No. This information is meant to supplement instructions given by your doctor and not a substitute. Therefore this data should not be used to self medicate.

You should inform your doctor and follow his advice before you can safely take other medicines.

It is important that your Doctor should know if you are pregnant or hoping to become pregnant. Some medicines should not be used if you are pregnant or breast feeding your baby.

Your Doctor should know about your other ailments or diseases, since drugs prescribed for new ailment may affect or interact with the medicines you are taking already.

You must follow the Doctor’s advice and complete the full course of therapy even though you may initially feel better after taking few doses.

Your Doctor would understand your ailment better and would prescribe the right medicine. You should not go by the advice of your friend or relative. Always follow your Doctor’s advice.

Your Doctor would prescribe medicine based on your current physical condition. The medicines which worked earlier may be the right medicines all the time. You should follow your Doctor’s advice and follow the dosage schedule. You should not take for extended period without consulting your Doctor.

Some medicines would impair your mental alertness or ability to carry out hazardous jobs such as driving or handling machinery. You should consult Your Doctor and he would advice you accordingly. You should not drive after consuming alcohol, since your agility or mental sharpness is momentarily affected.

You must always check the Manufacturing and Expiry Date, and the intactness of the pack. You should not buy or use date expired medicines. You should also check the price printed on the pack

Your Pharmacist may not be aware of all your medical problems and he may suggest based on symptoms you communicate to him. You should always follow your Doctor’s advice.

MRP means Maximum Retail Price. The Government of India fixes the maximum Selling Price for most of the medicines and the same is printed on the pack by the Manufacturer. All other local Taxes applicable are charged as extra. The Retailer is not permitted to sell above the Printed MRP.

All medicines are required to be stored at proper storage conditions to ensure the stability of the product. The Storage conditions are normally specified on the label especially for injectables and other temperature sensitive products. The instructions should be followed.

The manufacturer is responsible for the final quality of the product and guarantees its efficacy and performance till the prescribed date of expiry when stored at the specified storage conditions.

Products should not be used after the Expiry date, since it may or be effective. All date expired goods should be destroyed and kept away from children to prevent misuse.

Temperature sensitive products are normally stored in a refrigerator, but not in a freezer compartment, unless specified on the label. All other products are normally stored in a cool dry space either in cupboards or on shelves.

It should not be stored under kitchen sinks or in the bath room where the moisture can affect the stability of the product. Products should not be exposed to direct sun light. Medicines should not be easily accessible to children.

No, you should not change the Brand without consulting your doctor.

Doctor knows by his experience that that the Brand he has prescribed is more effective than the other equivalent Brands.

The doctor knows from his experience that some brands are more effective in lowering blood pressure than the others, blood sugar is lowered more readily with some Brands, and patients who suffer from Convulsions are more comfortable with some specific brands than the others. The Doctor will specifically instruct such patients not to change brands, without consulting him. He will suggest alternate brands if a specific Brand is not available.

The quality of Brand is dependent on the quality and purity of the active drug, and method used for formulation. This will finally determine how quickly the drug is released within the body after ingestion and how easily and readily it enters the blood stream. This is termed as bio-availability and varies from one Brand to another.

Yes, although two of the same drug may meet the chemical purity specifications, it may not have the same level of impurity profile, which depends upon the process and chemicals used in it basic manufacture. In other words it may not be equi- potent in its final therapeutic activity.

Same drug product can be manufactured by using different chemical process. Hence the original discover of the drug files a Product Patent. This covers not only process patent but also includes all the safety data he collects after conducting extensive clinical trials on animals and human volunteers over a long period of time. The drug product is approved by FDA and finally released in the market.

All countries have their own Patent Act.

Once the Patent application for a specific drug, is granted, IPR allows the original manufacturer to manufacture and exclusively market in specific counties. No other manufacturer is allowed to market the same drug without the consent of the original manufacturer.

Drug discovery is a very expensive business. It takes almost about 12 years from the time of discovery to launch of a new drug in the market. Several compounds are tested and rejected and generating safety data on a new drug product is very time consuming and expensive. Success rate is low and failures rates are high. It is estimated that it would cost about $1 million to discover a new drug and it would take about 12 years to complete the process.

Some Doctors make you fill in a questionnaire giving of the past history of your health . If not you must tell him about the following.

Your Doctor must know what you are suffering from with all the symptoms and all other conditions.

Your Doctor should know if you ever had any allergic reactions to any medicines, to any other substances such as foods, preservatives or edible dyes.

Your doctor should know if you are on a low –sodium, low sugar or any other special diet. Some medicines may contain large amounts of sodium or sugar which may affect your health condition.

Your Doctor should know if you are pregnant or planning to become pregnant. Some medicines are not recommended for use during pregnancy since they may have some effect on the fetus.

Some drugs are known to pass into the breast milk and cause harmful effects to the baby. Hence the doctor may advice you either to stop breast feeding the baby or discontinue the drug depending upon the importance to the mother.

Some drugs affect the behaviour changes of children and hence not considered safe for use on children. Your Doctor will select the most suitable medicine for children.

Elderly persons are often more sensitive to drug usage than younger adults. The Doctor will recommend the most suitable dose for the elderly patients.

Your Doctor must know what other medicines you are taking including non-prescription medicines. Some medicines are known to interact other medicines and cause some side reactions. He will advice you regarding the dosage and spacing of the medicines.