The one good thing about going to the drug stores and buying medication incognito is that somehow, you'll get a glimpse of what some other sick people is buying without being stereotyped niceties of an inside the clinic patient-doctor interactions.

Here are some of the sales lady - buyer overheard conversations that shocked me:

Customer: "Miss ano maganda gamot sa trankaso?"(Miss what's a good medication for flu?)
Saleslady:" Decolgen, trangkaso man kaha." (Decolgen, you got flu, right?)
Customer:" Three times a day na sya ano?"( Three time a day?)
Saleslady:"Yes".
Customer: "Unsa, maayo nga antibiotic para sa trangkaso?"(Any antibiotic for flu?)
Saleslady: "Konsulta sa mo sa duktor nay." (Consult a doctor first)
Customer: "Cge, katong Decolgen na lang ako-a, tatlo ka buok. Ug isa ka Eskinol kanang medium bottle)" (I'll get three tablets of Decolgen and Eskinol medium sized bottle.)

The customer got what she wants and I was dumbfounded. The irony of it.
Here's another.

Customer:"Miss anong maganda na bitamina para sa matatanda?" (What's a good vitamin for adults?)
Saleslady:"Para sa unsa?Ugat o bukog?"( For what?Nerves or bones?)
Customer: "Sakit man yung likod ko kasi. Yung para sa ugat. Bigyan mo ako ng pito" (I have backpain, I need the one for nerves.Give me seven pieces.)

I was shaking my head in disbelief. If this is happening in one major drug dispensing store, I could only sigh for whats happening in other smaller drug stores somewhere else!

I cannot simply point finger on any one health stake holder as the cause of this drug dispensing dyseducation (for lack of a better term), but I'm pretty sure we all contribute.

That's why it is imperative that pharmacists (or their salespersons) are not allowed to prescribe drugs or give health information that are beyond their knowledge base. In Medicine, a bad information is no worse than no information at all. And it kills, mind you. That's why accountability for providing health care is a must, otherwise these type of interactions just go unabated.

Ubundok is a board certified orthopedic surgeon practicing in Southern Mindanao, Philippines. He writes mostly about his medical encounters, public health views, mountaineering, blogging, badminton and just about everything his scalpel would allow him to.

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