ibuprofen & ibuprofen

[xibeca]

Ok maybe I am wrong. I don't really know how it works here in Argentina.

Jenh, how do you know you had an allergic reaction to the generic medication and not the actual medication?

 

[DCfam]

I can say nothing about if/how this goes down in Argentina, but companies have every incentive in the world to skimp on ingredients - especially if things are poorly labeled. No doubt in countries with decent enforcement generics are just as good, but when there is reason to suspect corruption you should be cautious.

 

[jenh]

It's a medication that I use regularly that would be very very rare for anyone to be allergic to - my doctor said that it was a reaction to one of the additives.

 

[Roxana]

If we are talking about ibuprofen, here the usual dose for adults is 400 mg, instead of the 200 mg usual in the US. There are different brands with different prices. The process to sell medicines here is quite different than in other countries. For instance in Buenos Aires a pharmacy can buy the ibuprofen with a huge discount (40-80% off) so the pharmacy decides how much is going to charge the medicine to the public.

The other medicine mentioned above, I think it was naproxeno, is available without a prescription, just asking over the counter.

I dont know if ANMAT has enought financial resources to perform quality controls in samples of medicines or visiting laboratories like its counterpart in the US (FDA) but the argentinian laboratories dont want to get involved in any scandal, or get products out of the market, or get closed to manufacture medicines. So, the argentinian industry works pretty well. ANMAT is very strict regarding the approval of a new medicine, generic or not. It follows international standards, the US or UK pharmacopeia, for instance.

Personally, I had allergic reections to an excipient while living in the US, so that is not exclusive of this country.

 

[TrevorCito]

I see in shops like Farmacity a whole display of ibuprofen, all are 400mg tablets/capsules. Some are double the price of others, same dosage.
Any notable differences?

I haven't seen naproxen here, I'm guessing you have to get it from the pharmacist.

My family buys and uses the cheapest one sold by farmacity. It's not on display at the checkout. You'll find it tucked way up the back.

It's a fraction the price of well known brands and works just fine. Some say the genetics cannot be trusted but I figure that more expensive doesn't necessarily mean higher quality and who's to say that the known brands source quality ingredients?

 

[clooz]

Ibuprofen comes enterically coated or without in the US. Its worth paying more for coated to reduce the side effect of internal bleeding, other things being equal.

Re quality control during manufacturing. The variations in manufacturing quality are going to be as big a source of variance in quality as of the out-sourced components. I see no evidence that brand name manufacturers have more reliable out-sources nor manufacturing, nor that the FDA is sufficiently funded to monitor them. The liability and PR problem for the brand name caused by any pharmaceutical is the only real deterrent I see.

 

[mendozanow]

I am not a medical doctor, but have done health volunteer work throughout Latin America.

False medication apart, I am amazed at how much female menstruation pain relief is marketed with such hype here. Ibuprofen is ibuprofen, but if it is marketed and packaged as feminine, they mark up the prices and they go for it.

I am amazed at how hypochrondriac people in Latin America are, especially the women. They want a pill for every little discomfort. At least people in Argentina do not fall for the vitamin-prescription crap pushed by certain pharmaceutical companies that is so common in Central America. After living in Central America, my estimation of Argentine doctors is very high.

 

[mcaffa]

I am amazed at how hypochrondriac people in Latin America are

Honestly, I think it is even worse in the US. Many of the folks back home who I know live on over-the-counter meds and inhalers, Claritin, Allegra, antibiotics, Zoloft, Prozac, the list goes on.....

Since I've been living in Latin America, I take A LOT less medication then I did when I was back in the States. I either ride it out until I'm better or try natural remedies before I go running to the doctor for pills.