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Medellin Pharmacy Woes

I go into the pharmacy this evening and tell the pharmacist I have "La Gripa" and ask for a decongestant to help clear out my lungs. I say, Yo necesito una medecina para mi pulmones porque tengo la gripa. He looks at my girlfriend and she repeats a word that sounds alot like decongestant. The pharmacist (a guy) proceeds to hand me a roll of halls cough drops. I tell him this is not medecine and he tells me it is medicine and to look at it more carefully. I read the back and inform him it is basically sugar and menthol. I once again explain my problem and tell him I need something stronger (algo mas fuerte). So he proceeds to go through some drawers in the back and brings me something called CIFLOXAL 500mg (Ciprofloxacina). I think "GREAT", I've got a strong decongestant to help clear me up quick. I get home and look this stuff up on the internet because I have never heard of it and it turns out to be some kind of wicked antibiotic for bacteria infections of the lung for people with pneaumonia, a sexually transmitted disease, or HIV. HOLY SHIT! First he hands me candy, then he hands me a class 5 drug (antibiotic) for severely sick people with bacteria infections of the lung!

* I had a similar experience earlier in the week when I was trying to find an antihistimine with a female pharmacist at another location. She just seemed kind of ignorant to what she was doing and we were just looking at over the counter medication!

Here's my question(s);

1) What is the word for decongestant in Spanish?
2) Are pharmacists here not trained for 6 years like they are in the US?

By tejasmarcos on Aug 10, 2006, 20:20 in Friendly Talkzone.

tejasmarcos says on Aug 10, 2006, 20:41:

Here is a followup postscript taken from the U.S. National Library of Medecine;

Ciprofloxacin is in a class of antibiotics called fluoroquinolones. It works by killing bacteria. Antibiotics will not work for colds, flu, or other viral infections.

*Hmmmm - la gripa is a viral infection. What would make this guy give me this medication?

*Actually, I now remember taking Cipro back in college (15 years ago) when I went to Mexico and got "Montezumas Revenge". Worked great. However, I do remember the doctor only gave me a prescription of 1 or 2 pills. He also said it was rough on the system.

trying to walk a straight line on sour mash and cheap wine...

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tejasmarcos says on Aug 10, 2006, 20:47:

Here's a few more of the wonderful side effects of this drug;

What side effects can this medication cause?Return to top
Ciprofloxacin may cause side effects. Tell your doctor if any of these symptoms are severe or do not go away:

upset stomach
vomiting
stomach pain
indigestion
headache
nervousness
agitation
anxiety
difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep
nightmares or abnormal dreams

Some side effects can be serious. The following symptoms are uncommon, but if you experience any of them or those mentioned in the SPECIAL PRECAUTIONS section, call your doctor immediately:

seizures
vaginal yeast infection
confusion
shaking hands that you cannot control
believing that others want to harm you
hallucination (seeing things or hearing voices that do not exist)
depression
thoughts about dying or killing yourself

You should know that ciprofloxacin has slowed the growth and damaged the joints of young laboratory animals. It is not known if ciprofloxacin has these effects on children. Therefore, ciprofloxacin should not normally be given to children younger than 18 years old. However, if a child has been exposed to anthrax in the air, the benefits of taking ciprofloxacin to prevent this serious illness may be greater than the risk of joint damage. Talk to your child's doctor about the risks of giving ciprofloxacin to your child.

trying to walk a straight line on sour mash and cheap wine...

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vladimiro says on Aug 10, 2006, 20:54:

NOXPIRIN Ask for Noxpirin. It's psuedofed with acetamenophen. You could also try Dristan, Dolex, Descongel, etc but I recommend Noxpirin. They most likely did not understand what you were talking about. You might want to go ahead and take that CIPRO (500mg) for 4 days, too. CIPRO is what all doctors give people traveling to third world countries. If you come back to the US from Colombia and complain of a any illness even just a cold/flue the doctor is going to give you CIPRO antibiotics just in case.

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Miguel_Clavo says on Aug 10, 2006, 20:55:

If i were you i would be worried about this side effect: vaginal yeast infectionssssssssssssssss
.........=) Yikessssssssssss!!!!!!!

Just my opinion...

Miguel_Clavo...Listo!! Libertad!!!...Colombia es pasión!

"F.A.R.C..S.U.C.K.S"

"I would rather die living life, than to live a dying life."........ Oh, and my PM is always ON. Great Bumper Sticker: "Home of the Free, Because of the Brave"

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miamimike says on Aug 10, 2006, 21:25:

Thats a Problem in many Latin American Countries where anyone without Medical Training can enter a Pharmacy and buy Meds freely without a Doc's Examination. The nice thing, you save the Prescription price(as here in the USA)after a Doctor examines you. The Downside is, many buy and use Anitbiotics when they don't merit it AND WITHOUT going to see a Doctor first. Pharmacists are NOT Doctors,,,,; Antibiotics are NOT effective against Viral Infections. When so many residents of latin Countries indiscriminately use Antibiotics, it results in many Resistant strains of the original bacteria and renders many antibiotics ineffective. Unless a throat, Blood, wound or sputum sample is taken and then lab cultured for bacterial specificity, many times the inappropiate Med is prescribed.If its done correctly, after being examined by an MD, as here in the US, a Doc prescribes a broad based Antibiotic to a patient until the lab culture results are returned, then he/she may change to a very specific Antibiotic exactly for the bacteria present. Many times Patients are non-compliant, that is they don't take the antibiotics for the full regimen, usually 1000 milligrams for 7-10 days. They stop taking the Meds when they feel better and in all probability, the Bacteria is not completely killed allowing the Bacteria to survive and come back again in a stronger altered form, requiring an even stronger Antibiotic to kill the now altered bacteria. You really NEED to take Cipro under a Doctor's Care as it has some killer side effects,,,,Cipro is an extremely Strong Antibiotic(they used this for ANthrax after 9/11) and some users have complained of Muscular-skeletal sysmptoms pain after extended use of this drug. When a Doctor tells you to take the full amount of Prescribed Antibiotics, there is a reason for it other then to sell medication,,,,

Cipro is Not taken casually for a Cold ,,,"Because antibiotic-resistant strains can be readily isolated in laboratories, experts have suggested that "ciprofloxacin may be the drug of choice" when terrorism is suspected as the source of B. anthracis, at least until antibiotic susceptibilities can be determined.

"Wait a minute. What did you just say? You're predicting $4-a-gallon gas? That's interesting. I hadn't heard that." -- Feb. 28, 2008 --George W. Bush, Washington, D.C.

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adrimm says on Aug 10, 2006, 21:32:

I was going to say below, but I see Miamimike has beat me to the punch.

Ahh but until the Doctor gets test results back then the doctor is only guessing whether an illness is bacterial or viral.

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pedro says on Aug 11, 2006, 03:21:

Are you sure it was a pharmacist? And not just a shop assistant wearing a white coat?

que nota!

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gringolondinense says on Aug 11, 2006, 03:57:

Yer but sometimes if you have the flu with a nasty cough doctors prescribe antibiotics (especially if you are coughing up green slime). This is because you can easily develop a chest infection as the flu runs down your immune system. So chill out guys :-).

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tomtom33 says on Aug 11, 2006, 06:13:

Ask for Claritin. It is the best decongestant and is readily available in Colombia.

The last time a doctor in the US prescribed an antibiotic for me, he did no tests whatsoever. He was an allergist.

I have used Cipro several times in Colombia after discussing it with my primary physician in The US. She told me that I needn't use more than 2 or 3 doses for gastrointestinal symptoms. And it might be a good idea to take a double dose(1000 mg) when starting.

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tejasmarcos says on Aug 11, 2006, 06:18:

reply miamimike - yep. i've been going to the doctor enough over the years that i understand all of the above. i rarely take antibiotics because of the above. over the past 20 years, i come down with the same infections from year to year. a viral upper respiratory or stomach bug. in both cases i can only treat the symptoms as a virus has to run it's coarse. also, i believe the statistic is that 80% of all upper respiratory infections are viral. i paid attention at college being a biology major. not knocking doctors, but i basically pay a doctor in the states $80-100 for the office visit and spend 2 hours with other sickies waiting on him to see me because most doctors double book so as to offset no shows. *i've had 2-3 instances where the doctor really came in handy, but it was the minority of times.

pedro - good question. the guy might have been a helper dressed in a white coat. i have to assume this was the case because of the medecine he gave me.

* i just assumed i was speaking with a pharmacist. in the states, pharmacists are highly trained and in most cases understand pharmacology to higher degree than the prescribing doctors.

* i was just puzzled at the utter lack of understanding from the two individuals i encountered this week wearing the "official" looking coat. i assumed they were indeed pharmacists and then questioned their training after receiving what i consider a complete lack of expertise.

* lesson learned - next time i will do my own research and walk in with drug suggestion of choice in hand and ask to speak to the "actual", hopefully licensed pharmacist on staff.

trying to walk a straight line on sour mash and cheap wine...

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tejasmarcos says on Aug 11, 2006, 06:22:

over the counter (otc) drugs i've taken all the otc drugs mentioned above. they work marginally with pseudoephadrine being the best (gives me bad medecine head though). however, i was wanting something prescription strength and know that there are much better decongestants available from the pharmacy.

trying to walk a straight line on sour mash and cheap wine...

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william_andrew_channell says on Aug 11, 2006, 06:41:

In my opinion, the best thing you can do is make yourself a nice hot Pax Caliente, put on your warmest pijamas, get into bed and cover yourself with all the blankets you can find, and drink that Pax Caliente nice and hot and don't get out of bed until the next morning. Or, at the first hint of a gripa, get yourself one amoxicilina and one ibuprofin 800, and take it before you go to sleep.

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miamimike says on Aug 11, 2006, 16:30:

Theres Part of the Problem,,, In my opinion, the best thing you can do is make yourself a nice hot Pax Caliente, put on your warmest pijamas, get into bed and cover yourself with all the blankets you can find, and drink that Pax Caliente nice and hot and don't get out of bed until the next morning. Or, at the first hint of a gripa, get yourself one amoxicilina and one ibuprofin 800, and take it before you go to sleep.
=====================================================================Amoxicillin --One Dose and its probably not even a Bacterial Infection. Ibuprofen is a Muscle Relaxant not a antipyretic. I could go for plain old cheap Tylenol(acetaminophen)but Motrin(ibuprofen, esp 800 mg doses is really hard on the stomach and Kidneys as you have to drink a ton of water to prevent it from crystalizing in the kidney) is a real bad choice for a cold(gripa) This exemplifies why I like the system here in the USA where you consult a Doctor who prescribes the Medication. Those Guys went to MED School for 7 years for a reason. The above advice is why many of the once effective Antibiotics don't won't eradicate bacteria effectively any more; indiscriminant and incorrect dispensing of Medication,,,Seriously you are better off to have a Bowl of Warm Chicken Soup and two inexpensive tylenol then the above,,,LOL

Tylenol usage:http://www.medicinenet.com/acetaminophen/article.htm

"Wait a minute. What did you just say? You're predicting $4-a-gallon gas? That's interesting. I hadn't heard that." -- Feb. 28, 2008 --George W. Bush, Washington, D.C.

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famsearch says on Aug 11, 2006, 17:37:

one cure for a bout of gripa, is an old home recipe. aguapanela, take about 2 quarts of water, heat to boil, throw in a 2" sq block of panela, a squirt or two of lemon juice, and a shot of rum. drink it down, and go to bed.
dan

dan

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Miguel_Clavo says on Aug 11, 2006, 22:41:

I bring my own medicine over there...just for the above reasons! Just my opinion...

Miguel_Clavo...Listo!! Libertad!!!...Colombia es pasión!

"F.A.R.C..S.U.C.K.S"

"I would rather die living life, than to live a dying life."........ Oh, and my PM is always ON. Great Bumper Sticker: "Home of the Free, Because of the Brave"

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