They contain Benzocaine and Tyrothricin - exceptionally difficult to read as it is printed in white on a yellow box.

Has anyone had any problems with these tablets? Should I throw the rest away?

Laurence in London

I don't think much of that Boots pharmacist telling you not to worry about it, especially as he knows nothing about MG......a very irresponsible attitude.

SALLY
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Margaret
South Wales
UK

Last Edited on 26-Jun-2009 10:46 AM

I don't think much of that Boots pharmacist telling you not to worry about it, especially as he knows nothing about MG.

This a product made by Boots - and the Boots website specifically has a warning abut MG in conjunction with these lozenges!

The drug information leaflet (inside the box) has:

Talk to your pharmacist or doctor:

* If you suffer from myasthenia gravis – a disease of the immune system which causes muscle weakness and tiredness
* If you have low levels of an enzyme called cholinesterase in your blood
* If you take other medicines – sulphonamide antibiotics (e.g. sulphadiazine), anticholinesterases (e.g. neostigmine).

A Google search reveals lots of stuff about this family of antibiotics and MG. Any pharmacist worth his/her pay should know about it!

Being MALE does not excuse us from the responsibilty for reading the information before taking the medicine!
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Peter Finney

MGA Chairman

Last Edited on 26-Jun-2009 8:10 AM

false reassurance given by those ingnorant to your condition.

I think it was william ossler that said-the more the ingorance the more the arrogance.

and plato, who talked about two types of (in that case physicians, but it could just as well apply to any health care peron)-those that come to the patient with a self confidence of a dictator, and know better then him about the illness and how best to manage it, and those that constantly learn from the patient and those around him about his particular illness, and together reach the best management decission.

and nitse who said that the most dangerous physicians are those that like born actors, imitate with much grace, born physicians.

pharmacists have the exact same responsibility as physicians do, to have a good understanding of their "merchandise", and they have to realize that even over the counter medications, or certain food supplements can be of harm to certain patients.

possibly, it would not be a reasonable request to ask every person that buys OTCs if they have a certain rare condition or not, but telling someone not to worry about a warning sign on a certain medication, is total lack of responsibility.

hope you feel better, and it may be a good idea to check out beforehand what types of pain medications you can take, so next time you don't have to worry about that.

and I think it is advisable not to take any OTC without checking this out first, as some would not even have such a clear warning sign.

alice

I found soluble asprin great when I had my wisdom teeth out some years ago. It's great if you swill it around your mouth before swallowing, it gives relief for a few hours. They also gave me that on the ward before I went home.

The problem you had shows how very little pharmacists must come across MG, it gives no excuse for ignorance though. I'm an auditor and am often sent to audit a system I know very little about so my first task is to document everything about the system and in many cases my initial work involves me doing some research to gain background knowledge. The very least the pharmacist should have done is admit they knew little but shown some willingness to find out. It's a disgrace telling you not to worry when they knew nothing. It's negligent & unprofessional.

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Tina
Gloucestershire UK

No I didn't realise that this could happen, I know you're a dental student so I don't doubt you are correct, but could this be because people have done something in excess, or maybe have an allergy?

I was actually on the ward of a Manchester Hospital after having my wisdon teeth removed, when I was given soluble asprin and actually told that swilling it around my mouth would relieve the soreness. It wasn't really for toothache as such but for the soreness of the gums after having teeth removed. This was 10 years ago and I know things change, but it definitely worked and I did the same for a good week or so and never got any type of blistering etc.. I assumed Loz was after something to relieve the soreness from having a tooth removed.

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Tina
Gloucestershire UK

Last Edited on 30-Jun-2009 5:13 AM