Drug Interactions: the Dangers of Mixing Up Medicines

Health is wealth. This is why it is important for people take better care of their physical, emotional and psychological well-being. Nowadays, there are more ways than ever to learn about what is good for one's health. The mass media, as well as the internet, provide relevant information about health issues such as drug interactions.

Types of Drug Interactions

There are people with medical conditions who take more than one medicine at a time. Some people see more than one doctor for different reasons. Still, even with the subtantiated proof on the efficacy of Western medicine, many still choose to take herbal supplements for health maintenance. It is to the patient's advantage as well as the doctors to be aware of all the medicines and supplements that are being taken in order to avoid possible negative effects of drug interactions. Below are 3 classifications of drug interactions.

1. Drug-Drug Interactions – is experienced when two or more medicines react with each other resulting in unwelcomed side effects. Taking a sedative or sleeping pill together with anti- allergy drug or antihistamine can slow down one's reactions making car driving or operating machineries too risky.

2. Drug-Food/Beverage Interactions – occur when drugs react with foods or beverages. For example, mixing alcohol with some drugs may cause a feeling of fatigue or slow your reactions.

3. Drug-Condition Interactions – may happen when an existing medical condition makes certain drugs potentially harmful. An example of this is when someone has high blood pressure, there could be an experience of adverse reaction if you take a nasal decongestant.

Effects of Drug Interactions

The effects of drug interactions may be as mild as making your drug less effective, or it can cause unexpected side effects such as allergies, palpitations or dizziness. It can also increase the action of a particular drug which can be detrimental to the health condition of the patient. As safety precaution, it is important that one should read the label of non-prescription or prescription drugs and should learn about drug interactions which may be critical to your health and can reduce the risk of potentially harmful interactions and its side effects.

Herbal Remedies

There is a growing number of alternative therapies such as herbal products and other supplements that are currently enjoying widespread acceptance in the United States. However, users seldom inform their physicians about it. People should be aware that these herbal products are not tested with the scientific rigor required of conventional drugs, and they are not subject to the approval process of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Hence, herbal products are not supposed to be marketed for the diagnosis, treatment, cure or prevention of any disease. However, the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 enables these products to include in the labels statements about their alleged effects on the human body such as alleviation of fatigue or how they can help in promoting the general well-being of a person such as mood enhancement. These declared effects of herbal products have been analyzed and are proven to resemble claims of clinical efficacy for various diseases and conditions.
Morever, unlike conventional drugs, herbal products are not being regulated for purity and potency. This is the reason why some of the adverse effects and drug interactions reported for herbal products are attributed to such impurities such as allergens, pollen and spores. In addition, the more potent the herbal product is, the greater the possibility of its adverse effects.

Over-The-Counter Drugs

Over-the-counter medicine labels usually contain about ingredients, uses, warnings and directions that is important to read and understand including vital information about possible drug interactions. In addition, drug labels may change as recent developments about the drug are discovered. That is why it is of great significance that labels are read every time you use a drug.

Safety Precautions

Consult with your health care professionals about the medicines and supplements you take. Everytime your physician would give a new prescription, be sure to discuss all OTC and prescription drugs, dietary supplements, vitamins, botanicals, minerals and herbal supplements you take icluding the food that you eat. See to it that whenever you buy medicines from the pharmacy, the package insert for each prescription drug is included for it will provide you with more information about potential drug interactions.



November 13, 2009
By Malo
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Pharmaceuticals

The Difference Between Generic and Branded Drugs

Before trying to draw out the differences between generics and brand-name drugs, we must first of all give a clear definition of a generic drug.

The active ingredient of “Generic” medication (for example, of “generic phentermine”, which is adipex) is chemically identical to the active ingredient of the correspondent medication. According to the FDA's office Generic drugs “a generic drug is identical, or bioequivalent to a brand name drug in dosage form, safety, strength, route of administration, quality, performance characteristics and intended use”.

Although generic drugs are chemically identical to their branded counterparts, they are sold at substantial discounts from the branded price. According to reliable sources, generic drugs save consumers an estimated 8 to 10 billons USD a year at retail pharmacies. Even more billions are saved when hospitals use generic drugs. Because generic drugs are often much cheaper than their branded counterparts, many people choose generics whether buying drugs online or in traditional retail outlets and many insurance companies actually require that they be used.

However, it should be noted that current regulations permit a variation of approximately 20% either way in the bioavailability of the active ingredient. This does not necessary mean that buying generic drugs in preference to branded counterparts is a bad idea. In fact, in most cases, it's probably still a very good idea.

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Advantages of buying prescription drugs online
Internet is rapidly transforming the way we live, work and shop in all sectors of the economy. In the health sector, internet permits individuals to obtain extensive medical information, to help them understand health issues and treatment options. Millions of people all around the world used internet year to find medical information. The sale of most consumer products over internet has grown rapidly in recent years, including the sale of prescriptions drugs. Purchasing prescription drugs online can provide tremendous benefits to consumers. These benefits are many and include:

• Access to prescription drugs for the disabled or otherwise homebound, for whom a trip to the pharmacy can be difficult;
• The convenience of shopping 24 hours a day;
• Wide selection of prescription drugs;
• Privacy for those who do not want to discuss their medical needs in a public place;
• Lower costs, as well as convenience, if the purchase is made from a reputable site.

FDA is aware that many reputable internet pharmacies provide consumers seeking prescription drugs with a measure of safety, privacy and convenience. They can provide detailed information on drug interactions, and may e-mail customers if the drug they ordered has been recalled, a cheaper generic version of the drug becomes available or to remind them on prescription renewals. Hyperlinks and search programs provide online customers with written product information and references to other sources of health information more easily than traditional stores.

Finally, consumers must have confidence that safeguards for online customers are at least as protective as those at traditional pharmacies.



October 5, 2009
By MedStore
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Generic Drugs Are Safe and Effective But Much Cheaper

Pharmacy Drug development is a difficult task; it requires a large amount of money to be invested in many processes related with drug development. These processes include drug development in laboratory, testing on animal, testing on human volunteers, negotiation with governmental agencies for getting approval and marketing of drug. According to an estimate around $800,000,000 is generally required to be spent on the development of a drug. With such a huge cost it is not possible for drug developing pharmaceutical companies to sell pills on loss cost. Patent laws protect the company from any theft of its intellectual property i.e. copying of drug. The span of this protection differs country to country. An estimated timeframe for a drug development is generally around 20 years.

Once line of functioning of a drug is understood other companies are also able to invent bioequivalent of the branded drug, which will have similar traits and efficacy. These bioequivalent of a drug are known as generic drugs. Any company can produce generic drug when patent of drug developing company has expired or generic drug producing company can prove patent of drug developing company is invalid or the country where generic company is producing drug doesn't come under enforcement of patent laws.

Whatever the reason for producing generic drug will be, generic drug is beneficial for users. generic drugs companies have everything ready for the production of drug like knowledge about line of action of chemical, knowledge about its substitute, and readiness of market for sale because of publicity campaign carried by original drug. Moreover generic drug companies do not have to waste their time, energy and money in clinical testing of drug. Because of all these privileges enjoyed by generic drug companies their products are available on much lower price.

FDA ensures efficacy and safety of generic drug so that consumer doesn't have to suffer because of any malpractice. Generic drug manufacturer also have to maintain the same standard as maintained by branded drug manufacturer therefore safety is not a concern while switch over from branded drug to generic drug. Trademark laws in many countries do not let generic drug manufacturer to keep the same brand name for their product as used by branded drug manufacturer. However, most of them try to drive an equivalent name for their product as use by branded drug manufacture. They also try to keep same look of the medicine like colour, flavour and size etc.

To protect themselves from generic drug companies branded drug manufacturers have adopted a new concept. They most of the time sell license for producing generic version of drug to their subsidiaries. This is particularly done in a nation, which does not come under international patent laws. Generic drug produced under such system is known as authorized generic drug. There is the similarity of a great degree in branded drug and its authorized generic version.

From customer point of view it better to switch over to generic product if the doctor prescribes for it.



August 25, 2009
By Joseph Oliver
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