2024 Author: Steven Freeman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 08:15
We place a lot of trust in our doctors and pharmacists. But these and other medical professionals are only human, meaning they're not immune to making mistakes. That's what one woman from the UK learned the hard way, when she found herself battling chemical injuries after she was mistakenly given erectile dysfunction (ED) cream for a dry eye condition.
According to December's BMJ Case Reports journal, the woman, from Glasgow, went to the emergency room with eye pain, blurred vision, swelling and redness. Doctors realized that she had accidentally been given Vitaros, or ED cream, instead of the eye moisturizer VitA-POS.
She was originally given a handwritten prescription for VitA-POS, but her pharmacist mistakenly read it as Vitaros.
The mild chemical injury caused by the ED cream was treated by ER docs with topical antibiotics, steroids and lubricants. Thankfully, it cleared up in a few days.
The report about her case urges doctors to use block capitals in their handwritten prescriptions to avoid errors. It also states: “Prescribing errors are common, and medications with similar names and packaging increase risk. However, it is unusual in this case that no individual (including the patient, general practitioner or dispensing pharmacist) questioned erectile dysfunction cream being prescribed to a female patient, with ocular application instructions.”
Though much research has explored the prevalence of prescription errors, the data varies significantly depending on location, age group and socioeconomic status. One thing the data from previous studies does point to, however, is that prescription errors are not uncommon.
Take your health into your own hands by double checking what your pharmacist gives you. Write down the name and dosage of the medication your doctor is prescribing while you're still in their office, and cross-check it with the medication your pharmacist gives you. If you think something seems off, voice your concerns to both your pharmacist and doctor.
Recommended:
Children In Spain Develop Wolf Syndrome Due To Medication
At least 17 children have been affected by the error of a pharmacist
Woman, 21, Who Gouged Out Eyes While On Drugs Speaks Out Nearly A Year Later: 'I Can't Give Up
Nearly a year ago, Kaylee Muthart horrified the world when she gouged out her own eyes during a meth-induced psychotic episode. Hallucinating wildly during the Feb. 6 incident, the 21-year-old from Anderson, South Carolina, ripped out her own eyeballs, squishing them in her hands while a shocked onlooker struggled to restrain her.
Woman Who Observed The Solar Eclipse With Defective Lenses Suffered A Crescent-shaped Burn In One Of Her Eyes
The total eclipse of the sun in August was accompanied by a warning that was widely covered in the media: do not observe the sun without protective glasses. What had the least coverage, according to Dr. Avnish Deobhakta, was how to choose the right protective glasses and that lack of information was the source of a case study that the assistant professor of ophthalmology at the Icahn School of Medicine of the Mount Sinai Hospital published Thursday in JAMA Ophthalmology.
50-year Prison Sentence Given To Mother For Poisoning Her Son
The 35-year-old woman will spend half a century in the shade over the death of her 5-year-old son and burning the corpse to hide the crime
Ana Patricia Shares The Exercises That Have Given Her Figure
Ana Patricia shares the exercises with which she models her "bubbles" and "abdomen" (VIDEO)
