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World Pharmacists Day-25th September
Your phone is Apple, you drive a Mercedes, your fan is Binatone, you own a Thermocool and your building cement is Dangote…You love established brands—never compromise quality. Your wedding planner is first class, your tailor works with Zara, your hair dresser is a professional…You love the best, you want the best…Why then do you settle for less when it comes to drug information? Don’t you love your life? Let it be made known:
ALL DRUG INFORMATION OBTAINED FROM A NON-PHARMACIST IS SUBSTANDARD
Yeah I said it…You want the best, seek the best…Pharmacists are the only mortals who can give expert information about the drugs you take…Why talk to Peter when Jesus is accessible?
Pharma—Drug—-Pharmacist—-Drugist
All drugs (substances that cause physiological change) are poisons (substances that cause disturbances in organisms)…Ideally our creator designed our body to be independent of these entities (yes, more often than not our body fixes itself). Sadly man and the elements have contrived to render our world drug-dependent…Mosquitoes party with us, we inhale poisons on a per hour basis, viruses have found their way out of their vectors…We are bound to seek help from these chemical entities to maintain our balance
The only way to successfully ingest or use poisons without joining the heavenly host above and with the least amount of damage to your system is under the guidance and counsel of the Pharmacist. Here is why you need the best:
- Drugs are only drugs at specific concentration, when under or over the specific dosage they are outright poisons.
- Drugs are customized for several age groups, some are even gender specific.
- Drugs have different storage specifications.
- Drugs have several routes and methods of administration.
- Drugs must be maintained at effective concentrations, “8 hourly (3 times daily) is not a plea; it is an order! Effectiveness depends on it.
- Drugs have adverse and side effects e.g. Ciprofloxacin can cause dyspepsia.
- Drugs interact with food e.g. Vitamin C plus shrimp combination might arrange a meeting for you with your ancestors.
- Drugs interact with drugs with so many devastating effects e.g. Clonidine plus propranolol would result in fatal rebound hypertension.
- Drugs interact with pre-existing disease conditions e.g. NSAIDS aggravate stomach ulcers.
- Most drugs are unsafe for use during pregnancy e.g. Anticonvulsants; Misoprostol (present in Arthrotec-commonly prescribed drug for arthritic pain). Sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine is contraindicated in the first trimester of pregnancy.
- Drug effectiveness and adverse effects are sometimes race specific, you heard right—most drugs are racist e.g. Asians and African-Americans are more likely to suffer Steven Johnson’s Syndrome when they take carbamezepine (Tegretol)
- Drugs to a large extent are genetic dependent—Pharmacogenomics e.g. Patients with CYP2D6*4 allele would not get analgesia when dosed with codeine.
- Drugs have off-label uses which require great expertise.
- Drugs are to be monitored for their therapeutic effect (therapeutic drug monitoring) e.g. blood pressure checks and blood glucose checks are done routinely in community pharmacies.
- Drug information is absolutely required for prescription only medicines as well as over the counter drugs (Call your pharmacist now to explain the difference).
Pharmacists are equipped to help you through the drug maze and answer all your questions…Learn to appreciate these magnificent beings and do understand that they live to make the world a better place…Right now across the globe there is a pharmacist:
- Attending to a patient over the counter in a community pharmacy
- Giving advice to the health team in a hospital
- Trying out new molecules to combat diseases in a laboratory
- Brainstorming new leads in chemotherapy
- Trying to figure how to send HIV and Ebola to limbo where small pox resides
- Helping the military produce antidotes for war fare chemicals
- Compounding a drug product
- Working out pharmacokinetic details
- Working out pharmacodynamic details
- Packaging a drug product
- Marketing a drug product
- Reading volumes of books to find out better ways to help patients
- Training younger ones for the great call to safeguard humanity
- Ensuring that fake and substandard drugs don’t get to consumers
- Reporting an adverse drug reaction
- Applying pharmacoeconomics to save a client from going bankrupt
- Educating the public
- Putting a smile on someone’s face
The list of what we do is of course endless…
Nigerians must learn to consult experts in various fields:
Want to know what your symptoms point to? Talk to a diagnostician (MBBS)
Want to detect a parasite? Talk to a Medical laboratory scientist
Have a problem with your sight? Talk to an ophthalmologist
Bleeding gum? Talk to a dentist
Want to know what position is best to feed your sick mom? Talk to your nurse
Perhaps you are in dire need of care—Look for a nurse
The list goes on and on. NEVER FORGET THIS BIT:
NEED DRUG INFORMATION? Talk to a Pharmacist
Join us this day to celebrate these men of honour…Happy World Pharmacists Day Colleagues!!!!
Pharmacist Anozia Richard Chukwunonyelum
(4 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)Loading...
Awesome!