ANTIMALARIAL SUSPENSIONS

Written by : Pharm. Peter Gbuchie.

For a layman,A suspension is a liquid with small pieces of drug. The drug is not complete dissolved in the solution.

Sometimes people get carried away by the name or the price of the drug,instead of focusing on how best the drug will be administered to achieve its therapeutic effect. When you buy any drug suspension, e.g. popular antimalarial suspensions like Lonart suspension in the pharmacy, it is important to ask your pharmacist how best to use it to benefit from the product and get value for your money.

Buying a good drug and administering it wrongly can be similar to buying a fake product, if the suspension comes in a powdered form, in this case you will need to reconstitute it with purified water using the right volume of water, the product should have a mark on it where the water should be added up to, you need to add the water in parts and shake vigorously and then rinse the bottle sides to get to the required marked volume.

After this, you need to use the right measuring device to administer the suitable dose for the child, after which you need to use water to rinse of the remaining particles for the child to take. It is important you adhere strictly to the instructions to avoid treatment failure. You also need to store the products properly, preferably in a cool dry place, keep it away from direct sunlight to prevent degradation of the active constituent of the product.

When next you need to administer the products, you will need to shake it well to have a uniform mixture. Some suspensions don’t need reconstitution since they already have been mixed with the required volume of water, what you need to do is proper storage, then shake well before administering the correct dose. This information may not be new to nursing mothers; however they need to evaluate their method if it is consistent with the correct practice, also other caregivers should learn this and not just assume they know it.

A man was told to shake properly before giving a medication to his sick wife, when he got home he took the wife and started shaking her before giving her the medication.  Funny right? This shows you information when not properly understood can lead to lot of mistakes and possibly harm. What of those that swallowed suppositories assuming it to be oral capsules?

So please, don’t just assume you know it or that you are used to it, consult your pharmacist, he is the medication expert, he will tell you the right dose, the right timing, whether you need the medication in a fed or fasted stated, and other necessary information.

Remember, you have one life, so please guard it jealously with the right care and information.

Cheers!