Pharmacists told not to sell drugs without prescription

Coimbatore: The deputy director of public health on Thursday instructed a group of pharmacists not to sell any medicines for viral infections without prescriptions, especially dengue. Pharmacists were instructed to recommend patients go to hospitals and inform the health department if they come across a dengue patient.

Speaking to 110 pharmacists in the city, she said not to sell any over the counter medication that pertains to cold, cough and fever without a prescription. “We are mainly targeting this instruction at pharmacists from rural areas, because it is patients there who sometimes come to hospitals late for treatment,” Dr Bhanumathi said. “We have also requested them to carefully study prescriptions and ascertain if it has the doctor’s register number, and if it was issued by a real doctor or a quack,” she said.

The director said that though “actual medication for dengue was initially just ORS solution and paracetamols, some pharmacies give non-steroidal anti-inflammatory category drugs even for fever which causes bleeding and leads to a patient deteriorating”.

Pharmacists in their role to combat dengue and deaths due to it, were also instructed to keep their surroundings clean and ensure their refrigerators are working properly without water stagnation. “We have asked them to also ensure there is no water stagnation in any other part of the premises,” she said.