Over counter medications how safe they are or how risky they are ?
Life is precious and it needs not to be toyed with. In developing countries (like mine) where everyday witnesses an influx of fake drugs from outside the country, a patient who subscribes to over counter medications stands a very high risk of worsening his/ her situation. I agree that consultation and medical bills are very high for even the average worker in developing countries. This is the more reason why these countries need to organize an effective national health insurance policy to take care of the health needs of their citizens.
Medications, either over the table or under the table are in general dangerous and one needs to be careful !
The nonmedical use of prescription or over-the-counter (OTC) medications implies that the user is using them for reasons other than those indicated in the prescribing literature or on the box label (Lessenger and Feinberg).
For more information, you may look at the following link
http://www.jabfm.org/content/21/1/45.full
Dear @Yassin, here is a paper that covers the situation in my country Pharmacotherapy and over-the-counter drug use among elderly in Belgrade, Serbia!
Obtaining psychoactive medication is easy in the Balkans, especially in Serbia and Bosnia, where no tough EU regulations are in place.
The most popular tranquillizer, bensedin, can be purchased with the aid of moderate acting skills from most pharmacies in Belgrade outside the centre.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0197457213002693
http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/pill%20addiction%20grips%20the%20balkans
Dear All,
Efficiency and safety of over counter medication depend on the health situation of a country, the system of health care and the training and culture of the people.
Over the counter medicines are the same as all medicines in that to one degree or other they are toxic. While they are usually on the lower level of risk there can be problems where they are taken concomitantly with prescription medication or herbal treatments. In such circumstances it is always a good idea to consult a pharmacist and ask about adverse reactions and side effects.
Legally obtainable and/or obtained medication and/or medicines should be safe!
Period!
Dear Tobias,
I try to translate your statement by an example. Legally obtained vitamine C, 14 grams per day (Linus Paulings breakfast) isn´t safe, this dose killed him. I think it´s not so easy, the dose must be correct, the eating body must stand this chemistry, and some other illness must not stand against.
Why are the written guidelines included with legally obtained medication written in very small letter types that can be hardly read/understood by old people? Even legally obtained medication can make people ill when wrongly consumed, or not?
Dear Marcel you are absolutely right a lot of medications obtained legally but can lead to severe toxicity
I agree with Costas and Kamal answers. In addition, I believe medication without medical prescription should be prohibited; pharmacist should not sell medication without prescription. Drugs is a medium to heal but if is taken properly otherwise is toxin.
Eating Food (fruits, vegetables, meat, sugar, sweets...) might also be defined as a medical treatment because the types/quantities of food consumed definitely will influence health status. Can consumption of food that can be bought by anyone in any store be defined as a form of self-medication? If there are gene-environment interactions in food consumption, food A might be good for individual A and bad for individual B. Do we need medical doctors to know what we have to eat or not? In the vast majority of the cases, the medical doctors do not have access to the genetics of patients to recommend treatment.
@Cecilia,
the official meaning "legally safe or not " is the essential argument. There are a lot medicines which really don´t need a prescription. Just remember Aspirin and similar drugs. Of course you can kill yourself by eating hundreds of ASS, but the same holds for coffee, red wine, sausages, sugar for diabetics etc.
And @Palani, the costs will explode if all desires for even simple and quite harmless drugs should need a doctor.
We have a much more risk with our medicines. If they are faked, don´t have the supposed content, which is supposed, they can kill patients. The main problem is not prescribed or not, the central point of view, are the drugs controlled, before they are sold over the counter.
There are currently a lot of over the counter medications. There are a few things you can take without a prescription that may provide you with relief.
"Herbal anti-anxiety treatments such as proloftin, kava, St. John’s wort, lemon balm or valerian root are deemed to be effective and relatively safe for use as over-the-counter anxiety medications. Some sleep medications or antihistamines, particularly Benadryl and chlor-trimeton, are sometimes viewed as medicines for anti-anxiety without a prescription. This is not their intended use and doctors do not recommend taking either of these as over-the-counter anti-anxiety medications, however."
For more details look at the link here-under:
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-the-different-over-the-counter-anxiety-medications.htm
While using medicine (either prescription or non-prescription), there is always a risk that the medicine may cause unwanted effects. There is a greater risk if person has kidney, liver or stomach problems; drink alcohol; pregnant or breastfeeding woman and allergic to specific medicines.
The so called OTC medicines are not only available freely in Indian market but also they are promoted aggressively through all powerful media. Innumerable brands and combinations of drug products are available in the Indian market. In such a scenario pharmacists and other health care professionals must demonstrate that patients can take an OTC medicine safely without professional oversight and using information on the label.
Subal C Basak (2012) Medicine access and OTC medicines, Pharmabiz.com
It's a crime, if medications are sold to drug addicts (narcomaniacs) Another problem is connected with dietary supplements. Some ordinary people replace this notion by medication. I think, a prescription must be a financial document, and it's possible through prescribed drug insurance in the country..
over counter medication are not unified world wide some medications are restricted in one country and allowed in other which add to the magnitude of the problem
do we need an international polices to restrict some of the medications like narcotics?
In India, surprisingly, almost every medicine is available over the counter. The chemists almost never ask about the prescription. I can understand how dangerous this is. One must always avoid using medicines without prescription as far as possible. Any drug, whether prescribed or not has side effects.
Dear Debi S. Saini: this problem of India medicine availability almost everywhere in the middle east.
A restricted class of over the counter (OTC) drugs also exists in the U.S. This restricted class includes drugs such as pseudoephedrine, emergency contraception, and some Schedule V controlled substances. These products, while considered OTC, are kept behind the pharmacy counter and must be dispensed by a pharmacist pursuant to proper identification, age verification, and patient education. In March 2012, the FDA considered expanding the definition of nonprescription drugs to include cholesterol, blood pressure, asthma and birth control medications. This new Rx-to-OTC switch ruling is currently under review and commenting.
http://www.drugs.com/otc/
Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug Usage and Gastrointestinal Outcomes in the Republic of Serbia is paper attached. This research was done in my county! "
This study assessed the utilization of prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) as well as the rate of self-medication with diclofenac, ibuprofen, and naproxen in the Braneechevo District of the Republic of Serbia. Estimation of gastrointestinal (GI) disease (morbidity) trends and GI toxicity–associated hospitalization were studied and direct costs due to NSAID-induced GI toxicity are presented. This descriptive, retrospective study addressed drug use and outcomes between 2004 and 2006 documented in the Health Insurance Fund database of the Pozarevac Public Pharmacy in the Pozarevac Public Health Centar of the Branichevo District, which includes 200,503 inhabitants."
http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15360280902728203
Some of Over the Counter drugs (OTC) drugs were originally available only by prescription. After many years of use under prescription regulation, drugs with excellent safety records may be approved by the FDA for over-the-counter sale. The analgesic ibuprofen and the indigestion remedy famotidine are examples of such drugs. Often, the OTC version has a substantially lower amount of active ingredient in each tablet, capsule, or caplet than does the prescription drug. When establishing appropriate doses of OTC drugs, manufacturers and the FDA try to balance safety and effectiveness.
http://www.merckmanuals.com/home/drugs/over-the-counter_drugs/overview_of_over-the-counter_drugs.html
I think that most people think that over counter medications are almost safe and they have only limited risk; it seems that this is not the case.
Vulnerability of OTC drugs becoming Obsolescence
The best way to dispose of the prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) drugs used to control everything from a heart rate to a headache.
As they are Fast moving, the non moving stock is more vulnerable to be disposed.
There are no perfect solutions for expired medication disposal. Medications unthinkingly tossed in the trash affect domestic animals such as dogs and other critters, children, and people who might be looking for drugs for recreational use. If they do make it to the landfill, those medications can leak out into the environment, causing problems. Flushing them down the toilet adds them to lakes, streams, and even community drinking water.
http://ehealthmd.com/content/what-do-with-expired-medicines
I strongly agree with all the experts. The perfect solutions of the problems stated by experts can not be medication because it hampers our general health.
They are dangerous and lie at the gray zone of doping essences. Indeed some of them are forbidden for athletes. You take a very-very big risk when you take such drugs. I totally disagree with the use of them.
Dear Cecilia,
I think your reasoning applies for any food item/component. For instance, fat can in some conditions be beneficial but at high doses is obviously not recommended. Everybody can buy substances with fat at any time and any place.
This question is very good and practical, and I'd put some examples to show my image of the subject:. you can probably buy some types of sleep inducing medications without a prescription, OTC products, but you'll find some of it are just first generation anti-histamines having drowsiness as an untoward side-effect, and the quality of sleep it produce won't be accepted as a new drug indication by HRAs, nor physicians would consider prescribing it.
By selling these old drugs, the raw molecule producers continue having an income from the old production line, probably long time ago amortized, and pharmacy offices fulfill their absolutely conscious desire of eliminating physicians as a 'rebel intermediary' between them and the drug purchasers.
Some OTC products, as intra-nasal Vi B12 preparations, sound too exotic from a Galenic point of view, but if HRAs gave it a green light, no argumenst around this would be reasonable.
The main issue in OTC products may be buyers considering themselves able to reach a diagnosis and make a therapy choice, and, the worst of all, that pharmacies can be considered as healthcare purveyors, that puts them into a frontal conflict of interests with physicians and public health.
Are there trustable data on the health and economical costs of self-prescription by non-physician patients, and/or from any kind of persons inside pharmacy offices?
JCO published data showing that cancer patients self-adding any type of herbal / alternative medicines to the prescriptions of their physicians in charge did reduce both Overall Survival and QoL.
Considering the size and impact of the OTC medicinal products and of the purchase of prescription drugs without a registered physician document may start by an analysis of Emergency Room visits connected to these uses, and comparing the incidence of Severe Adverse Events, and its cost, eventually also the duration of disease and its mortality, in SAEs from prescribed versus non-prescribed products, this issue may have been considered by HRAs when giving the market permit of an OTC product, but the size of self-prescription and its consequences remain an elusive subject in places where, from a legal point of view, these events shouldn't have happened.
The existence of self-prescription is a denounce to both pharmacists and HRAs, who obviously, didn't exert the adequate controls.
Thanks.
OTC Labels - There is never guesswork about correct dosing with over-the-counter (OTC) medicines because every OTC medication has dosing instructions right on its label. The OTC label, known as the Drug Facts label, has specific instructions for safe use and should be followed precisely. The information on the Drug Facts label is always listed in the same order. Each section provides valuable information, so be sure to always read every section carefully before taking or giving a medicine
http://otcsafety.org/en/medicine-safety/reading-otc-labels/
Patients are not trustable in following the package inserts or instructions, I had one who was sold Haloperidol in a pharmacy instead of the Allopurinol he requested, who started increasing the dose when he felt badly, he had akathysia and other performance and QoL reducing symptoms, that took many days to abate after drug discontinuation, I also saw a man suffering a gout from his anti-hypertensive medication, who was instructed taking several 300 mg Allopurinol tablets a day by a nurse having first contacted him; as you know, in the first year of Allopurinol use, the frequency of gout attacks may raise, as it mobilizes Uric Acid body pool. (Less than 6 mg/dl UA is the goal in gout)
-Just wait for what may happen when the generic drug: 'Ziprasidone', starts selling, and the possible confusion with the trade brand, also an antypsychotic drug: 'Zyprexa' ='Olanzapine'- begin, hope these mistakes won't exist..
The case in a developing country where to warn that fertile women shouldn't take Thalidomide, in the drug boxes the symbol of traffic signals indicating: 'Forbidden', a circle crossed by an oblique line, was superposed on the profile of a pregnant woman, the image was interpreted by some as this severe malformations inducing drug being a birth regulation product.
I also watched a pharmacy assistant indicating a woman buying Combined Hormonal Pills to have a drug vacation month every six months or every year, another indicating a woman to take t.i.d. the 20 mg Piroxicam, from a 20 tablets box she sold without a prescription (GPs can't prescribe this drug in Spain), and another one in appearance in the process of selling, also with no prescription, a continuation bottle of Methochlopramide syrup, even when I warned them of the dangers of the drug if taken for more tan 5 days, and it being subject of special vigilance and prescription instructions. The pharmacy sales clerk pretending in lie that for continuation of a treatment started by a physician's prescription, additional prescription documents were not needed!.
If those suppossed having an special training on how to handle drug dispensation and about dangers of self-prescription, or prescription by non-physicians, and also knowing they can face heavy fines and other punishments if selling prescription drugs without a prescription document, act in a so reckless way, for the lower instruction persons dangers may be enormous.
The best way for restricting the sel-prescription and the prescription of drugs by non-physicians would be an automated dispensing machine; the same vending machines require coin insertion to deliver a candy, specially devoted machines should need a valid prescription to deliver a drug package, electronic prescribing is increasingly prevalent, and the number of drugs that may precipitate a withdrawal syndorme or serious health problems if suddenly discontinued are not too many, for these products, special rules could be considered.
As stated previously, the big danger in OTC drugs could be that patients may consider health care providers, having a knowledge of medical sciences, what actually are just shops, the human tendency for the feeling of omnipotency is good, no middle term between castration and omnipotence exists, our unconscious, our 'Id' is shapen this way, but the feeling of omniscience that may go along with it is delusional. The subject of handing prescription drugs in an illegal way should probably be more studied an publicited in order to define its dimensions and effects on health and healthcare-related expenses.
Thanks again.
According to ethologists/behavioral ecologists animals apply self-medication. Have non-human pharmacists/doctors applying self-medication eventually copied through cultural transmission by others been selected by natural selection processes?
Did humans copy animal self-medication behavior, and if so, why?
Example:
Individuals are permanently confronted with their own body and therefore can test the efficiency of pharmaceutical products via feelings (e.g. I feel good or bad, I have more or less energy to perform). Doctors examining patients for short periods of time only have access to measurements reflecting more or less feelings experienced by the patients, or not?
Yes, I watched a dog eating grass, and was told it do this for purposes of 'purge'.
When applying self medication, the issue may be that an individual symptom may be related to very different diseases, and what improved a symptom before will not necesarily solve the problem on every occassion, contemporary drugs are powerful, and its potential for side effects or masking symptoms of a severe disease are high.
Confusion with drugs can always take place, it was described, for people using barbiturates as sleep inducers, that patient takes a pill, after a while, and under the effects of drug, they don't remember having taken a pill, and take another one; repeating the event several times may lead to lethal doses of drug, they say it was the Norma Jean's case.
In the UK, the amount per unit, and the number of units per pack of Acetaminophen (Paracetamol) were limited to 650 mg and 10 dosing units, in order to reduce the cases of liver toxicity requiring transplantation, what in fact was achieved, however, in Spain, and in spite that I have put several suggestions and complaints in front of HRAs, several brands continue selling Paracetamol 1000 mg per unit, 40 units per box, and this is one of the many drugs pharmacies won't request a medical prescription document,
As a matter of fact, pharmacies in Spain request a prescription document, and because of fear of sanctions, only with drugs in the WHO list of controlled substances, e.g. benzodiacepines, if a patient is on a drug, and his/her supply is about to end, they buy a new box at the pharmacy, and then request the presciption document from the physician, (part or all of the drug price is paid by the public health services); this way, the physician is many times forced to write a prescription for a drug he/she had the intention to discontinue or substitute for in this patient, or they sell a box containing more units than needed, as the pharmacy hadn't the one prescribed when the patient came in to purchase the drug, the patients angrily request a new presciption document, and having received complaints from patients reduces the chances of a better career and higher income for professionals in the health system.
If this is the case in a supposedly developed country, I can't imagine what pharmacies can do in places where phsysicians are scarce, and medical services too expensive for many.
Thanks. Salut +
It is not only the over counter drugs has a problem when consumers use it, it is the pharmacists responsibilities when sells many drugs without prescription. This is happening all over the developed countries.
Self-medication or over the counter medicines pose a serious health risk and must be avoided by all means.
I advise all friends to cover family with Health Insurance and meet your doctor or family physician at the first stage of the sickness or medical problem itself. Prolonging medical consultation or taking over the counter medicines may aggravate the problem or lead to new illnesses. Health is wealth. Kindly consult the doctor please!!
Alot of example confirm the dangerous of drugs.
Many OTC drugs are potentially hazardous for older people. The risk increases when drugs are taken regularly at the maximum dose. For example, an older person who has arthritis may frequently use an analgesic or anti-inflammatory drug, with potentially serious consequences, such as a bleeding peptic ulcer. Such an ulcer is life threatening for an older person and can occur without warning.
Self-medication and over the counter medicines has to be regulated and specified and I do not agree that it must be avoided by all means. Some drugs are needed to be over the counter as these are simple way , otherwise taking these medicine will over burden the staff
OTC alone is not a risky but even prescribed ones are
When misused or abused, many prescription drugs can be as dangerous and addictive as "street" drugs. Taking larger doses than prescribed, taking it more often than directed, or using it in a way that it is not intended, is abuse and can also lead to severe health consequences and addiction.
http://www.youthpartnersmarshalltown.com/current_issues/prescription_drugs_otc_drugs.php
Perhaps it is more risky to buy medications on line with the e-commerce.
The on line drugs selling is out of our reach in Africa
Yet a time may come to face it
Dear Friends,
Whoever proposes a law for an OTC free of any control should be in medication immediately and perhaps permantly. I understand that if for any health complaint people go to a doctor the system will collapse. I propose that "drugstore customers" can talk to a pharmacist who should always be inside a drugstore. This professional can prescribe one of those OTC and if the customer tries to buy the same medicine after some period, to be established according to the health complaint, he should present a physician's prescription. The patient should carry an authorization for buying continous medication which could be renewed only with a visit to his doctor. Any tea, seeds, whatever used for treatment should be discourage on the media, at schools and during visits to the physician. Plants are safe, what is not safe is to trust a person behind a counter who may have studied less than ourselves. Natural products are good, what is not good is the capacity of a homemaker to propose a diagnose for her children.
Over the counter medications are a disaster in some parts of the world. The reckless and profligate use of antibiotics in India is the precursor to an infectious disease catastrophe. There is already a strain of TB with full drug resistance and other life threatening bacteria have virtually full resistance to all marketed antibiotics.
See article from the New York Times attached. Gardiner Harris is one of the least likely health journalists to be exaggerating or sensationalising a story. We should all take notice of this one.
The comment by Barry Turner is smart, however, it's not India the only place where you can purchase Antibiotics without a prescription, you can do the same all over Spain, and the difference may be that in India you can purchase, and make you inject in the same pharmacy office, highly powerful antibiotics e.g. those used to treat severe nosocomial infections, as last generation Cephalosporins, Meropenem and others, without a medical control on the dosing schedule and duration of treatment, that in some occasions may be controlled by the amount of money the patient has to pay for the Antibiotic, the problem is first to the patient him or herselves, who could select inside their bodies resistant strains, putting them at a serious risk, for an inadequate dosing schedule or a too short duration of treatment.
Phamacies in Spain tend to prescribe Furantoin for Urinary Tract symptoms, this product is a powerful allergen, and can also induce polyneuropathy; this made me remember an study conducted long ago on syringes abandoned by IV drug users in 'shootig places', it was detected that the syringes that were from HIV positive persons contained higher amounts of blood remains, thus making easier a secondary case; the mechanism inducing that HIV positive drug addicts tended to leave more blood remains in syringes remains obscure to me, but this is an actual finding.
The warning about the catastrophic growth of multiresistant bacteriane strains from widespread, non-medically controlled Antibiotic use probably should be confronted also to the fact that it was discovered in some environments, as caverns that have been isolated for thousands of years, where the isolation started long before any antibiotic was used in humans, that these niches contain bacteria with resistance mechanisms to most if not all the antibiotics currently known; as Antibiotics are produced by some microorganisms to have an advantage over others, the presence of antibiotics in the environment for sure anteceded the presence of mankind.
The prevalence of resistant strains is probably dictated by how hard is the selective pressure of Antibiotics; as many resistance mechanisms require complex metabolic pathways that cosnsume energy and structural compounds to be present and work; once the selective pressure of the presence of Antibiotic dissapears, the strains having some resistance mechanisms do have a handicap, as it waste energy, aminoacids, and other compounds, in keeping alive a system with no purpose in that place and moment, so, in the absence of an Antibiotic in the medium, strains with no resistance mechanisms or pathways do have an advantage, and this will self limit the overall amount of resistant strains. Can this be checked or expressed in a mathematical way?
Many point to the uncontrolled use of Antibiotics in humans as origin of an increased presence of resistant strains, but it probably must be taken into account that in the 'western world', the amount of Antibiotics, in terms of money paid for it, used for veterinary purposes, such as being added to animal feed, is three to four times bigger than that of human use, and that even when the presence of multi-resistant strains in the sewage from hospitals has been detected, (hospitals are good places to select resistant strains, as the antibiotic use is high, the use is concentrated in a single place, and ill persons do have an impaired immunity, that by decreasing the, let us say: 'host defense' -a term I learned while working for Upjohn- participation in the elimination of infections, gives more room for bacteria to continue growing), but, and this is important to me, the incidence of severe and deadly multi-resistant infections has been showed being higher in areas some kilometers around big size industrial pig farms, where among other things, the antibiotic use for preventing the animals losing weight is high, and the concentration of sewage eases bacteriane growth and spread.
It seems that the idea of not adding antibiotics at all to animal feed was tested in Danemark, with no economical losses for farming business, so, it could be considered as a sound measure a close to total ban of adding antibiotics to animal feed, at least, just to look what happens, conclusions could be fast to show, and if damages are detected, it's easy lifting the ban on Antibiotic sales for non-diseased animals.
I cited this elsewhere, but the limiting factor in the growth of animal farms is the disposal of sewages, be it from pigs, the most difficult to handle, cows, or any other farm animals, for example, an Spanish company, Ros-Roca, holded some patents on procedures for the total depuration of sewages from pig and cattle farms, it are expired, and the technology can be downloaded for free in www.oepm.es section: 'Latinpat' or other patent databases, such as Espacenet.
Another remark I like always making about this, is that in the Randomized studies of antibiotic versus no antibiotic in usually mild infections such as Otitis, some cases of mastoiditis, a potentially devastating complication, were detected in the no-antibiotic group, while no cases of mastoidits appeared in the antibiotic group; as the sample size wasn't too big, the finding had no statistical signification, but from the side of the kids who got the mastoiditis, of course it's highly clinically significant.
In other infections such as conjunctivitis, the possible presence of viral infections that may induce corneal lesions is to be considered, I once thought for patients suffering infections that usually have a mild course, handing them a prescription sheet, with instructions as not to purchase the product and start taking it until three days have elapsed, and taking it only if after these three days the problem hasn't solved yet, but this probably won't limit neither expenses nor 'unnecessary' antibiotic use, as patients having the prescription in their hands will most of times act on their feelings, and not on the physician's instructions.
Regarding lower respiratory tract infections, my personal experience as patient is that antibiotics do really shorten the duration and severity of disease, but the studies published that point in the contrary may have the selection bias that any kind of patient emitting sputum was included, and probably the group of those with lower respiratory tract infections who would benefit from antibiotis may be just those having a tainted sputum, and a clinical study on antibiotics versus no antibiotics having a tainted sputum as entry criterium may perhaps yield different results.
I take advantage of the opportunity to point that I feel some of the clinical studies that concluded that hydration in cancer or other terminally ill patients was futile, had not a sufficiently good methodology, samples were small, patients having and having not oral ingestion of water and food, and others being able to receive parenteral nutrition were included as a gross batch, and I'd say that hydration in terminal patients may require a dose high enough as to maintain an adequate urine output, let us say, a minimum of 800 cc urine a day, and that my ideal proposal would be alternating D5W and 0.9% NaCl, in 500 cc bottles, with enough KCl added, and with a total minimum of 1500 to 2000 cc of parenteral fluid a day; it has been shown that subcutaneous hydration gives the same resuts as IV hydration, and from the rare occasions I felt thirsty, I'd say that thirst is a very unpleasant situation, so, if I had patients in a terminal condition, I'll give them hydration whatever their life expectamcy is, the ethical proposal about this from the church is that for terminal patients, you can't withdraw: 'ordinary means', eg. fluids, but you can abstain from: 'extraordinary means' eg, blood transfusions.
For selecting patients for Phase I CTs, it was stated that an Albumin value below 2.6 gr/dl is a marker of a life expectancy of no more than one month.
If the patient has no other intake ways, after four days of hydration only, I'd always add some nutritional support, from people having engaged in 'hunger strikes', we know that starvation may be painful (Some of this type of strikers not knowing the limits, i.e. not being controlled, and who later started eating again, find themselves with irreversible palsies because of the nerve damage from the multicarential situation, 20 days of 'fast' look as the danger threshold never to cross)
Thanks. Salut †
Many news on over the counter medication! Here are some news about! Addiction to over-the-counter medicines 'rising year on year'!
With the cold and flu season here, doctors and pharmacists are warning about carelessly taking over-the-counter drugs for relief of their symptoms.For most people these over-the-counter medications are safe, but many people misuse them and face the possibility of some serious health problems.
http://www.localsyr.com/story/d/story/warning-about-over-the-counter-cold-medicines/42030/bWBey9tnHES-IVZSS9So4Q
http://www.westerngazette.co.uk/Addiction-counter-medicines-rising-year-year/story-24833907-detail/story.html
Do you remember Orson Welles': 'The third man'?
Then it was penicillin counterfeited vials and penicillin smuggling, but currently, these activities focus on Trastuzumab and other expensive biologicals for cancer therapy.
btw, one of my relatives had a fight with Orson in a bar in Spain, when Welles approached a woman in the place in an unappropriate way.
Has anyone heard about a drug called: 'Picamilon' supposedly having an Schyzophrenia indication? It was included in the Wikipedia article: 'Esquizofrenia'.
I had a Romanian young patient, suffering from a chronic urticaria, several attacks a week, that took him repeatedly to the ER, who received an Hungarian? product, intially approved for labirinth protection, and migraine prevention, in the line of Cinarizine, who had a marked reduction in the frequency and severity of urticaria crisis while on this drug od po.
Both the dermatology professor in Eastern Europe and me considered, and the patient, having a high IgE level, was referred to his reference hospital for assessment of this, using Omalizumab to treat his urticaria, there was a year 2005 reference about this possibility, but the whole line of CR of Omalizumab in this indication started later. (I left clinical activity in March 25, 2011). Thanks.
Safe use of OTC drugs requires knowledge, common sense, and responsibility. OTCs are usually safe as long as warnings and directions are followed. These medications are not always better tolerated than similar prescription drugs, for example, OTC sleep aid diphenhydramine is neither as effective nor as safe, especially for older people, as many prescription sleep aids. If not taken properly, OTCs can mask the warning signs of a serious illness, make some prescription medicines less effective, or cause an overdose if they are combined with other medications containing the same active ingredients. So, it is advisable to consult physician before taking a new OTC.
I agree with Dr Costas; Medications, either over the table or under the table are in general dangerous
Many OTC drugs are potentially hazardous for older people. The risk increases when drugs are taken regularly at the maximum dose. For example, an older person who has arthritis may frequently use an analgesic or anti-inflammatory drug, with potentially serious consequences, such as a bleeding peptic ulcer. Such an ulcer is life threatening for an older person and can occur without warning..
News on OTC mobile APP! The following application seems very helpful! ""Consumers are faced with a number of choices for OTC medication to treat symptoms like sore throat, fever and cough. The i-PharmAssist OTC app is a latest innovation driving the consumer health movement to bring better control and information to users when it comes to treating their health," said Eileen Morrissey, CEO and founder of MedifVU. "ProKarma was able to dive deep into complex pieces of the backend to build a very robust database and deliver intricate data via a user-friendly interface.""
http://www.mhealthnews.com/press-release/new-app-gives-consumers-personalized-information-over-counter-medications
OTC is useful during a Travel
- Deep Vein Thrombosis
- Motion Sickness
- Sleeping Medications
http://www.independenttraveler.com/travel-tips/safety-and-health/medications-for-travel
I agree with Krishnan. OTCs are very much useful for tackling common ailments and become indispensable in the situations like travel, add hrs, etc. when immediate medical consultation is not possible. When one should have adequate knowledge about is composition and dose limits before taking OTC drugs.
In country like India, any drug can be an OTC then its a major problem.
Not just antacids, analgesics and anti pyretics; oral contraceptives also an OTC in places where standard regulations are not followed. In such cases perfect counseling s needed for the patient and also the administration route and dose leaflet has to be provided. Concomitant administration of oral contraceptives and antibiotics may lead to pregnancy, the patient doesn't know this and hence its a risk. There are 100's of risks as such and hence OTC regulations should be strictly implemented.
Non-prescription medicines (OTC) in Europe! Fine resource with many info available.
http://www.aesgp.eu/self-care/regulation/non-prescription-medicines/
Dear Deepak Kumar Bandari
Yes we have to be cautious prescribing drugs to young women
It depends on the kind of medication, if they have succeeded for centuries, then, why not?
An excellent cite for the issue.
Over-the-Counter Medicines!
Statistics, Research, Articles, Info... Many, many good resources available.
https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/overthecountermedicines.html
It is very important not to be used without a physician's recipe and not given to a patient more than they need because the remaining risk on him and his family.
Dear sirs,
this is an absolutely interesting and modern debate. Thank you.!
I couldn't resist quoting a note from my first Pharmacology Lecture, at Medical School :
"Water, in itself is a lifesaving medication, without which we cannot survive. Yet, it may kill many, from drowning or excessive intake..."
This is to say that there is no medication without side-effects. I will never forget that lifetime lesson.
Medicine are blessing for the sufferers but at the same time it works negative effect on the patient .In certain cases antibiotics disturb the patient s' health acidity ,allergies ,disturbing the skin ,swelling the leg ,vomiting sensation,nausea & such other effects on patients
With this also patient can not afford to neglect physician & medicine prescribe by the doctor . In certain cases they have to suffer .
We all know '' HEALTH IS WEALTH '' & in this line we have also to take the necessary precaution for our health by preparing the regular living practice & with the necessary practice & will power with the practice of prayer & meditation may help the recovery process of our health along with the medicine - a way of speedy recovery .
This is my personal opinion
Prescription and Over-the-Counter Medications
Some medications have psychoactive (mind-altering) properties and, because of that, are sometimes abused—that is, taken for reasons or in ways or amounts not intended by a doctor, or taken by someone other than the person for whom they are prescribed. In fact, prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) drugs are, after marijuana (and alcohol), the most commonly abused substances by Americans 14 and older.
The classes of prescription drugs most commonly abused are: opioid pain relievers, such as Vicodin® or Oxycontin®; stimulants for treating Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), such as Adderall®, Concerta®, or Ritalin®; and central nervous system (CNS) depressants for relieving anxiety, such as Valium® or Xanax®.1 The most commonly abused OTC drugs are cough and cold remedies containing dextromethorphan.
People often think that prescription and OTC drugs are safer than illicit drugs. But they can be as addictive and dangerous and put users at risk for other adverse health effects, including overdose—especially when taken along with other drugs or alcohol. Before prescribing drugs, a health care provider considers a patient's health conditions, current and prior drug use, and other medicines to assess the risks and benefits for a patient.
How Are Prescription Drugs Abused?
Prescription and OTC drugs may be abused in one or more of the following ways:
Taking a medication that has been prescribed for somebody else. Unaware of the dangers of sharing medications, people often unknowingly contribute to this form of abuse by sharing their unused pain relievers with their family members.
For more plz read at folowing link
https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/prescription-over-counter-medications
The best and perfect medication on the Earth without any side effect is WATER!
Regards, Emad
No Emad, try to cure a cancer disease with water. Your proposal is nonsence.
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