The Internet has made our lives more intelligent and convenient, and the drugs we need in our lives can be purchased online, but many people are also concerned about whether they will buy fake and shoddy drugs.
The most effective way to identify counterfeit and substandard drugs is to identify authenticity through rigorous drug testing. However, in the case that we do not have the conditions for drug testing, how can we use the naked eye to identify the authenticity of drugs? Pharmacists summarize the following "five looks" to teach you quick and simple identification.
One look: drug approval number
The drug approval number is the legal approval certificate of a drug by the drug regulatory department for a specific manufacturer according to the statutory standards, production process and production conditions, and each variety of each manufacturer has a specific approval number.
The drug approval number is not allowed to be changed at will. To put it simply, the approval number is the only one for the ID number of the drug. The unified format of the approval number of mainland drugs is composed of H(Z, S, J) + 8 digits of the national drug approval word, and each specification of each drug corresponds to an approval number;
Second look: production batch number and expiration date
The production batch number is actually a batch number of the drugs produced by the same feeding and the same production process in the production process of the drug by the production unit.
The batch number represents the production date and batch, and the expiration date and storage time of the drug can be deduced from the batch number, and it is convenient for the sampling inspection of the drug, and also represents the quality of the batch of drugs.
To put it simply, the production batch number is generally the factory date or serial number of the batch of drugs. On the packaging of qualified drugs, there are laser printed product batch numbers, production dates and expiration dates, all three of which are indispensable. Counterfeit drugs often have missing items or mimeographed batch numbers and dates.
Three looks: whether there are manufacturers
If there are no three of the above, it is regarded as a "three-no product"
The name, address, zip code, telephone number, website and other contents of the manufacturer should be indicated in detail in the outer packaging or instructions of all drugs, and some also have a special hotline for authenticity inquiry to facilitate patients to contact and inquire. Counterfeit drugs, on the other hand, may be incomplete or fabricated.
Four looks: the outer packaging of drugs
Drug packaging is one of the important measures to ensure quality and safety, and it is also one of the important ways for consumers to understand drug information.
In order to ensure the safety and effectiveness of drugs, the state has formulated strict regulations on the management of packaging outside drugs. The appearance of the packaging of qualified drugs is pure in color, beautifully printed and legible. The outer packaging of counterfeit drugs has poor texture, impure appearance color, rough font and pattern printing, and blurred anti-counterfeiting marks. The aluminum foil board for packaging drugs is printed with pure colors, clear handwriting and neat edges.
The edges of the counterfeit medicine are not neat, and the printed handwriting is somewhat blurred and ghosted, and the words are of different shades.
Five looks: the appearance of the drug
The appearance quality inspection of drugs is to determine the quality of drugs through human vision, touch, hearing, smell and other sensory tests, and to inspect the appearance and shape of drugs, drug packaging, containers, and labels. Fake tablets are uneven in color, spotted, and the sugar coating is faded and exposed, cracked, etc. The fake granules are glued into lumps and do not dissolve easily. The ointment is dehydrated, moldy or has a rancid odor.
Reviewer: Ji Bo, chief pharmacist of the Southern Theater General Hospital of the Chinese People's Liberation Army
Author: Pharmacist in charge of the Southern Theater General Hospital, Qiu Guoli, Tan Kaili