Competences instructing patients

Education of patients taking MAOIs regarding dietary and medication restrictions is extremely important. Printed and verbal patient instructions should be provided. Patients unable to read and those with difficulty understanding or remembering medication instrnc-tions should not be prescribed MAOIs unless they have competent caregivers. Patients should be instructed to consult a health care professional before taking over-the-counter medications. Patients should... 

Failures of patient adherence (due to misunderstanding of or failure to read instructions, misperceptions about drugs, bad taste or even appearance of drug formulation, competing advice e.g., from friends, suicide attempts) as well as some bizarre problems such as suicide pacts and homicide attempts. 

Treatment for Exposure — "First-aid" procedures are reconunended. They deal with exposure to the vapor (gas), liquid, or solid and include inhalation, ingestion (swallowing) and contact with eyes or skin. The instruction "Do not induce vomiting" is given if an unusual hazard is associated with the chemical being sucked into the lungs (aspiration) while the patient is vomiting. "Seek medical attention" or "Call a doctor" is recommended in those cases where only competent medical personnel can treat the injury properly. In all cases of human exposure, seek medical assistance as soon as possible. The sources of these recommendations are entirely from product specific MSDSs. 

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