I take this opportunity in thanking all participants for making PSM India initiative’s 5th National Conference on "Patient Safety & Drug Regulatory Scenario in India" held in Srinagar from 19-21 May 2015 a grand success. Read more about it under our PSM Capsules section in this edition.
Cancer is not just one disease but many diseases. Cancer begins in your cells, which are the building blocks of your body. Normally, your body forms new cells as you need them, replacing old cells that die. Sometimes this process goes wrong. New cells grow even when you don't need them, and old cells don't die when they should thus resulting in either benign or malignant tumours which destroy the normal course of life. Reports say (Article enclosed under PSM India capsules Section) , it’s the biggest killer in India and thus raises alarm on the deteriorating health condition of citizens of our country. Time to be more cautious and protect ourselves from being getting affected by this destroyer disease.
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Happy Reading !
Stay Safe. Stay Healthy !
Pooja Khaitan
Chief Editor ,
The PRESCRIPTION
Partnership for Safe Medicines India.
“India’s major focus now is on accelerating the pace of development of useful diagnostics, re-agents, therapeutics, and prevention methods for communicable diseases such as viral, bacterial, and parasitological diseases, and non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and cancer. Our long-term aim is to make these modalities available to populations in low- and middle-income countries at affordable costs”.
Shri J P Nadda,
Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare
Government of India
It was a great event in Srinagar in the State of J & K from 19-21 May 2015 when for the first time in India the patient-consumer groups participated at the 5th National Conference of Partnership for Safe Medicines (PSM) India Initiative in collaboration with Government of India and University of Kashmir. Dr. G. N. Singh, Drug Controller General India (DCGI), CDSCO, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Govt. of India, Madam Asiya Naqash, Hon’ble Minister of Health & Social Welfare, Government of J & K and Prof Khurshid Iqbal Andrabi and Hon’ble Vice Chancellor, Kashmir University were the Key dignitaries. Awards were given to the State Drug Controllers of Karnataka, Gujarat, Tamilnadu and Maharashtra, for the first time, for protecting the Health & Safety of Patients.
Cancer now India's biggest killer, claims 5 lakh yearly
May 2015 : The latest data issued by the National Cancer Registry Program of the India Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has stated that cancer has become the biggest cause of death in India with 1,300 deaths daily, and close to 5 lakh every year. The data was released by ICMR this month has demonstrated that there has been estimated 6% rise in mortality rate due to cancer from 2012 to 2014.
Tips for Summer Diarrhea treatment
One loose motion is equal to one glass of ORS. Most summer diarrhoea is watery, effortless and painless diarrhoea with no mucous or blood. No antibiotic is needed. The only treatment is oral rehydration solution. One loose motion is equivalent to loss of one glass of fluid. If a patient has passed 10 loose motions, he needs 12 glasses of ORS apart from normal requirement of fluids and one glass for every loose motion passed again.
"The Commonwealth can make a contribution by way of sharing best practices in critical areas essential to augment the health system capacity," Nadda said at the Commonwealth health ministers meet at the 68th World Health Assembly 2015 at Geneva.
People with cystic fibrosis tend to have a higher than normal level of salt in their sweat. Parents often can taste the salt when they kiss their children. Most of the other signs and symptoms of cystic fibrosis affect the respiratory system or the digestive system.
Cholera epidemic hits 3,000 Burundi refugees in Tanzania: U.N.22 May, 2015: About 3,000 refugees fleeing political turmoil in Burundi have been infected in a cholera epidemic in neighbouring Tanzania, the United Nations said on Friday, stoking fears of a growing humanitarian crisis in Africa's Great Lakes.
Belgian researchers test screening tool for illicit peptidesA growing number of incidents involving illicit sale of experimental peptide and protein drugs has prompted Belgian researchers to develop a rapid screening test. The team - from Belgium's Scientific Institute of Public Health - looked at the potential of an analytical technique known as liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) for the detection of counterfeit and illegal injectable peptides.
FDA-OCI's Philip Walsky Speaks about the Global Scope of Counterfeit Medicine Crime And FDA's Efforts To Fight It.
Posted Monday May 18, 2015: At the 2014 Interchange, PSM was pleased to have Philip Walsky, the Acting Director of the FDA's Office of Criminal Investigations (OCI) speak about OCI's efforts to respond to the challenge of fraudulent drug schemes. Walsky characterized recent pharmaceutical crime as more complicated than in the past, with "more actors in many different parts of the world." He described OCI's coordination with INTERPOL and the Permanent Forum on International Pharmaceutical Crime (PFIPC), but also discussed their expanded international presence in the rest of the world. In June 2014, OCI sent an agent on permanent assignment to Europol and the office is contemplating placing staff in enforcement agencies in Asia and South America. The office has also sent agents on short assignments to Singapore, India and Chile, where they offered education about counterfeit drug crime and drug regulation.
Frequently Asked Questions Q1. What are Expectorants & Suppressants?
Answer: Expectorants & Suppressants are cough medicines.
Expectorants are used to treat cough with phlegm (productive cough). They help drainage of mucus and phlegm from the lungs, bronchi, and trachea by thinning the mucus, and also by lubricating the irritated respiratory tract.
Cough suppressants relieve your cough by blocking the cough reflex and are used to treat dry coughs. Suppressants acts by reducing the bodies urge to cough.
It is very important to avoid taking a suppressant if there is excessive phlegm in the airways. Usually it is not advisable to combine a cough suppressant and an expectorant. The expectorant will make the phlegm looser, but the suppressant will reduce the body's natural cough response, making it much more difficult to clear the airways. However, it may be useful to take an expectorant during the day and a suppressant at night, to help get an undisturbed sleep.
Next time when you see your doctor for cough and cold, feel free to enquire whether the prescribed medicine is an expectorant or suppressant.
Q2. What are Decongestants? How do they work?
Answer: Decongestants are a type of medicine that can provide short-term relief for a blocked or stuffy nose (nasal congestion) caused by common cold, hay fever, flu (influenza), sinusitis, allergies etc. Decongestants come in pills, liquids, nose drops, and nasal sprays.
The medicine works in an exclusive manner. The skin lining in our nose contains many tiny blood vessels. If something irritates this lining, such as an infection or allergy, more blood flows to these vessels as part of your body's immune response, making them swell. This blocks your nasal airway, making it difficult for you to breathe through your nose (congestion). Decongestants shrink swollen blood vessels and tissues. That relieves the congestion and helps you to breathe normally or easily, however they cannot cure the underlying cause of your blocked nose, such as a cold or allergy.
It is advisable for not using decongestants for more than 3 days because body can become dependent on them. And if such drug dependence occurs on these medicines, then nose or nasal passage may feel even more stuffed up once stopped using them. This is known as the “rebound effect”.
Dr. Nitin Sharma, Pharmacist chirps: Good wishes to PSM India for generous efforts in bringing in much awaited revolution in the pharma sector of India.
Ms. Meenu Rohatgi, Academician blogs Patients need to become aware and fight for their rights in every cases of malpractice and default. PSM India has already shown the path and we should strive to follow it!
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Disclaimer : Our newsletter endeavors to compile patient safety information from various sources . PSM India may not be held responsible for any article published in The Prescription.