The hidden horror in your medicine cabinet
Deadly mix-ups, wrong doses and mold.
And that was just for one week in March!
There’s an alarming number of drug recalls going on. Which means you could have something dangerous — or even deadly — in your medicine cabinet and have no idea.
And the FDA is doing its usual feeble job of… well, doing its job. Prescription drugs are risky enough. But serious manufacturing mistakes can make them even more dangerous.
So when that pill in your bottle is contaminated, or a different pill than it’s supposed to be, who alerts you?
Don’t count on the FDA or the drug makers — or even your pharmacy — to keep you informed. Unfortunately, you’ll have to take matters into your own hands. But at least you’ll know you can finally trust someone!
The good news is that it’s fairly simple once you know what you’re looking for.
It’s called a “problem,” but it sounds more like a horror story.
Some years are worse than others. The year 2010 was called “Recall-o-Rama” by one trade pub, with recalls providing 12 months of ‘solid editorial material” for them to write about.
But most people don’t subscribe to an industry newsletter, so how would you know if a pill is the wrong kind, infected with mold or the wrong dose?
Researchers looked at eight years of data from the FDA’s two main reporting systems for recalls. They found a slipshod method of broadcasting this vital information. And that puts anyone taking Rx drugs in grave danger.
And here’s what is really scary.
During that time, almost two dozen Class 1 recalls — the most urgent kind — fell through the cracks and didn’t get “communicated” at all. And we’re not just talking about a few pills here and there. During the eight year period, 34 percent of Class 1 recalls involved over 100,000 “drug units” that had been distributed all over the country.
The FDA’s response to that was to say it uses “many different methods of communicating” recalls, including texting and Twitter.
Right! Let’s all start Tweeting with the FDA to get this life-and-death information!
But, of course, the FDA can only do so much. And that’s because it doesn’t really have the ability to do anything. It seems that all this time we’ve been relying on Big Pharma to honor the “honor system.”
An expert in the field of public health, Dr. Carl Furberg from Wake Forest University, says that the drug companies are “ultimately responsible because the problem is with them.” The FDA, he adds, has no “legal authority to force” a recall.
These aren’t just harmless little errors, either. Recalled drugs have included blood thinners, cancer drugs and birth control pills that turned out to just be placebos.
But this month there was a potentially lethal mistake.
Pfizer “voluntarily” recalled over 104,000 bottles of its antidepressant Effexor XR (including a generic version), after a pharmacist discovered a dangerous heart drug capsule in one of the bottles.
The other drug, Tikosyn, which is used to treat irregular heartbeats, is dangerous enough all on its own. But the two taken together can be a real killer.
Pfizer says that over 65,000 bottles of Effexor XR are already on pharmacy shelves. And I’m sure they really don’t know how many of those bottles may also contain the heart drug.
So if you’re taking Effexor XR, how would you find out about this deadly error?
Well, if your prescription is with a big chain like CVS or Walgreen’s, by snail mail! That’s right — these companies notify customers about urgent drug recalls by sending them a letter.
But you don’t have to wait for such a letter, or even rely on a tweet or text from the FDA to protect yourself.
The safest way, of course, is to take as few drugs as possible.
But most of us find ourselves taking some pharmaceuticals at some point. So to be as safe as possible, always check the latest recall information before you start a new prescription or even a refill. Go to this FDA page and enter the name of your drug in the “keyword” box.
Another way to watch out for yourself if you are on a prescription med is to take a moment to look at it after you open the bottle. You may be familiar with the drug’s color and shape, so if something looks different about your pills, don’t take any chances.
All drugs can be identified by their unique imprint, as well as their size, shape and color. And be sure to double check the dosage, which is printed on the pills as well.
Here’s an online pill identifier I found that makes it easy to check on the identity of any drug by clicking here:
It may seem like a pain, but we can’t count on anyone else to think about our safety where prescriptions are concerned. Those 1-minute clicks just might save your life.
Sources:
“Pfizer recalls 104,000 bottles of antidepressant Effexor XR” Eric Palmer, March 7, 2014, Fierce Pharma, fiercepharma.com
“U.S. has drug recall problem, study says” Carrie Gann, ABC News, abcnews.go.com
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