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capsule moment

GREECE DRUG RECYCLING:

In Europe, most medications are dispensed in a manufacturer-packed blister format.  Greece is in the middle of a real economic crisis and there are millions who just can’t afford medicaions.  One man decided to do something about the millions of euros of medication that go unused.  He set up a website whereby a person with unused medications will take a picture of the box including expiry date and lot number.  They send this information to the website then bring the medication into one of 65 “social” pharmacies in Athens for checking by a pharmacist.  When someone in need has a prescription they can’t afford to fill, they go to the social pharmacy and the pharmacist will match up the prescription with donated unused medications.  It seems to work.  In Canada, most pharmacists meet with the problem of a person buying a prescription, takes a couple of doses then can’t tolerate the drug and brings it back for a refund.  I remember my first exposure to this was a young woman who bought three months of birth control pills but couldn’t tolerate them so wanted to bring two months back.  I tried to explain how once they leave the pharmacy they are out of our control as to storage and suggested that if I gave her returned pills that perhaps had been exposed to high heat, would she want to use them?  The point was made and in the end we took them back and gave her a break on her next prescription.

ASA:

 This is still one of the most researched drugs in the world with about 1000 clinical studies being done each year.  The history goes back to the Sumerians and Egyptians who used willow bark for aches and pains.  Hippocrates administered willow bark tea to women during childbirth.  In the mid-18th century, it was found to be useful in reducing fevers. It was in 1853 that chemical structure of salicylic acid was determined by a French chemist, Charles Gerhardt and he was first   to chemically synthesize acetylsalicylic acid.  This was in 1853 and it took another 44 years for the Bayer company to produce ASA commercially.  Interestingly, the brand name Aspirin was chosen as follows….“A” is for acetyl, “spir” is from the derived source of salicin, the plant called Spiraea ulmaria and the “in” was a common suffix used for drugs at that time.

ACTIVE-10 FITNESS IDEA:

 I’m not sure whether this method is easier than the 10,000 steps but you certainly will get a better cardiac workout than just ambling around so your pedometer or FitBit reads 10,000 steps.

It does take self-discipline to work in 3 brisk walks a day but like any habit, it can be done.  I’m going to try this and I can see that once I start, I probably will go for longer than 10 minutes or perhaps walk briskly for ten minutes then slow to a regular pace to another 10 minutes.  I’ll keep you posted on how I progress.