BajaNomad

No more antibiotics without a prescription

arrowhead - 3-24-2010 at 07:41 PM

Some may not know that no prescription is needed to purchase common antibiotics in Mexico. Normally, a sick person would go to a pharmacy, tell the pharmacist what the symptoms were, and the pharmacist would sell him what he thought was the proper antibiotic. The thinking was that since people are poor, they might not be able to afford to go to a doctor first, so antibiotics should be made available over-the-counter. Starting April 1, 2010, Mexico has changed its laws to require a doctor's prescription to purchase antibiotics.

http://mx.news.yahoo.com/s/24032010/90/n-mexico-abril-mas-an...

Good Timing, I guess.

MrBillM - 3-24-2010 at 11:03 PM

Just this month I re-supplied my stockpile of Ampicillin and Amoxicillin. Wish I'd bought more now at $15.00 per 100/500mg.

Probably bad news for the Farmacias.

Bajahowodd - 3-25-2010 at 12:46 PM

Just who is a doctor in Mexico? For years, I've noticed many farmacias have an either in-house consultorio, or one adjacent. The people in there "write" prescriptions. Fees are from zero to nominal. So, is anything going to change?

DENNIS - 3-25-2010 at 12:58 PM

There are prescriptions, then there are prescriptions. Those for class A narcotics such as Valium are a triplicate form and very tightly controlled by the government. I knew a doctor who worked for IMSS, Social Security, [probably not something he would add to his resume] and he explained it to me. The doctors have to pay for every one of these scrips they write.
On the other hand, most scrips they write only look like the real thing, illegible handwriting...fancy letterheads etc, but in fact arn't prescriptions. The items being prescribed in those actually don't require a scrip. You'll notice the person working in the pharmacy will return the faux scrip to the customer.

If this new regulation is implemented, lots of things will have to change first. I doubt that anything will change. Mexicans have been doctoring themselves forever and it has worked well.

monoloco - 3-25-2010 at 01:18 PM

In a way, it's probably a good thing, so many people I know here take antibiotics every time they get a sniffle, sore throat, cough, or stomach ache. They're so over used that many bacterias have. become increasingly resistant to common antibiotics. Folks need to realize that antibiotics aren't the answer to every illness.

The Answer ?

MrBillM - 3-25-2010 at 04:36 PM

It's always worked for me. No problemas.

Except for one Twenty years ago.

Didn't read the warnings closely enough on Tetracycline. After a day of sailing off San Diego, I ended up with the worst Sunburn I'd ever had.

Well offset by the number of infected wounds cured over the years.

Speaking of which, Overkill with Antibiotics is the Mexican way with the Docs there. My wife had an infected toe which we had treated in San Felipe. He gave her a prescription for a Killer Antibiotic that our American Doc said wasn't even legal in the U.S.

DENNIS - 3-25-2010 at 05:42 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by MrBillM
Speaking of which, Overkill with Antibiotics is the Mexican way with the Docs there. My wife had an infected toe which we had treated in San Felipe. He gave her a prescription for a Killer Antibiotic that our American Doc said wasn't even legal in the U.S.


How did it go with the toe?

BajaBlanca - 3-25-2010 at 06:41 PM

I hope nothing changes ...we do overkill with prescriptions in the States ... I personally almost never EVER take medicaton, but it is nice to know it is easy to get here in Baja, when needed ....and not have to wait months just to see a doc !! You should have seen the nightmare we lived thru trying to get BajaLes a doctor's appt with a cardiologist while calling from inside a hospital in Europe .... I never ever want to go thru that again ...

The Toe

MrBillM - 3-25-2010 at 06:44 PM

She's still got it. Healed fine.

Whether or not it would have healed with a different approach, quien sabe ?