If there is one place I frequent to get my beauty products replenished, it is Watsons. Of course, I still go to Rustan’s Essences sometimes. But since Watsons is practically everywhere, it has long been my default go to place not just for my beauty needs but also when I need to buy some medicines.
When I got an invite from Watsons last week for an event, I came expecting that yet another interesting brand will be launched. Like similar to the Beyond Bath launched in Manila Hotel last year. Let us just say, I got more than I bargained for. I came in with the above image on the slide. While I already am partial towards Watsons, even when it comes to health products, it is great to know that there actually is a worthwhile advocacy they are pursuing.
Dr. Ancheta explained to the media present how superbug comes to existence and how it can be prevented through visuals.
Watsons Pharmacy’s Antibiotic Compliance Program is designed to make the public aware how important it is to for a patient to take the prescribed antibiotic prescription. It is common for people who are ill to stop taking antibiotics altogether as soon as they see that they are feeling better. Regardless, if they are midway towards the full course of the medication. The danger of doing this is downright alarming and I believe people should be made aware of – ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE.
Aside from Antibiotic Resistance, there is also something bigger that we all should watch out for – the super bacteria or “superbug.” The superbug is a powerful bacteria that carries several resistance genes. Thus far, it has already spread to Southeast Asia, Europe and North America. It is, to date, not curable by any known medicines since it is resistant to the most commonly prescribed antibiotics, including carbapenems, the most powerful antibiotics created by medical science.
Superbugs are especially life-threatening when they bear the New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase (or NDM-1). Beta-lactamase is an enzyme produced by superbugs that neutralizes antibiotics. The NDM-1 mutation can be passed from one type of bacteria to another, so that more and more types of bacteria may become antibiotic-resistant. Health agencies like the World Health Organization, the Center for Disease Control and even our own Department of Health have expressed concern over superbugs and their frightening potential to cause a pandemic.
The superbug may be developed inside the human body when patients do not properly use antibiotics. While antibiotics are very effective in killing bacteria, proper use is crucial. When antibiotics are used in the wrong way, not all of the bacteria are killed—the surviving bacteria then have the chance to develop mutations that make them resistant to antibiotics.
The statistics will speak for itself. It is downright alarming, to say the least.
Antibiotic misuse usually starts with self medication and includes taking the wrong type of antibiotics, skipping doses recommended by doctors or lessening the number of days of antibiotic ingestion when patients feel relief. Doing any of the above-antibiotic under dosage or over dosage- may only cause bacteria to mutate to become larger and more powerful and become the dreaded Superbug. Widespread misuse of antibiotics in the Philippines, if not stopped, will eventually create new strains of superbugs that will have no cure, endangering us all.
This totally makes the Compliance Packs Watsons has come up with very handy for us consumers. The compliance packs made by UNILAB. So we can expect to only get high quality medicines at 60% cheaper than their more popularly branded counterparts. There is also a brochure printing in every Compliance Pack that feature information about the Superbug and tips on how we can prevent it.