Blood Thinners Other Than Warfarin: Taking Them Safely
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Blood thinners are medicines that help prevent blood clots. Al though they are called blood thinners, they don't really thin the blood. They slow down the time it takes for a blood clot to form.
You have to be careful when you take blood thinner medicines. They can raise the risk of serious bleeding. But you can do some simple things to help prevent problems.
This Actionset is about all blood thinner medicines except warfarin (Coumadin). There are some extra steps you have to take if you take warfarin. To learn more, see Warfarin: Taking Your Medicine Safely.
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A blood thinner slows down the blood's ability to form clots. This helps prevent clots that can cause life-threatening problems such as stroke, heart attack, and pulmonary embolism. These medicines also can keep blood clots from getting bigger.
Blood thinner medicines work in different ways to prevent blood clots. But all of them raise the risk of serious bleeding. This can happen from an injury, or it can occur suddenly inside your body.
Blood thinners include medicines called antiplatelets and anticoagulants.
Test Your Knowledge
When I take blood thinner medicine, my blood takes longer to clot.
Blood thinners make your blood take longer than normal to clot. This can cause serious bleeding.
When you take blood thinners, bleeding problems can happen when you:
Bleeding also can happen inside your body without an injury when you take blood thinners.
Test Your Knowledge
I need to be careful to avoid injury when I take blood thinner medicine
You can take blood thinner medicine safely by taking a few steps:
1. Know the signs of bleeding.
Call your doctor right away if:
If you are injured, apply pressure to stop bleeding. Realize that it will take longer than you are used to for the bleeding to stop. If you can't get the bleeding to stop, call your doctor.
2. Tell your doctors about all your medicines, and take your medicines properly.
Give your list of medicines to every doctor and dentist who treats you. Taking certain medicines along with a blood thinner can cause bleeding. It also can change how well your medicines work.
To avoid problems:
If you are pregnant, breast-feeding, or trying to get pregnant, talk with your doctor. You and your doctor will decide what medicines are safe for you during pregnancy. Do not use any medicines unless your doctor tells you to.
For information about taking aspirin safely, see Low-Dose Aspirin Therapy.
3. Talk to your doctors about surgeries and tests.
Check with your doctor as soon as you can before any surgery or test (such as a colonoscopy). You may need to stop taking your blood thinner or some of your other medicines up to a week or more before the procedure. Your doctor will tell you when it is safe to start taking your medicine again.
4. Prevent falls and injuries.
If you have a high risk of falling, make these changes in your life to prevent falls:
Make these changes in your home to prevent falls:
To prevent injuries, be careful with your activities:
Test Your Knowledge
I am taking a daily blood thinner and have never taken ibuprofen before. Since ibuprofen is an over-the-counter drug, I don't need to call my doctor's office about taking it.
Now that you have read this information, you are ready to make sure you are taking your blood thinner medicine safely.
Talk with your doctor
If you have questions about this information, print it out and take it with you when you visit your doctor. You may want to mark areas or make notes where you have questions.
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