Why You Shouldn’t Mix Alcohol with Metronidazole Pills

Many times we are told by our doctors not to combine certain medicines with other drugs and chemicals due to its potential side effects and drug interactions. Before you are prescribed with certain medicines by your doctor, you should be well aware of the precautions as well as how the medications will function so that you will know what to expect. Generally this is part of the patient safety rules. That is why you will find a leaflet packed together with the medicines you have bought so you can have something to glance on during your treatment. Leaflets contain the general instructions, precautions, the general dos and don’ts, as well as a brief list of drugs or chemical that you should never combine with your medication.

Metronidazole pills are antibacterial drugs with its sole purpose to kill and eliminate infections caused by various types of bacteria and parasites. Most of these infections can occur in the digestive tract, genital area, lungs, and other internal organs. With metronidazole pills it is easier to eliminate such body intruders by simply killing the pathogens and parasites and prevent them from coming back.

Although Metronidazole pills are very powerful and beneficial antibiotic, take note that it is still a drug that might have some drawbacks especially when taken together with other chemicals and drugs. That is why you need to discuss with your doctor about your treatment prior of taking Metronidazole pills. Among the most prohibited chemicals that you should never ingest with metronidazole is alcohol. So what makes Metronidazole pills and alcohol a dangerous combo? Read more…

End of the line for the gravy train?

Pharma giant AstraZeneca will no longer fund doctors' travel to medical congresses, becoming the first leading drugmaker to renounce this common perk.

Announcing the step at an industry conference in Istanbul, that pharma "is a force for good. But if we're honest with ourselves ... we’re often seen as the bad guys."

He cited a recent in the U.S., which found that only 11% of Americans rated big pharma as trustworthy, when even banks had scored 20%. The same poll also found, though he didn't mention it, that pharma, along with oil, was the industry Americans most wanted to regulate more strictly.

His company had resolved to address the problem by "never doing anything that could be misinterpreted," said Mr Brennan. "We have decided that we will no longer pay for doctors to attend international scientific and medical congresses but will instead focus our educational efforts on local educational opportunities for healthcare professionals."

He added an interesting take on the doctor/pharm rep relationship from the other side of the fence: "I know from my own experience as a sales representative, you will encounter people who will ask for gifts, or other inducements. And they will threaten to take their business elsewhere, if you don’t acquiesce ... we have made it clear that our sales force have to say no."

It's likely that other pharma companies will follow AstraZeneca's lead. The industry acted in a fairly coordinated manner in abandoning free gits like mugs and mousepads in recent years. And the announcement carries extra significance because Brennan, the only leading pharm CEO to come from a background in sales rather than medicine or chemistry, is also president of the the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations.

The drug industry has come under pressure recently over dealings abroad, particularly with employees of foreign public health services, including doctors. AstraZeneca and other British companies have had to contend with a new bribery act in the UK, while in the United States has been investigating big pharma under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). Johnson & Johnson last month to settle British and American charges that it paid kickbacks to win business overseas. AstraZeneca itself is being investigated under FCPA for its dealings in China.