1. What is medicine?
Medicine is a special commodity. Drugs refer to substances that are used to prevent, treat, and diagnose human diseases, purposefully regulate human physiological functions, and have prescribed indications or functions, usage, and dosage, including Chinese herbal medicines, Chinese herbal medicine pieces, Chinese patent medicines, and chemical raw materials. Drugs and their preparations, antibiotics, biochemical drugs, radioactive drugs, serum, vaccines, blood products and diagnostic drugs, etc.
2. What are Western medicines?
Western medicines are organic chemicals. The instructions for inorganic chemicals and biological products have chemical names, structural formulas, and dosages that are more precise than traditional Chinese medicines. Usually, In milligrams.
3. What are Chinese patent medicines?
Chinese patent medicines are made from Chinese herbal medicines and processed into various dosage forms of Chinese medicine products, including pills, powders, ointments, and pills. Various dosage forms. It is the essence of effective prescriptions created and summarized by Chinese medical scientists through thousands of years of medical practice.
In daily life, people often refer to Chinese patent medicines as ready-made medicines that are made from Chinese medicinal materials according to certain treatment principles and can be taken at any time, such as various pills, powders, granules, etc. The advantages are that it is readily available, adapts to urgent needs, is easy to store, can be carried around, saves the decoction process, and eliminates the unique odor and adverse irritation when taking traditional Chinese medicine decoction. The disadvantage is that the composition and dosage ratio of the medicine remain unchanged, and it cannot be flexibly changed and added or subtracted according to the disease.
In addition, in recent years, toxic reactions and allergic reactions caused by Chinese patent medicines have also been reported. For example, Zhusha Anshen Pills can cause stomatitis, proteinuria and severe drug-induced enteritis; long-term use of Black Tin Dan can cause Severe lead poisoning; Lingqiao Jiedu Pills or Yinqiao Jiedu Pills can cause severe anaphylactic shock, etc. Although these reactions are rare, they are more serious when they occur. Therefore, those who have suffered poisoning or allergic reactions after taking certain Chinese patent medicines must remember not to take the same medicine again in the future.
4. What is a dosage form?
What is a dosage form --- Drugs are made into a form suitable for medical or preventive applications, convenient for clinical use, giving full play to the effects of the drug, and reducing or avoiding adverse reactions. Such as tablets, capsules, ointments, etc. The same drug can be made into different dosage forms according to clinical needs. For example, nimodipine has tablets and injections. Different dosage forms have different usage characteristics. The same drug dosage form Different, the functions are also different.
The types of dosage forms include: liquid dosage forms, injection dosage forms, infusions, ophthalmic dosage forms, powders, leaching dosage forms, tablets, capsules, pill dosage forms, ointment dosage forms, plaster dosage forms, suppositories, and aerosols. , long-acting preparations, film preparations, sponge preparations, and microcapsules, liposomes, depot preparations, etc.
5. What is a counterfeit drug?
A drug is considered a counterfeit drug if it meets any of the following circumstances:
(1) The ingredients contained in the drug are consistent with the national drugs The ingredients stipulated in the standards are not in compliance with the standards;
(2) Passing off non-drugs as drugs or other drugs as this kind of drug.
Drugs that fall under any of the following circumstances will be treated as counterfeit drugs:
(1) The use is prohibited by the drug regulatory department of the State Council;
(2 ), must be approved according to law but are produced or imported without approval, or must be inspected in accordance with this law but sold without inspection;
(3. Deterioration;
(4 ), contaminated;
(5) Produced raw materials that must obtain an approval number but have not obtained an approval number;
(6) The indicated indications or The functions and indications are beyond the prescribed range.
6. What is an inferior drug?
A drug whose ingredient content does not meet the national drug standards is an inferior drug.
Drugs that fall under any of the following circumstances will be treated as inferior drugs:
(1) Failure to indicate the expiration date or changing the expiration date;
(2) Failure to indicate or change the production batch number;
(3) Expiration date exceeded;
(4) Packaging materials and containers that are in direct contact with the drug are not approved;
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(5) Adding colorants, preservatives, spices, flavorings and excipients without authorization;
(6) Others that do not comply with drug standards.
7. What are prescription drugs and over-the-counter drugs (OTC)?
Except for special management of narcotic drugs and psychotropic drugs, health care and therapeutic drugs are generally divided into prescription drugs and over-the-counter drugs.
Prescription drugs (Rx drugs for short) are drugs that can be prepared, purchased and used only with the prescription of a licensed physician or licensed assistant physician;
Over-the-counter drugs can be taken without a physician’s prescription. Judgment, purchase and use of medicines. Prescription drugs are called Prescription Drug or Ethical Drug in English, and over-the-counter drugs are called Nonprescription Drug in English. In foreign countries, they are also called "drugs that can be purchased over the counter" (Over The Counter), or OTC for short. This has become a common name worldwide.
8. How to identify prescription drugs and over-the-counter drugs
Article 7 of the "Interim Provisions on the Circulation Management of Prescription and Over-the-Counter Drugs" (Trial) states: Prescription drugs entering the field of drug circulation must have corresponding warnings It should be printed conspicuously on the drug packaging or instructions for use by the manufacturer. The specific content is: Prescription drugs: sold, purchased and used with a physician's prescription. In addition, they do not have an "OTC" label.
Article 7 of the "Measures for the Classification and Management of Prescription and Over-the-Counter Drugs" (Trial) stipulates that the packaging of over-the-counter drugs must be printed with the nationally designated proprietary logo for over-the-counter drugs, (OTC).
Article 7 of the "Interim Provisions on the Circulation Management of Prescription and Over-the-Counter Drugs" (Trial) states: For over-the-counter drugs that enter the field of drug circulation, the corresponding warnings should be conspicuously printed on the drug packaging or drug use by the manufacturer. on the instruction manual. The specific content is: Please read the drug instructions carefully and use them according to the instructions or purchase and use them under the guidance of a pharmacist!
9. How to identify the expiration date of the drug
The expiration date refers to the approved date of the drug The shelf life refers to the period during which the quality of a drug can be guaranteed under certain storage conditions. The validity period of the drug is expressed in the order of year and month. Generally, the validity period is until a certain month of a certain year. For example, if the validity period is until June 2003, it means that the drug will begin to expire on July 1, 2003. The "Drug Administration Law" also stipulates that the production batch number, production date and expiration date should be marked on the packaging box or instructions of the drug. Imported drugs must also be written in Chinese according to the above-mentioned method to facilitate public reading.
10. Common names and trade names of drugs
Generally, drugs have three names, namely common names, chemical names and trade names. The common name is legal and stipulated by the National Pharmacopoeia Committee; the chemical name refers to the chemical composition of the drug; the trade name is the name registered by the manufacturer based on product marketing needs. Generally speaking, the generic name and chemical name of a drug are the same.
Due to different manufacturers, the trade names of drugs vary. For example, the cold medicine compound paracetamol has more than 10 names such as "gankang" and so on. Vitamin AD drops have 6 to 7 names such as "Betelin" and "Betelin". Azithromycin has more than 10 trade names, including Telit and Zithromax. There are more than 10 trade names of cefotaxime sodium, including Kedilon and Kefulon. There are more than 20 trade names for aspirin. What’s more, the antibacterial drug levofloxacin has more than 60 trade names.
11. How to read the drug instructions accurately?
The drug instructions are one of the basis for guiding how to use the medicine and have legal effect. Accurately reading and understanding the instructions before taking medication is a prerequisite for safe medication use.
First of all, you should understand the name of the drug.
Formal drug instructions include the generic name, trade name, English name, and chemical name of the drug (over-the-counter drugs do not have chemical names). Generally, users can avoid repeated use of drugs as long as they know the correct name of the drug, that is, the generic name. Because a drug has only one common name (that is, the legal name prescribed by the state), unlike there are several trade names. In the indication column, patients who use over-the-counter drugs can self-judge whether their disease is consistent with the indications and prescribe the right medicine. They can choose to purchase it with the help of a pharmacist.
Secondly, you must understand how to use the medicine, such as taking it before meals, after meals, before going to bed, once or three times a day, and whether it is taken orally, for external use or for injection, you must carefully check whether it is taken orally.
Third, pay attention to the dosage of the drug and it must be used according to the instructions. Generally, the dosage indicated in the instructions is the recommended dosage, and the elderly and children must accurately calculate the dosage before taking it.
It is particularly important to pay attention to contraindications, adverse reactions, drug interactions, precautions, etc. when reading the instructions. If you have any questions, please consult a pharmacist or physician.
12. How to read a doctor’s prescription
The content of a doctor’s prescription often includes:
(1) The patient’s name and age at the top of the prescription (pediatric patients must state the full details Year), gender, prescription date, clinic or inpatient department, and medical record number.
(2) In the text of the prescription, the doctor must clearly write the name of the drug, dosage form (such as tablets, powders, capsules, injections or ointments, etc.), dosage and quantity, and drug usage. Each time a doctor prescribes a drug, it usually occupies two rows, with the drug name, dosage and quantity on one row, and the usage on another row. Usage includes each dosage, daily frequency of medication and route of administration (such as subcutaneous injection, intramuscular injection, intravenous injection, oral administration, topical use, etc.). The number of daily medications is usually written in molecular formula, such as 3 times a day as 3/day, once every 4 hours as 1/4 hour, etc., or in Latin abbreviation.
The foreign meanings of the abbreviations for dosage and usage in the prescription are introduced as follows: g--gram, mg--milligram, ?g--microgram, ml--ml, u--unit, qd-- Once a day, bid--2 times a day, tid--3 times a day, qid--4 times a day, qod--once every other day, qw--once a week, biw--1 time in two weeks times, q2h - once every 2 hours, q8h - once every 8 hours, qn - once every night before bed, 2-3 times/d - 2-3 times a day. Subcutaneous - subcutaneous injection, intramuscular injection - intramuscular injection, intravenous injection - intravenous injection, intravenous infusion - intravenous drip (i.e. intravenous drip).
(3) Drugs are generally arranged in the order of main drugs and auxiliary drugs.
(4) The doctor’s full name must be signed at the bottom of the prescription before it can take effect.
(5) For emergency medication, the doctor will write the word "Emergency" in the upper right corner of the prescription.
13. What are the requirements for drug storage?
Drug operating enterprises must formulate and implement a drug storage system and take necessary measures such as refrigeration, antifreeze, moisture-proof, insect-proof, and rodent-proof to ensure that the drugs quality. An inspection system must be implemented for medicines entering and leaving the warehouse.
14. What are the requirements for selling drugs?
Drug business enterprises must be accurate when selling drugs, and correctly explain the usage, dosage and precautions; the prepared prescriptions must be checked, and the ingredients listed in the prescriptions must be verified. Medicines must not be altered or substituted without authorization. Prescriptions with incompatible or excessive dosages shall be refused to be dispensed; if necessary, they may be dispensed only after being corrected or re-signed by the prescribing physician. Pharmaceutical business enterprises selling traditional Chinese medicinal materials must indicate the place of origin.
15. What do "H", "Z", "B", "S", "T", "F" and "J" in the drug approval number mean?
The letter "H" is used for chemical drugs, the letter "Z" is used for traditional Chinese medicine, the letter "B" is used for health care drugs that have been rectified by the State Food and Drug Administration, the letter "S" is used for biological products, and the letter "S" is used for in vitro chemical diagnostic reagents. T", pharmaceutical excipients use the letter "F", and imported subpackaged drugs use the letter "J".
16. How to post classification signs?
Answer: Posting classification signs should be reasonable, beautiful and eye-catching.
The oval "OTC" sign should be posted on the upper left corner of the counter. The Chinese character sign for "non-prescription drugs" should be posted on the counter surface near the salesperson, with the font facing the customer. The oval "OTC" sign with the words "Over-the-Counter Drugs" should be posted at the upper left corner of the display cabinet; other signs should be posted in accordance with this requirement.
17. Four ways to identify the deterioration of Chinese patent medicines
In the past, most Chinese patent medicines had no production date, shelf life and validity period, so some Chinese patent medicines were stored for several years or more than ten years.
Nowadays, the product batch number and expiration date are printed on the packaging box of Chinese patent medicines according to regulations. However, some medicines only have batch numbers, and there is nothing about the "secret" medicines prepared by individuals. As for when should you throw away these proprietary Chinese medicines on hand? The answer is: Throw them away as soon as they go bad. There are four methods to identify whether Chinese patent medicines have deteriorated.
(1) Observe its shape. Those that have lost their fixed shape, such as those that were originally powdery or granular, now stick together or deliquify into a paste, or the capsules become flattened and become uneven, and feel extremely sticky, etc. are all signs of deterioration.
(2) Look at its color. Discoloration of tablets, capsules, sugar-coated tablets, liquids, and syrups is a sign of deterioration.
(3) Savor the taste. For example, if the syrup becomes sour and the pills and tablets have a peculiar smell, it is the result of spoilage.
(4) Smell it. Chinese patent medicines have their own unique smell. If there is a rancid and moldy smell, it is also the result of spoilage