The dangers of buying medication over the internet

Why should you listen to me?

My name is Bond, Dr. James Bond, I am a health and fitness expert and a Sheffield Star fitness columnist. I have also been featured in the Daily Mail. I work with people who want to improve their quality of life- particularly those who want to lose weight. What makes my service different is that I am the only personal fitness trainer in the North of England who is a qualified medical doctor. Therefore I can take on the general public and super high risk cases that other fitness professionals will not dare like this lady the case of Deborah Fox.

The dangers of weight loss medication (or any medication for that matter) bought over the internet

I was very saddened to see this story of this lady who died by taking unlicensed weight loss medication.

Speaking as a former doctor I would say that it is just as dangerous as putting a loaded gun to your head.

Consider this. Many people have told me why it go and see a doctor when they can put their symptoms into a computer diagnose themselves and buy the appropriate medication off the Internet?

This is my argument.

Identical signs and symptoms

Many unrelated medical conditions can have the same signs and symptoms. My favorite is the heart attack. It can present as indigestion. The treatment of both conditions is very different and any failure to get the correct diagnosis can be fatal.

Pain in the hip can be caused by a problem in the knee and vice versa. Ear problems can present as a problems with your teeth.

Only a skilled doctor can tell.

Training

This lady like many who has bought medication online is a layman.

A doctor undergoes five years of rigorous undergraduate medical education. During that time of the student the doctor in training is exposed to thousands of patients with a wide variety of conditions.

The student doctor most pass some tough exams in order to qualify. After that the doctor undergoes a internship for two years under close supervision.

Lets assume the doctor wants tobecome a family doctor (for our friends in the United Kingdom) a general practitioner. The doctor must undergo a Vocational Training Scheme around 3 -5 years in length and again pass some exams.

Assessment of the patient

On seeing to a patient the doctor will take a full history, examine the patient and if need be perform some investigations.

If appropriate the doctor will prescribe medication. The doctor will only prescribe medication that has undergone rigorous testing for safety efficacy toxicity effectiveness and cost. That medication must be approved by the Committee of Safety of Medicines

The doctor will prescribe a drug will according to the dosage and frequency as put in the British National formulary or MIMS- a similar resource for family physicians in the UK. Both contain all the necessary guidelines for doctor

Enter the pharmacist

The prescription is then taken to a pharmacy. It will be dispensed by a states registered pharmacist who has undergone four years undergraduate training and a one year internship. The undergraduate training of a pharmacist is equally rigorous and thorough as a doctor. If there is any problem with drug interaction the pharmacist can liaise with the doctor and make any changes.

The pharmacist will only dispense medication from a safe pure source which has been licensed by the government.

The doctor can call the patient back for a review if need be or refer to a more specialist colleague

Bypassing all those safety checks

If you buy any medication of any description over the internet you are bypassing all those steps and you are dicing with death- literally