Life without drugs? Its just a dream. Even the most healthy people, the owners of strong health, visit the pharmacy. When a headache, not everyone will be taking time off at work to sit in queues in hospitals. I myself been in situations where a sick stomach. I knew that I should not go to the doctor, and did not even have time for this. But the choice of drugs is always straightforward. Here for such cases and I decided to develop a drug selection rules.
To hit the target with the purchase of medicines, I turned to a specialist. Catherine Ananyina, pharmacist, pharmacist, - a friend of mine. Kate helped to understand and make a list of questions that everyone should keep in mind when visiting a pharmacy.
The first thing Kate said, is the need to distinguish between two types of drugs:
When you go to a pharmacy, you see a lot of drugs that are similar to each other. But not everyone knows that the drugs are divided into original and generic drugs. Original preparations contain first of pharmaceutical substance, their efficacy and safety are confirmed by the results of preclinical and clinical studies. Generics - preparations having active substance similar to the original, the effectiveness may not always be confirmed. I, as a pharmacist, I can advise the basic principles of the purchase of medicines.
The basic rules of buying drugs
- First of all, describe the symptoms pharmacist. A specialist is a pharmaceutical education, and he can you suggest something.
- Next, check the side effects of the drug. Tablet from the usual headaches can cause nausea, allergies, and treatment will resemble hell.
- Ask whether there are analogues of the Russian or foreign production. It often happens that Russian agents are not worse, and the price will be lower.
- Can I take other selected drug in combination. If you regularly take any medicine, it is necessary to know exactly what other means it can be drunk.
- When you buy medicine to a child, be sure to find out what age it can be given to children.
- Similarly learn about dosages. Everyone knows that activated charcoal helps with poisoning, and take in the hope of a cure for 2-4 tablets. But, to activated carbon to help in case of acute poisoning, it takes about 50 pills!
- Also beware, if you are offered the same drug with the same effect, but at a very low price. Skeptical about new drugs, many of them are generic - medicines that "mimic" counterparts. Duplicates can often be just not as effective.
- New drug according to the rules a few years must pass a test after was published, and then on it is possible to say something. Suffice it to recall only a few cases in the history of medicine, when people have been treated with radioactive agents or arsenic. Therefore, for each new "revolutionary" drug, it takes time. It is also often the case that new drugs is nothing but a regular old rebranding. Release some idle tsitramon only with the bright name and beautiful packaging, and its cost - is several times higher. And because people think that its action - effectively.
- In no event should not be confused dietary supplements and pharmaceuticals. Supplements can help in diseases. Dietary supplements can only be used as a bonus to the power supply. But the drug can not be replaced by them.
And in practice?
Now we need to practice their skills. Arrange a trip to the pharmacy. One of the most popular and sought after groups of drugs - sorbents. Are drugs that help in case of poisoning. For example, abdominal discomfort may occur while traveling in other countries from unusual food. And just in case we take with activated carbon. During vacation time, for example, in China, eating fried spiders and jammed a couple of snakes, stomach ache, and activated carbon in this situation is not very much and it helped. Why? Because of habit not to read the manual. As our pharmacist, in such cases, the activated carbon should be 50 tablets.
Wrong choice of medications and improper use can lead to undesirable consequences. When choosing the means necessary to define the purpose.
So our goal - to choose the right sorbent for travel. Let's start point by point.
- The main thing - to effectively help in case of poisoning. The pharmacy was advised sorbent, which has the highest cleaning power - Polisorb. And the somehow not very desirable for fifty swallow tablets of activated charcoal. Polisorb, of course, are not the most delicious thing in the world, but you can tolerate.
- Further, side effects. All sorbents have contraindications: some, I have read, you may be allergic, and many even cause gastrointestinal irritation. It turned out that Atoxil, Polisorb and White coal have minimal contraindications and side effects, such as constipation.
- Then I asked if any of these drugs dietary supplements. I was told that the White coal - an analogue of the activated carbon, but it is BAA, recently appeared on the market, therefore, has not yet been verified.
- Another important point - clarifying which products can be applied to children. I was advised smectite or Polisorb.
After the analysis of the sorbents, I came to the conclusion that the market offers so many different options. I made a choice on an old charcoal tested and proven as polysorbate. For prevention to drink activated charcoal, but only 2-4 tablets, not more. Coal has many contraindications in case of acute poisoning I drink Polisorb.
That's how the rules work. But they are only suitable for those cases where there is no time for consultation with a physician. Concluding the experiment on the drug of choice, you should add another interesting fact: remember that the pharmacy - it's the same shops, where there are discounts on medications that will soon deteriorate where there is action on those drugs that are poorly sold. Think a few times before to buy their own medicine.