There is an established place to obtain prescribed medicines, i.e. visiting a pharmacy. However, more number of people, especially those who belong to generation Z, are making prescription drug purchases online using the internet.
If you too are thinking of buying medicine online, we strongly recommend you to first consult your physician instead of buying it from the internet without prescription. There are few important things one must take into account while buying medicines over the web.
When you purchase prescription only medicines online using the web, consider that,
- They might not have been prescribed by a certified healthcare professional
- They might not have passed quality checks
- In case any side-effect happens to you, there may not be any legal recourse
In the USA, medicines are supplied all across the country in several different ways. You can buy them in pharmacy stores and some are also available in supermarkets. Some medicines are supplied against a prescription only, which has to be from a qualified healthcare professional, mostly a doctor.
In addition to health benefits, all medicines pose some risks. For prescription only drugs, a qualified healthcare professional should be involved to evaluate those possible risks as well as health benefits.
“Some online sites sell prescription only drugs that may not be safe to use and can cause potential threats for the health of a user”, says a recent report by the FDA to warn consumers over online purchase of medicines
Possible Risks of Buying Prescription Drugs Online
Here are some of the potential threats of purchasing prescription only medicines from online retailers or from the start-up pharmacy portals over the web.
The medicines can be outdated
Yes, there is no guarantee that you won’t be delivered quality drugs. The online pharmacies may sell outdated or expired drugs at much lower prices, but they might be so old that they don’t serve any health benefit to you. In worse case, you can also put your health into big risk with only a small financial gain or no gain at all.
The medicines can be diluted
This applies to medicines available in liquid form. You might have order a larger dose, but liquid drug may water down over time and thus you may get a smaller dose. And thus, you won’t experience the expected health gains, as it’s just a fraction of the prescribed amount.
Delivery of mislabeled medicines
You may have ordered a reliable drug as prescribed by your doctor, but the drug you receive may be cheap counterpart or wrong drug with incorrect label on it. Even if it looks identical and save you some amount, it can pose serious health risks.
The medicines may have not been stored properly
Some medicines need to be stored in dry and cool place. Some leave their effectiveness if they are stored in extreme cold weather. In short, if medicines are not stored properly as per the guidelines of the manufacturer, they can lose their effectiveness, and worse they can turn up more dangerous for the health of users.
Creates personal & financial threats
Fraud activities such as cloning of your credit or debit card details or medicines being sold at much higher rates than the market price are common while shopping prescription only drugs online. You may also be a victim of virus attack and your system can get affected by spam emails or can get hacked.
According to a study, more than 5 million teens in the USA abuse prescription drugs. If your loved one is also suffering from prescription drug abuse, find a prescription drug addiction treatment plan today. There are many drug prescription rehab centers dotted all across the country.
Now when you know the possible risks of buying prescription drugs online, click here to learn how you can protect your loved ones from the dangerous effects of online drugs shopping.
