers.

* CDC 2011 estimate of food borne Illness in the United States

Life Story Videos: Hidden Risks

Watch Chef Wook Kang, a Le Cordon Bleu chef and food safety instructor as he shows you some simple steps to lower your risk for food poisoning.
Watch Cooking With Kang

Watch how Katie thought the pills were safer because they came from a medicine cabinet and rather than the street. Then she got addicted.
Watch Katie’s Story

And see what happened when Arlene thought her eggs looked runny, but she didn’t send them back. Her health and her life since haven’t been the same.
Watch Arlene’s Story