Some prescriptions, over-the-counter medications, and herbal or alternative remedies can be as intoxicating as having a couple of alcoholic drinks. The AAA foundation of Traffic Safety reported that 78 percent of drivers older than 55 take medications, but only one in four understands how drugs can impact their driving. Like alcohol, medicines can cause side effects that impair driving, such as sleepiness, slowed movement, blurred vision, dizziness, fainting, excitability, nausea and inability to focus or pay attention.
Ask your doctor or pharmacist about the effects of prescribed medications on driving. If you must take medications that could impair driving, your health care professional may be able to:
- adjust the dosage;
- adjust the timing of the doses;
- add an exercise or nutrition program to lessen the need for medicine;
- change the medicine to that causes fewer side effects.
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* article contributed from AAA Living Feb 2010
