Are blood thinner in any of the medicines you take every day? If you have a history of heart disease or are at risk for developing the disease, then blood-thinning medications are most likely on your medication list. This drug is useful for preventing blood clots that can cause heart attacks, strokes, and heart failure. This medicine does make your blood thinner, so there are a few things to be aware of when using this medicine.
Things to consider when using blood thinners
There are various types of blood thinners, for example, the most commonly used are warfarin or heparin. Usually, the use of this drug is applied to people with high blood pressure. Unfortunately, many patients do not know what rules and regulations should be followed when using this blood-thinning drug. These things are quite important to know because they can affect the work of drugs and the health of the body.
The following are suggestions that you should do when taking blood-thinning drugs.
- Do not take the drug in excessive doses. If you miss taking your medicine, then you should wait until the next schedule for taking the medicine. Taking multiple doses at once can cause health problems.
- Avoid activities that put you at risk of getting hurt and bleeding. The reason is, even though the wound is quite small, bleeding can still occur due to using this drug. For example, when you are going to ride a bicycle, you should wear safety protective equipment to reduce injury.
- If you fall or hit something hard enough, you should immediately consult a doctor. Although there is no blood coming out, the appearance of bruising is a sign that there is bleeding in the body. Bleeding can be fatal when a person is taking blood-thinning medications.
- Replace your shaver with an electric one. This is to avoid cuts caused by ordinary razor blades.
- Use gloves when you use sharp objects, such as scissors, knives, and crop-cutting tools.
- Always wear footwear outside the house. When on the ground there is something sharp then it can hurt your foot.
- Use a toothbrush with soft bristles so your gums don’t bleed easily.
- Do not take other vitamin supplements before consulting your doctor. Some vitamin supplements have interactions with this drug that will hurt your health.
- Also avoid the use of certain types of painkillers, such as aspirin, ibuprofen, and naproxen. These drugs can make your blood thinner and cause bleeding. If you experience pain and want to take painkillers, you should first consult with your doctor about which types of drugs are safe for you to take.
Food can also be an obstacle to the work of blood-thinning drugs
Some types of food can inhibit and affect the work of blood-thinning drugs. Usually, this happens in foods that contain lots of vitamin K. In the body, vitamin K plays an important role in the blood clotting process. This then makes you should avoid foods with high vitamin K such as:
- Asparagus
- Broccoli
- Cabbage
- Onion
- Spinach
- Soybeans
Meanwhile, other types of vegetables are safe for consumption and can replace vegetables that are rich in vitamin K.