We find thousands and thousands of medicines available in medical shops across the Country?. Medical awareness doesn’t necessarily mean learning about the anatomy of our bodies, though it surely helps. Are there really thousands of various diseases so that we need these medicines to protect us?. I certainly don’t think so. We require only few hundreds of medicines. Then why such huge variety of medicines is available in the market. I firmly believe, it’s only due to the commercial interest of the businessmen dealing with the manufacture, wholesale and retail of the medicines, doctors being the essential culprits in the whole vicious scheme of things.
A simple medicine for headache is available with the brand names ‘’ Aspro’’, ‘’ Anacin’’,’’ Analgin’’, ‘’ Novalgin’’, Disprin’’ etc. All these medicines are manufactured by different companies having different brand names and are sold in medical shops with different price tags. These medicines are not prescription drugs and are available freely over the counter in medical shops. Similarly there are many medicines available for a simple illness such as fever like ‘’ Crocin’’, ‘’ Coldarin’’, ‘’ Acetamol’’ etc. The main ingredient in the medicine that suppresses the fever is called ‘’Paracetamol’’. This medicine is also available across the counter in medical shops. The patient may get prescription from the doctor for these ailments. There are many doctors, who are out to usurp the patients at all costs, forgetting the very purpose for which their profession is meant. They generally go by the marketing strategy of the medical representative rather than using his medical knowledge, who offers the concerned doctor highest reward for prescribing their company’s medicines to the maximum extent possible. So the doctor prescribes his favourite medicines and the patients simply buy them in good faith. Sometimes a person asks the salesman in a medical shop for a particular brand and the salesman ends up in giving some other brand that fetches more profit margins to his shop.
The doctors’ profession is considered to be divine and the doctors are treated like ” God” by the patients. But unfortunately many of these doctors bring shame to their profession due to their unethical behaviour. What can one say about a Gynaecologist, who keeps on doing cesarean operations for earning fast bucks without bothering for the health of the patients when a normal delivery of the pregnant ladies could have been easily resorted to.
Headache, body aches, stomach upset and pain, Common cold, dry and wet cough and fever are the most common ailments we generally get in different seasons. We are always in a hurry to get them cured pretty fast as soon as the symptoms appear. We hardly give any time for our body to fight these symptoms and cure them in a natural way by our body resistance. So we go to the doctor, get all tests done whether necessarily or unnecessarily and finally end up taking the prescribed medicines. The doctors in India generally don’t tell the patients about the side effects of the medicines. We should understand that there is not even a single medicine that’s available without any side effects. Further we should be vigilant about the doctor’s tendency to prescribe unnecessary X-rays, tests and operations. We should always exercise our wisdom and always seek the second opinion in our own interest.
There are many small and medium scale Pharmaceutical firms in India that manufacture medicines whose motives are not based on quality. These firms may not have the high precision machinery and also are not provided with proper R & D facilities even. These firms hire Analytical Chemists and obtain approval from Food and Drug Administration for their Chemists in the field of Chemical Testing, Instrument Analysis and Microbiology etc. These approvals are statutory requirements for the manufacture of bulk drugs and medicines. These chemists are mere rubber stamps as they are paid employees and the quality control is some kind of an eye wash.
Millions are affected by High/ Low Blood Pressure and Diabetic diseases. We shouldn’t read too much into this though they are very serious health problems. We can always live healthily for a very longer period provided we get regular health checkups, take proper diet, go in for daily quota of walking and take proper daily dosage of medicines without fail. There is no reason for panic at all. There should be a systematic control over the intake of sugar including carbohydrates in food and salt intake as well. That’s all that matters.
The medicines can be purchased in generic form( Their Chemical Names) at a nominal cost, if available, rather than go in for brand names, which are very expensive. In the event of non availability of generic medicines, residents of twin cities of Secunderabad and Hyderabad should spare some time and purchase their branded medicines in the the wholesale Medical Shops located in Sultan Bazar, Koti for a substantial discount to the tune of 22% instead of purchasing them from retailers.
Generally the production cost of many medicines is very very less. But the Pharmaceutical firms sell them at a very prohibitive cost and make huge profits even after considering their overheads. There certain Government stipulations, according to which the pharmaceutical firms are compelled to sell certain essential medicines such as B.P tablets to be sold at reasonable rates. As such the Government permits these firms to sell non essential medicines like vitamin tablets, capsules and tonics at a very high price as a means of compensation.
Here are some health tips for your benefit.
1) Get up early in the morning by 5 everyday and take full benefit of fresh air, which is totally free. It’s better if you can go in for morning walk.
2) Enjoy doing domestic chores and helping your wife keeping aside your ego. Treat it as part of your daily exercise with love. Your marital life and overall health will improve for better.
3) Walk always the short distances for meeting friends and relatives and also for making domestic purchases and share carrying bags to the extent possible..
4) Don’t make it a habit to visit your doctor for minor bearable pains. Your body has the capacity to resist the pain. Visit the doctor only when necessary.
5) Try to locate a family physician who is knowledgeable and firm believer in less medication and proper tests only when really needed.
The more vigilant we are, the more healthier we can be.