DrugXpert Blog

Personal protective equipment Donning (wearing) and doffing (putting off) of personal protective equipment (PPE) is not the concern of many Nigerians. They are only concerned with how to use facemask. To them, that is the concern of front line staff fighting covid-19. That is true. However, it is not only the concern of front line staff in the fight against covid-19 that is used in hard hit countries. Community pharmacies and their staff have learned to use them as they tend to protect themselves. So it is good to learn how to use a PPE as a health care worker. Because you do not know when it may be necessary when we consider the rate at which the infection is spreading. It may get to that level soon. Most PPE are disposable. Especially the gown and the gloves. Some facemask, boots and goggles are reusable. The proper use of the PPE ensures health care workers are safe. Most of the health care workers that got infected confess that they did not know the proper way to use the PP...

Covid-19 could be transmitted through drinking water! will be the most devastating news headline. For now there is no such news. Let's pray it remains so. Because if it is water borne disease like some viruses, expect the worst. The idea came to my mind the day I bought bottle water. As I opened it to cool my mind and quench my thirst, a dirty thought came over me. What if the worker at the water factory is infected and asymptomatic? What if the worker sneezes in the water before sealing? What if the water process is contaminated with covid-19? What if I drink this water? What if I could get infected from drinking the water? What if…. Read Also : 5g cannot be the cause of covid-19 or covid-19 related death Let us look at what scientists are saying about covid-19 and drinking water. The covid-19 virus has been shown to survive outside a living tissue or cell. Depending on the surface and environmental factors, it can survive for hours to days. The maximum that has been deter...

They keep taking covid-19 patients to isolation centers. They say covid-19 does not have a cure. This raises some questions in the minds of Nigerians. Why don't they leave these patients at home? What are they giving them as treatment in the isolation centers? Isolation centers These questions deserve answers. This blog post will do well to answer those questions. Read Also : Strategies adopted by Nations in the fight against covid-19 Samples of suspected covid-19 patients are taken from them at their houses. Some of them walk into the isolation center for tests. Unconfirmed cases are held at a tent outside with a bed. They remain here until their case is confirmed positive or negative. Those who test negative both in their houses or in the tent are encouraged to observe all the prevention of the covid-19. Those in the tent are sent home. Confirmed cases are divided into three categories. They are asymptomatic, mild and critical cases. Asymptomatic and mild cases sha...

Isolation There have been doubts about covid-19 in Nigeria. The major debate was the identity of those infected. However, as news of it's spread keeps increasing daily, other questions have been raised. Many Nigerians are unsure how the fatality rate in Nigeria is so small compared to other countries. They wonder what is the treatment in Nigeria and if it is different from other countries. This blog post will find an answer to that. Read Also : Why choose 14 days for quarantine Covid-19 is a viral infection that can infect the lungs. Not everybody that is infected will develop symptoms. The body has a natural immune system in place to fight off infection. The body develops most of these immune systems from previous infection. Some people have a stronger immune system than others. There are various reasons for that. The major thing is a healthy lifestyle and good health. Those with weak immune systems can boost it with drugs. When a person is infected with covid-19, the b...

Tuxil is a group of cough syrup products common in Nigeria. They target both children and adults. They are labeled with letters. The letters have meaning. Focus is on tuxil N and D. Cough is a common condition in Nigeria. It affects people of all ages, tribes and backgrounds. It is more common during the rain with small cases during the dry season. There are different types of cough depending on the symptoms. The two major categories are the dry unproductive cough and the wet productive cough. Read Also : Difference between postinor 1, 2, 4 and 10 There is no cure for cough. The condition is self limiting. Treatment depends on managing the symptoms. There are several remedies for cough depending on the type. Focus today is on cough syrups for day and nighttime. An example is tuxil D and N. Tuxil N Cough Syrup Tuxil N stands for nighttime. It is a cough syrup most suitable for nighttime administration. It contains dextromethorphan, an antihistamine from the chlorphenira...

Covid-19 pandemic has raised a lot of questions. The world health organization (WHO) doesn't have answers to the majority of these questions. It is due to the fact that not much is known about the virus. This has led so many to seek answers elsewhere. Answers are coming in from different kinds of people. Some are well educated. Some of these answers contradict the WHO stance. One of the most asked questions is how do one prevent covid-19? WHO Covid-19 Prevention WHO has always listed out how to prevent covid-19. The prevention method include: WHO Guide 1STAY home as much as you can 2KEEP a safe distance 3WASH hands often 4COVER your cough 5DECONTAMINATE surfaces 5SICK? Call ahead Read Also : How pharmacist can prevent covid-19 at work However, many people believe that a good health (immune) can help prevent the infection. Others posit that it will help to reduce the severity of the infection. Why this is not among the prevention methods of covid-19 by the ...

Pharmacists are part of essential staff working at various sectors fighting covid-19. Those in the industry are working with the virus searching for a drug or vaccine that will offer cure. Those in the regulatory sectors work with those in the industry coordinating their research. The other sets are the hospital and community pharmacy. The hospital pharmacy works with front line medical doctors sometimes solving puzzles of this new disease. Community pharmacies attend to people who want simple over-the- counter drugs (OTC) or prescription only medicine (POM). Pharmacists in all sectors are exposed to covid-19. However, the degree of exposure varies. Industrial pharmacists work with, in most cases, killing viruses and they usually wear full personal protective equipment (PPE). Same goes to regulatory pharmacists. However, this is not the case with hospitals and community pharmacies that deal with both Covid-19 patients and patients whose health status is not known. Read Also : ...

Covid-19 (coronavirus) is a pandemic in many countries including Nigeria. It was discovered in 2019 in the city of Wuhan, China. There is no cure or prevention for it yet. The only solution is to test and isolate positive persons while managing their symptoms. Covid-19 test Since many people are either asymptomatic or have mild symptoms, it may be difficult to know those who are infected. Such ones can go about spreading the virus to more vulnerable groups. To avoid this, it is good to test as many as possible. Read Also : Steps to stop to spread of covid-19 around the world In the beginning due to the unavailability of test kits, the test was available for free to those who come in from high risk countries or have had contact with a confirmed case. However, community transmission on the rise test has made them to expande it to include those who are having covid-19 symptoms in high risk areas. The first test was designed in January, 2020 by the center for disease control (...

Chloroquine and Covid-19 Ever since covid-19 was discovered, the race for a cure or vaccine began. Unfortunately, it takes years for a new drug or vaccine to be researched and developed. All eyes turn to already existing drugs. Chloroquine For Covid-19 Some years ago when another virus was discovered, the world scientist did research on a possible treatment from existing drugs. Some of the drugs did show effect on the virus in the laboratory. However, before further studies the disease went to way it came without a drug or vaccine. Read Also : Covid-19 vaccine underway As the recent covid-19 started to have a devastating effect on the world, those scientists picked up from their old research as the covid-19 virus is similar to the other virus that caused the previous disease. They followed up on many of those drugs that had some level of effect on the other virus. One of the drugs that showed some level of effect on covid-19 is chloroquine in the laboratory. Chloroquine...

Facemask decontamination COVID-19 pandemic brought about so many problems. With limited availability of personal protective equipment (PPE) for health care workers, there is a major shift for alternatives. One area many people are looking at is how long can this equipment be used and if possible reuse. This is because the manufacturer recommendation for most of these equipment are usually one for a patient after which they are properly disposed of. But that cannot be possible in a pandemic. When a medical doctor is required to see up to 100 COVID-19 patients in a hospital, changing PPE for each patient will cost the country a huge amount of money. The current recommendation now is to use one for all the patients and dispose of them properly. Presently, the health care system of most countries have been overstretched and that is not even feasible right now. Read Also: Types of facemasks The last alternative is to decontaminate. There is no approved decontamination method....