Forgot password or nameThe current campaign entitled Safe Medicines without Risk draws attention to the flip side of medicines when they are used incorrectly.He reminds us that even if some medicines are sold over the counter, we should handle them with care.Therefore, before using them, consult a pharmacist or doctor, read the package leaflet, and above all follow the instructions from it.Especially those related to dosage and duration of use.The Vitalia.cz server joins the awareness.One drug that should definitely not be used arbitrarily is true emergency contraception, sometimes called the post-coital or "after" pill.It is a type of hormonal contraception that can be bought at a pharmacy without a doctor's prescription.This form of sale is possible in the country for 10 years.The principles of the "after" pill are delaying or preventing ovulation (release of a mature egg into the fallopian tube), preventing the connection of the sperm with the egg, or preventing the egg from implanting in the uterus.Eight different tablets that work on this principle are currently registered on the market.They contain either the active ingredient levonorgestrel or ulipristal acetate.Source: Drug database, SÚKLThe pill can usually be taken within three days of sexual intercourse, during which the partners did not protect themselves or an unexpected event occurred that increased the chance of an unwanted conception of a child.“The most ideal is to give the 'after' pill immediately after unprotected intercourse.Preparations containing levonorgestrel (Postinor, Egianti, Escapelle, Navela, Nulsora) can be given up to 72 hours after intercourse, and medicine containing ulipristal (Ellaone) up to 120 hours after intercourse," enumerates pharmacist Pavla Horáková, who runs a specialist online consultation on the Lékárna.cz website.Regarding the frequency of use, it is ideal to use the abortion pill as little as possible."It should only be used in justified cases where there is a real risk of unwanted pregnancy (e.g. condom rupture, sperm leakage, etc.).But never more than once per menstrual cycle,” says the Safe Medicines Without Risk campaign website.It follows that the "after" pill is definitely not a substitute for regular contraception."It is a truly emergency remedy, so it should only be used in a situation where something unexpected happens, when some other type of contraception fails," confirms Michal Zikán, head of the Gynecology and Obstetrics Clinic of the 1st Faculty of Medicine of Charles University, in the Safe Medicines without Risk campaign. Bulovka University Hospital."If you know that you will need the 'after' pill several times a month, I recommend consulting a gynecologist about a more appropriate and gentler method," adds pharmacist Pavla Horáková.For example, a condom, regularly used pills with hormones, a pessary, contraceptive suppositories or creams.Gallery: How one of the principles of postcoital contraception worksIf a woman takes the pill more often than once in a menstrual cycle, she dramatically increases the level of risk that this medicine carries with it.Use can be accompanied by an irregular menstrual cycle, and therefore also irregular bleeding or very heavy bleeding, which can weaken a woman and deprive her of substances important for the body, such as iron.As gynecologist Michal Zikán points out, the pill can also complicate a woman's planned conception in the future.It is also necessary to take into account that, like other contraceptive methods, even the "after" pill is not 100% reliable."It depends on how soon she gets married.It should be taken as soon as possible, ideally within 12 hours," adds the doctor.Watch the video where gynecologist Jiří Zikán explains the risks of frequent use of emergency contraception:The "after" pill cannot be used if a woman is demonstrably pregnant.For these cases, there is another pill on the market called the abortion pill.While the "after" pill prevents pregnancy itself (the union of the sperm with the egg and its implantation), the abortion pill expels the already fertilized egg from the woman's body.This gentler method of terminating an early stage of pregnancy has been available to Czech women since 2014. One package consists of several tablets.These are given under the supervision of a doctor, but hospitalization is not necessary.Unlike emergency contraception, you cannot get an abortion pill in a regular pharmacy.Have you ever used postcoital contraception?Editor of the Vitalia.cz server.She studied journalism and Czech at the Palacký University in Olomouc, worked at Deník, the TV Nova website and iDNES.cz.He writes about healthcare.She is the recipient of the journalist award of the Psychiatric Society ČLS JEP for 2021.We give the Internet content.