Difficulty following an exact dosage

Problems with the use of treatments are common: tablets that are difficult to break, dosage complicated to achieve with precision, etc. Medicines often have defects.

How to properly measure a spoonful of syrup or how to perfectly cut a tablet in two? Géraldine Zamansky, journalist at Health Magazine on France 5, provides some answers.

franceinfo: The independent medical review Prescribe highlights this month the defects of many drugs. What about it?

Indeed, the quality of a drug does not only depend on the molecule it contains. If its shape and/or packaging is poorly designed, it may lose effectiveness and safety. Among the great classics, the spoon of syrup. The one supplied with the bottle does not always allow a very precise dosage. It is to alert people to this type of problem that the independent review Prescribe makes a classification of the packaging of medicines each year. With for 2023 still 39 red cards and only 2 “palms” of congratulations.

Do red cards signal real dangers?

Yes. Dangers as real as they are varied, as explained by Florence Chapelle, responsible for writing Prescribe. For some, it is because of a cap that is easy for a child to open, especially when they may want to take it alone because it is “their” cough syrup, but with a risk of poisoning. ! Another problem: the poor readability of the molecules present in the medicine on its box, knowing that not everyone reads the instructions. This is the case for a famous product against colds containing pseudo-ephedrine whose use the health authorities have just advised against due to cases of stroke or heart attack. Also pay attention to the absence of the warning logo for pregnant women on the box of a treatment for attention disorders that is increasingly prescribed to adults. Early in pregnancy, it can lead to heart defects.

Did you say it, there are also rewards?

Yes ! I will focus on the one that welcomes the progress of a nasal spray against peak pain in cancer patients. Before, underlines Florence Chapelle, no device limited the quantities taken, even though this medication contains fentanyl, from the famous family of opioids responsible for serious addictions. Its overdose can be serious, even fatal. The laboratory has integrated an electronic system into its bottle which prevents more than 2 sprays close together, and the spray then remains blocked for 2 hours. Real security for patients whose level of pain sometimes reduces the ability to protect themselves from excess.

For further : all results on Prescrire.