Medication and safe driving

Alcohol and drugs are substances that everyone recognizes as absolutely incompatible with driving. However, the negative effect of some medications, including over-the-counter drugs, which can affect concentration, reaction time, and quality of vision, is rather underestimated. The danger of antidepressants and antipsychotics, which act on the central nervous system drastically reducing analytical skills and reaction time, is evident. Anti-inflammatories and antihistamines (ibuprofen, naproxen, diclofenac, deschlorpheniramine) can cause drowsiness, mental confusion, dizziness; these active ingredients can be found in anti-allergy medications, decongestants for the upper respiratory tract, some cough suppressants, and some analgesics. If possible, prefer newer generation ones (cetirizine, fexofenadine, loratadine, mizolastine) which have much milder side effects. Anxiolytics or "minor tranquilizers" (benzodiazepines) cause drowsiness and reduced psychomotor performance: they are used to combat anxiety and emotional disorders, but also as sedatives before exploratory examinations, such as gastroscopy. Some eye drops administered during eye exams (atropine, pilocarpine) cause a temporary dilation of the pupil, which compromises the quality of vision. Read the package insert carefully and, if in doubt, ask your doctor.