How to identify a SAFE and REGISTERED Medicine product in Malaysia.

Here are some sharing of knowledge on how to identify a SAFE and REGISTERED Medicine product in Malaysia.

Why Registered Medicine Products?
Almost every Medicinal/Pharmaceutical products in Malaysia are required to register to the National Pharmaceutical Control Bureau (NPCB) to be approve by our Drug Control Authority (DCA) for sale and use in Malaysia in order to provide Malaysian with a Safe, unadulterated, and efficient medicine products.

Beside that, NPCB will check whether the medicinal manufacturer had the proper quality and facilities to be produce your medicine (GMP) and will not allow them to produce it if they doesn’t meet the requirement. It is a good way to ensure that we, as a Malaysian obtain the highest quality of drug.

Comparatively with the so called “medicine” sold in pasar malam without proper registration, you can’t know:
Who are the one who produce it?
Do they add in fake / dangerous active ingredient?
Do the medicine effective?
Do the expiry date is true?

Are you confident to consume it even you don’t know what is it?

So, next time when you want to purchase yourself a medicine product (* Even PANADOL) you should check whether it is registered or not.

To check for MAL number validity, I had made an smartphone application (MediQuest) to ease your life, you can download it on below:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=air.mypharmacisthouse.mediquest

or you can go to NPCB website to check for it:
http://portal.bpfk.gov.my/search-product.cfm (an easier link)

Thank you very much
Best Regard,
My Pharmacist House

The 15 Best SuperFoods for Diabetics

The 15 Best SuperFoods for Diabetics picked by Reader’s Digest
for more information, check it out at http://bit.ly/1dAnFvm

P.s Recently was just transferred to new working environment, striving hard to adapt to it.
Will be slow in updating applications and the page..

Regards,
My Pharmacist House

Question to ask Your Pharmacist on New medicine

Every medicine is unique and has different function to our body, it is essential that whenever you receive a new medicine prescript by doctors, you should know your medicine well. Below are questions that you can ask your pharmacist:

1. Why Should I take this medicine?
You wont receive the medicine without any purpose. Understanding how this medicine help your illness and how important is the medicine will make you understand your body better. Besides that, if you dont want to take it, tell us your concern, it might be other alternative and ways to help your condition.

2. Is the medicine safe for me?
Different people have different reaction toward the medicine, make sure you tell your pharmacist
-> All your current medicines which included over the counter drug, vitamin and minerals, herbs and supplments
-> Any Drug allergies you encountered before
-> Any illness or condition you have such as asthma
-> If you are nursing, pregnant, or planing to be pregnant

3. How should I take my medicine?
In order to optimized the therapy of each medicine, the medicine should be consume in their specified time, dose, frequency and methods. Some medicine will be greatly affected by the food you consuming or other drug you are taking together. Make sure you ask your pharmacist regarding:
-> How often do you need to take the drug (e.g one times per day, two times per day)
-> Before meal, after meal, or with meal
-> How much do you need to take it
-> Is there food/drug you need to stop
-> is there anything you should not do (e.g Driving)

4. How long should I take the medicine?
Some medicine should be stop after the symptoms gone but some should be continue after the symptoms gone to prevent relapse of the disease. Some medicine will be consume even there is no symptom. So make sure you have a clear mind on when to stop your medicine and not stopping your medicine yourself.

5. What are the side effects?
We know all medicines have side effects, but there are solutions to prevent or stop some of the common side effects, for example, some gastric irritated medicine side effect will be reduce if you consume the medicine after meal.

Besides that, if you know the common side effects that might be happened on you, you wont be frighten off when it appear on you. Ask your pharmacist when should you go to hospital on the side effects.

Lastly, Make sure you know your medicine well before you leaving the pharmacy, dont hesitate to ask us as your health and wellness is our major concern.

Resource: Consumerreport.org: Drug Safety: Starting a New Drug 6 Questions to Ask Your Pharmacist

Click to access 6questionstoaskyourpharmacist.pdf

Pollutant Standard Index (PSI)

Pollutant Standard Index (PSI) @ My Pharmacist House

Recently the haze topic already spam my whole facebook wall, this term – PSI keep appear in the article, it is an important air quality indicator used by Singapore to tell the public the conditions of the air around them whereas in Malaysia, we use Air Pollutant Index (API) or so called “Index Pencemar Udara” (IPU). These 2 index were similar but not identical in calculations.

These index were calculated based on the 5 major air pollutant which are CO, NO2, SO2, particulate material and ozone in the air which count on 24 hour basis (Singapore’s is based on 3 hour basis which have more reflection on real time air condition)

When inhaled these air pollutant, it will cause serious harm to our body, especially for elderly, pregnant women, children and peoples with chronic lung & heart medical conditions, you can see the impact of these air pollutant on health by visiting WHO website:

http://www.doe.gov.my/webportal/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/WHO-Air-quality-guidelines-for-particulate-matter-ozone-nitrogen-dioxide-and-sulfur-dioxide-summary-of-risk-assessment.-WHO-2005.pdf.

This poster were cite based on singapore NEA websites, hope that this will make you all more understand about the PSI reading

For Malaysia part, we can check the API on depart of environment website: http://www.doe.gov.my/apims/index.php

and for singapore we can check it on National Environmental agency website:
http://app2.nea.gov.sg/

Living with Asthma

Read this interesting article few days ago, so would like to share on topic regarding asthma.

Triggers of asthma means that it can cause the asthmatic attack, commonly they are some allergen which we inhaled into our lungs and start the asthmatic attack. Common asthma triggers included tobacco smokes, dust mites, exercise, pets, air pollutant, molds, infections.

But keep in mind that not everyone have the same triggers, you may sensitive to some triggers and some may not. To help you identify your triggers, you can write down what what you were doing before the attacks, if your asthma get worsen when you contact certain agents, then that agent is the triggers of your asthmatic attack, if you are not sure about it, you may discuss with your healthcare provider.

Many other things can make asthma worse. These include food additives, food preservatives, fragrances, some medicines, and emotions.

Knowing and avoiding your triggers will help keep your asthma under control.

For more information you can visit to:
http://www.pharmacytimes.com/publications/issue/2013/April2013/Living-with-Asthma

Click to access asthma_brochure.pdf

http://www.cdc.gov/asthma/triggers.html

Side effects of medicines

Recently I’m preparing a presentation regarding side effects and adverse effects of medicines, I found out that the medicines we are taking are not as safe as we thought. So I would like to share some basic knowledge regarding side effects of medicine.
This picture illustrate some facts of Medicine side effects

Share with Your friends the basic knowledge of side effects @ https://www.facebook.com/MyPharmacistHouse

When to see the doctors when you cough

There are common to us that when we cough, we seek for self medication such as traditional herbs, buy some sweet from the nearest convenient store, or even mentos(?), so there is the question, when to see the doctor when you are cough? we often cure it too fast or too slow, some people which is too fast will just request for antibiotics when they are cough, if these medication are not taken the right way (the cause of cough might not be bacterial) it may cause the other bacterial to grow stronger and then contribute to more powerful, harder to kill other bacteria which might infect our body.

On the other hand, some adults with cough might just think that the cough will subside itself, and giving excuses such as busy, no time etc, and dragging the disease despite of the condition mentioned above, as the time goes on, the disease will be worsening, if there are bacterial infections, the germs will get stronger and the disease will be harder to cure.

Here are few additional tips for cough:
– drink at least 8-10 glasses of water regularly
– hot steamy shower will help break down the phlegm and make it easier to cough up
– avoid alcohol or caffeine as there may cause fluid loss
– have plenty of bed rest
– stay away from cold, dry environment

Finally, the info-graphic above is just my little suggestions, it have nothing to do with any guidelines or any treatment approach. However efforts had been made on finding relevant references to justify it 🙂

Diarrhea Medicine which are NOT FOR CHILDREN

Lomotil (Diphenoxylate and atropine): This medicine inhibit the digestive excessive motility, usage of this medicine in younger children may cause toxicity such as respiratory depression, coma and even permanent brain damage, do not use this medicine for children especially children below 5 years old!

Medicine Charcoal: medicine charcoals are widely used as an absorber during diarrhea to clean out any toxic or any irritating gases in the digestive tract, however due to the non-selectivity of this charcoal, everything include the beneficial proteins, nutrient will be absorb too, long term usage of medicine charcoal will lead to mild nutrition in children.

Fluroquinone group antibiotic: it is a strong antibiotic to kill the bacteria such as e.coli, salmonella in the digestive tract, however numerous side effects have been recorded in reference to the unapproved use of fluoroquinone in the children, it should not be use by children.

Introducing MyPlate

Introducing MyPlate which launch by US Department of Agriculture based on 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans to help consumers make better food choices.

MyPlate is designed to remind Americans to eat healthfully; it is not intended to change consumer behavior alone.

This are one of the article i taken from the website:

1. Balance calories
Find out how many calories YOU need for a day as a first step in managing your weight. Go to http://www.ChooseMyPlate.gov to find your calorie level. Being physically active also helps you balance calories.

2. Enjoy your food, but eat less
Take the time to fully enjoy your food as you eat it. Eating too fast or when your attention is elsewhere may lead to eating too many calories. Pay attention to hunger and fullness cues before, during, and after meals. Use them to recognize when to eat and when you’ve had enough.

3. Avoid oversized portions
Use a smaller plate, bowl, and glass. Portion out foods before you eat. When eating out, choose a smaller size option, share a dish, or take home part of your meal

4. Foods to eat more often
Eat more vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and fat-free or 1% milk and dairy products. These foods have the nutrients you need for health—including potassium, calcium, vitamin D, and fiber. Make them the basis for meals and snacks.

5. Make half your plate fruits and vegetables
Choose red, orange, and dark-green vegetables like tomatoes, sweet potatoes, and broccoli, along with other vegetables for your meals. Add fruit to meals as part of main or side dishes or as dessert.

6. Switch to fat-free or low-fat (1%) milk
They have the same amount of calcium and other essential nutrients as whole milk, but fewer calories and less saturated fat.

7. Make half your grains whole grains
To eat more whole grains, substitute a whole-grain product for a refined product—such as eating whole wheat bread instead of white bread or brown rice instead of white rice

8. Foods to eat less often
Cut back on foods high in solid fats, added sugars, and salt. They include cakes, cookies, ice cream, candies, sweetened drinks, pizza, and fatty meats like ribs, sausages, bacon, and hot dogs. Use these foods as occasional treats, not everyday foods.

9. Compare sodium in foods
Use the Nutrition Facts label to choose lower sodium versions of foods like soup, bread, and frozen meals. Select canned foods labeled “low sodium,” ”reduced sodium,” or “nosalt added”

10. Drink water instead of sugary drinks
Cut calories by drinking water or unsweetened beverages. Soda, energy drinks, and sports drinks are a major source of added sugar, and calories, in American diets.

4 points to remember before purchasing OTC medicine