Know what active ingredients are in your medicine. An active ingredient is the chemical compound in the medicine that works with your body to bring relief to your symptoms.

An example:

Over-the-counter pain relievers commonly contain one or more of four different active pain relief ingredients:

	Acetaminophen
	Ibuprofen
	Naproxen Sodium
	Aspirin

Many prescription and OTC multi-symptom medicines (e.g., cold and flu preparations) also include these pain relievers as active ingredients.

Don’t combine pain relievers, prescriptions or multi-symptom medicines with the same active pain relief ingredient. This could result in your taking too much of that ingredient, and too much of any one ingredient can lead to serious health problems.

Ask your doctor or pharmacist for alternative medicines.