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Information Leaflets That Come With Medicines
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
Whenever I've bought medicines over the counter they've always come with an information leaflet - with possible side effects, and extra information on them
However I've noticed if I get stuff on the NHS prescription system they get packaged in plain boxes with no information leaflets at all, is this standard practise or depends on where you get the prescription filled?
Was prescribed antibiotics a few days ago and no information came with them but typing in the name of the drug in google give me loads of pages of possible sideffects, including stomach pains which I'm getting.
However I've noticed if I get stuff on the NHS prescription system they get packaged in plain boxes with no information leaflets at all, is this standard practise or depends on where you get the prescription filled?
Was prescribed antibiotics a few days ago and no information came with them but typing in the name of the drug in google give me loads of pages of possible sideffects, including stomach pains which I'm getting.
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In fact the only thing that I haven't was the cough medicine they prescribed me a few weeks ago and a quick tap into Google revealed everything I needed to know (i.e not much)
:yes:
All there is .. is a plain white box with a label they've printed themselves saying take one a day, do not take iron or zinc at the same time, etc
It's not so bad for me cos I can at least go online and look stuff up, but I reckon a lot of retired people go to places like that and wouldn't even think to question what they've been prescribed.
It just has a sticker on the box telling me when to take them, how many to take and what not to do whilst taking them. These are ones prescribed by the doctor though, not bought over the counter.
The sticker doesn't have enough room for all this
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/medmaster/a682063.html
The sticker has enough space for 5 lines of information.
It doesn't tell you you can get really bad stomach aches, or having the medicine with milk can help the aches but reduce how well it works.
The first time I took the tablets I went out driving to the shops and started getting bad stomach aches in the car. This is certainly the first time I've had such a reaction to an antibiotic. And I did ask the doctor at the time, does it matter if I take it on a full stomach or empty, etc and he said it didn't matter.. well obviously according to the information online it does. .. and what was worse was he said take 2 tablets the first time and then 1 a day, so I got double dose of the side effects the first time.
I pay for my prescriptions and in a lot of cases I think the £6.60p is well over priced - especially when you later find out (not in this case but previous ones) the same medicines can be bought without a prescription over the counter for a lot less and come better packaged with a lot more information.
And I've just come back from a trip to India where I've seen the same medicines from the same companies that I pay £6.60p for her being sold as little as 16p there ..
I think it has to do with the type of medication...
All the POM Painkillers I've had recently have all had info leaflets and were in a branded box.
I've found this in the past as well - the last lot of tbalets I was on (about 2 years ago) all it said was when & how to take them and not what to do with them. (as in, take on an empty stomach and don't eat for an hour after)
I'm sure that mostly they put the relavent and most important information on the packets when they don't also include a leaflet.
Maybe you could suggest to your pharmacy that they put info leaflets in their medicines? Or go to one of the more well known places... I've never been given anything without an info leaflet. To be honest, most of the information is hardly ever relavent and I think most people would think to check with their doctor if they got weird symptoms whilst taking a new drug.
But wouldn't he know more alot about what was true and what wasn't?
If you want the leaflet just pop back into the pharmacy and im sure they'll give you a leaflet out of another box.
I always find www.netdoctor.co.uk useful.
What antibiotics are they?
probably not tbh, but that's only because he's a functionally illiterate twat.
Like ive said, If your prescription is using only a part pack then you might not get one. Or if the pharmacy orders in tablets in tubs of 100 or 1000, then its likely to come in a medicine bottle without a leaflet.
Just ask for one-theyll usually have one somewhere to give you or photocopy for you.
It is free, and reliable, but it's very difficult to follow if you don't have any medical background whatsoever. I've got a hardcopy and find it difficult to understand on occassion because I don't know all the 'technical' terms for side effects etc.
Sorry, just what the local pharmacist told me once.