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Tuesday, July 04, 2006

Public Health Campaign

The annual Public Health Campaign held by my now ex-uni just ended today. HY and I were bored to death sitting at home, so we decided to go kaypoh and help out a bit.

We get to pose around in our labcoats with a name tag indicating assistant counsellors scaring telling the public about gangrene and stroke and try to answer their OTC queries which is at times..err.. challenging.

Someone asked about this certain product which she herself could not pronounce or remember the name, on how to take it. Err.. I need to know the name of the product le. But nevermind, so it went like this

Me: So what do you use the product for?
X: For beauty purpose.
Me: Okay. So what do you want to clarify about?
X: I'm confused about how to use it. A pharmacist told me to take it this way but my friend told me to take it in a different way. I don't know who to listen to.
Me: (that's easy! Listen to the pharmacist la... *evil bias-me voice*). Hmm.. Since I do not know what is the product, what you could do is that, you could go to another pharmacy and ask the pharmacist. See what he says. *Out of curiosity* Btw, how do they tell you to take it?
X: My friend told me to put in water for 1 week, then mix it with porridge to take it together whereas the pharmacist said to swallow it like how I would take a pill.
Me: *eyes wide* Listen to the pharmacist.

Goodness! It is a tablet dosage form. So how would you take it?

Steps to take a tablet:

  1. Remove a tablet from the package
  2. Pour yourself a glass of plain water (can be ommited depending on your swallowing skills)
  3. Put the tablet in your mouth, specifically on the tongue
  4. Swallow the tablet with/without the readied glass of water.
  5. Did I say just swallow?

What did her friend say? Incubate it in water for a week?!?

For added chlorophyll issit?

Let's hope the preservative added is real strong and is in high concentration.

Seriously, I am kinda disappointed that she actually considered listening to her friend. I mean, the pharmacist would have the knowledge to tell her how to take and would be trained/briefed by the manufacturer or distributor on the products they are selling. So who would know better? I am not bias here, but use common sense a bit la..

So here it is, lesson #101 on common sense:

  1. Forget about listening to the pharmacist. Let's be fair. Let's say you are buying a computer and you know nuts about it. So who would you ask? Someone who know I presume. Perhaps the guy at the shop? It's the same here. At least the pharmacist can call up the distributor/manufacturer to clarify for you (because their license is at stake!). It's what they do other than standing behind the cashier.
  2. Isn't it a hassle to have your product incubated for a week before you can take it? And I am amazed the company haven't "chap lap" or closed down yet. There are so many companies out there constantly trying to outdo each other by coming up with a product that is easier to use than the other. Take for instance, why do companies come up with a single daily dose formulation? Novopen? or even a 3-in-1 Nescafe or Quaker's Oats? Because you don't have to go toast your oats, cook it, mix milk, add sugar, add salt, or whatever before you realised that you are late for work already. We all learned this in marketing and business tip #123 la.. even a non-marketing student like me is exposed to this. Aiyo.
  3. Think! Water. One week. Preservative. If a product to be taken by mouth is to be swimming in the water for a week, think what will grow? Fine, you say there are preservatives. Think again. How much preservative? How strong it is? And mind you, the water used now is not of pharmaceutical grade which means, it would have a high concentration of contaminants. So how much preservatives? (GMP rocks now!!!!)
  4. You want to mix a one week old incubated water with your porridge?!? Err... How delicious.
  5. If a product is meant to be swallowed whole with a gulp of water, just do it la. Why need to make it more difficult? Unless you got problems digesting the tablet which if so, you better go see a doc to have you guts checked out. I remembered an analogy my math teacher used to use. Imagine a spoon. Would you use the handle to eat? Lame I know. But the whole thing is lame as well!

Anyway, it's just funny and amusing. Haha. My highlight of the day!

Don't take me too seriously about lesson #101 of common sense because it's just common sense. At times, common sense doesn't work. The uncommon still exist. So there could be such a product but frankly, I think to soak/incubate a solid oral dosage form preparation in water for a week is erm.. weird. So I actually told her in the end that if she still can't make up her mind who to listen to, go ask another pharmacist whose pharmacy sells the product for a third party opinion since I have no idea what product she meant. All I know is that it is a tablet. For beauty purpose. Sounds like Bio-something-something. Anyone out there knows any beauty product that requires a week's incubation? *makes mental note to go Guardian*

All in all, the campaign was pretty good fun I must say. We enjoyed ourselves. The juniors did an impressive job and their efforts, team work, plannings, and good organising must be commended. Was very impressed with their efforts. They were prepared for the public.. serious! Most of them have not even learn CVS and yet they learn it up well for the campaign. Talk about hardworking! There are even things that they know which I don't.. Ooops! I blame it on brain wasting during the hols or they are simply smarter and more hardworking. Bahahaha..

It was nice too that you get to chit chat with your lecturers about what to expect at the working world and their experiences, a different topic now compared to when you were a student toiling for a degree. It was a good change.

Am glad I went kaypoh-ing and was a part of this campaign. Two thumbs up for the juniors! =)

posted by Charis at 1:10:00 am


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