Warning from Doctors: Don't Buy Drugs Online

Ivanhoe Newswire
Friday, August 18, 2006; 12:00 AM

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Buying drugs online may save you money, but it could cost you your health.

A new report from England highlights the problems caused by buying medication on the Internet. Researchers specifically write about one patient who severely damaged her eyesight after she took a drug she bought online for four years.

The 64-year-old woman had no family history of eye disease. Her vision had been decreasing for six months when she saw a physician. The report says she had glaucoma and cataract caused by steroid use. The woman said she had been buying the oral steroid prednisolone from an online pharmaceutical company in Thailand.

"The expansion of the Internet is relentless and, from the perspective of patients seeking information, in the main positive," write the authors. "However, the online availability of controlled and uncontrolled drug therapies needs to be carefully monitored."

Researchers warn some medication sold online may be counterfeit and contain ingredients that aren't even close to what's in the actual drug.

To help patients stay safe, the authors conclude doctors should start asking patients whether they are taking any medication purchased online.

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SOURCE: The Lancet, 2006;368:618