The Pill House Pharmacy

18/02/2022

Some info on why our gov chose 8 weeks as the interval between vaccines for 5-11 years old.

With many parents bringing their kids for their Covid Vaccinations, some of them may realise that the children will need to wait 2 months (instead of the usual 3-4 weeks we waited for the adult Pfizer vaccine) for their next shot.

CDC in USA has stated in its site that the next dose should preferably be administered 21 days after the 1st dose. The link can be found here:https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/info-by-product/pfizer/downloads/Pfizer_PED_PrepAdmin.pdf

So why is Malaysia asking our kids to wait 5 weeks longer than the CDC recommendation?

Turns out, Malaysia is doing what's BEST for the kids, based on 2 main reasons.

1. Dragging out the interval to 8 weeks may reduce the risk of developing heart related problems like myocarditis and pericarditis (which was widely publicized although rare), based on researches like this https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/964611

2. An extended interval may also improve immunogenicity and vaccine effectiveness. Newer data suggests that antibody responses were higher following an extended interval (6–14 weeks). Hospitalization rates also reduced for those who got the 2nd shot 6-8 weeks apart.

Source:https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/acip/meetings/downloads/slides-2022-02-04/12-COVID-Oliver-508.pdf

Other countries like Canada have also opted for the 8 week interval like us.

So rest assured that the people up in our Ministry of Health know their stuff! Happy vaccinating!

04/10/2020

08/02/2020

How alcohol hand sanitizers work

Almost everyone now knows that alcohol sanitisers are able to inactivate coronaviruses, and the influenza viruses.

But have you ever wondered how alcohol really stops the virus? Does it "yam seng" it to death? Does it really "destroy" the virus to bits and pieces?

The pictogram below gives you a summary (for those who don't like to read that much).

The following paragraphs however go into a long winded essay for people who really really want to know more.

Now where were we...

With us being Malaysians and all, I'll try using the durian fruit to explain how alcohol affects the virus.

The coronavirus has an outer layer called the envelope, and on this envelope are a lot of spiky proteins-- very much like the thorns of the durian. These spikes are proteins with very specific shapes, that will attach to their receptors in the target cells. In the case of the 2019 n-CoV, the target cells are the lung cells.

When we use alcohol (best being ethanol) at percentages 60-95%, the alcohol starts to denature these spiky proteins. At concentrations between 75%-95%, this denaturing action peaks.

Denaturing of proteins here mean that the alcohol breaks the weaker hydrogen bonds in the big protein molecules, making them change in shape and configuration.

When these spikes lose their unique shape, they become unable to attach to their receptors. Imagine the durian spikes becoming deformed, becoming something like a tarap, or some ugly durian.

Now a virus with it's spikes denatured can't infect anymore hosts. But it is not killed. Not destroyed by alcohol. It is merely inactivated. This ugly durian (or in actuality virus) will be left to wander the earth ugly but harmless, until it is destroyed by other agents like Ultra violet light etc

And that's it. Hope it helps you understand how your handy hand sanitisers work!

14/11/2019

28/08/2019

There's been a new trend in snorting right now...just...it's not what you think

Yep. Insulin up your nose.

Before you start thinking whether our pharmacists are high on some drugs, let us explain what we mean.

The story began when a lady in her 70's came into one of our branches asking to buy a specific brand of insulin. We talked about her dosage, but she surprised us by telling us she does not inject the insulin.

She shoots it up her husband's nose. Not kidding here.

Our pharmacists were shocked, and asked her why she did that. However, she just smiled, and mysteriously left when we decided that we couldn't sell insulin for this weird purpose.

She did left us puzzled as to why anybody would shoot insulin up their noses though. And I was feeling nosy enough that day to do some digging (get it? 😝).

It turns out that she was using insulin to (drumroll please) try to treat her husband's Alzheimer's Disease.

DISCLAIMER: DO NOT TRY TO IMITATE WHAT YOU'RE ABOUT TO READ IN THE FOLLOWING PARAGRAPHS. ALL THE INFORMATION HERE ARE EXPERIMENTAL AND HAS NOT BEEN APPROVED FOR MEDICAL USE. IT IS NOT A CURE FOR ALZHEIMER'S.

Okay, back to our story.

Yes, there is indeed some research going on to see if Insulin can improve Alzheimer's Disease.

In 2012, there was a study lead by Suzanne Craft that looked at the effect of inhaled insulin on patients with Alzheimer's disease. In her study, the researchers found that inhaling insulin using a special device did, in fact, improve the working memory of their subjects. Working memory refers to the ability to retain and process new information.

Her study can be found following this link: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3260944/

Following that study, there were many research papers done reviewing the potential of insulin and it shows that Insulin holds promise to become one of the agents that could be used to help treat Alzheimer's Disease.

Before you rush out to pester your doctors on prescribing insulin, do bear in mind that this is very much still in the research stage. In 2018 Suzanne Craft had another paper published on the same subject, but it is still in its early stages.

Furthermore, the formulation of the insulin used in the study might be different from the injectable type we have in the market, so we do not recommend trying any of this yourself. And more importantly, INSULIN IS NOT A CURE FOR ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE. The findings merely shows improvement in working memory---which is very different from an actual cure.

To reiterate our point, we are sharing this with our readers purely out of scientific interests. NOBODY should be shooting up any insulin up their noses, whatever the reason is.

And that's the end of this bizarre piece of news. We apologise for not translating this piece into other languages as some of the terms used here prove too hard to be translated accurately by our admin. All inconveniences are regretted.

15/02/2019

Panadol? Uphamol?

Every single person here must have at some time in their lives taken paracetamol. But many people do not know its true properties.

Did you know it doesn't cure diziness, does not cure the flu? Or did you know that it does not even stop a runny nose?

Here we discuss the myths, the facts and the precautions you need to know when taking paracetamol.

Panadol? Uphamol?

Every single person here must have at some time in their lives taken paracetamol. I myself as a pharmacist take paracetamol and give it to my children. But many people do not know its true properties.

Did you know it doesn't cure dizziness, does not cure the flu? Or did you know that it does not even stop a runny nose?

But it IS good for fever. It IS good for pain relief.

Here we discuss the myths, the facts and the precautions you need to know when taking paracetamol.

19/01/2019

Below is a picture of a garbage collector hurting his arm while helping us do our “dirty work”. Even before most of us are awake, they are already out clearing our trash in the wee early mornings. Getting cut or pricked, and worse, getting infected is NOT what they signed up for.

But then again, you may argue;

“If not the trash can, where do we throw our needles? Our lancets? Our sharps? We can’t recycle these!”

And you were probably right. Most of our patients that use injections in their daily lives won’t have a proper way to dispose their sharps....UNTIL NOW.

Georgetown pharmacy is offering to dispose the needles and lancets of our customers for free, through the proper waste disposal channels.

If you buy the any sharp products from
Us, you can let us dispose it properly, safely.

Talk to our pharmacists in any branch near you, and get further info how you can protect your loved ones and our garbage collectors from sharps injuries TODAY

07/01/2019

Normal saline does not kill germs!

Panadol Soluble doesn't stop the flu!

Surprised?

Read our article in the link below to demystify some common myths and misconceptions about medicine.🙂

This is a continuation of the article I wrote a couple of months ago. You can read the 1st part here. 6. Normal saline (0.9% sodium Chloride) is used to kill germs on our wounds. Many of my customers like to believe that salt can kill germs. While it is true for the case of preserved foods, normal s...

01/01/2019

Happy New Year everyone! If your New Year's resolution has the word "healthy" and "eat right in it, here's the video for you 🙂

This video is about the "Plate Method" - the simplest possible way for a Diabetic to eat right wherever they are. Share it with all your diabetic friends so that they too can eat healthy.

14/11/2018

The theme for World Diabetes Day for 2018 and 2019 is The Family and Diabetes.

We urge families to learn more about the warning signs of diabetes. Despite the majority of people surveyed having a family member with diabetes, an alarming four-in-five family members would have trouble recognising the warning signs. One-in-three wouldn’t spot them at all.

The warning signs can include: excessive thirst, frequent urination, a lack of energy, blurred vision, slow healing wounds, and numbness in the feet and/or hands.

Left untreated or unmanaged, diabetes can lead to life-changing complications. These include blindness, amputation, kidney failure, heart attack and stroke. Diabetes was responsible for four million deaths in 2017.

Many with type 2 diabetes are diagnosed too late when complications are already present. This is unacceptable and needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency.”

Talk to our friendly yet professional pharmacists on duty today to learn more about diabetes.

The theme for World Diabetes Day for 2018 and 2019 is The Family and Diabetes.

We urge families to learn more about the warning signs of diabetes. Despite the majority of people surveyed having a family member with diabetes, an alarming four-in-five family members would have trouble recognising the warning signs. One-in-three wouldn’t spot them at all.

The warning signs can include: excessive thirst, frequent urination, a lack of energy, blurred vision, slow healing wounds, and numbness in the feet and/or hands.

Left untreated or unmanaged, diabetes can lead to life-changing complications. These include blindness, amputation, kidney failure, heart attack and stroke. Diabetes was responsible for four million deaths in 2017.

Many with type 2 diabetes are diagnosed too late when complications are already present. This is unacceptable and needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency.

Talk to our friendly yet professional pharmacists on duty today to learn more about diabetes.

13/10/2018

Something your should be aware of if you're taking any Diabetic Formulas

An uncle walked into our pharmacy today to purchase a tin of Glucerna (a nutritional formula meant for diabetics).

After paying for it, he asked me: "Do I take it before or after food?"

Wait...Before or After food? You're supposed to take it IN PLACE OF food (meaning replacing your meal), not before or after. If you take it on top of your meals, your blood sugar actually goes UP instead of down! These diabetic formulas only reduce your sugars when you use them as a meal replacement, as it offers a lower glycemic index than most kinds of meals.

The uncle is a typical patient who thinks that by drinking these formulas, it will reduce the sugars in their blood just like taking medication. The reason for this, is vague and at times misleading advertising in the newspapers. Most of the time it just says "suitable for diabetics" or shows some old healthy looking person drinking the formula for his diabetes.

Don't get me wrong though, as if you use these formulas correctly (for example replacing your curry puffs and teh tarik with a diabetic formula). you will most definitely get better blood sugar control.

The key here is understanding the disease and the product, before jumping into it :)

09/10/2018

Malaysia today became the first country in the World Health Organization (WHO) Western Pacific Region to be certified as having eliminated mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis.

07/09/2018

Keto, low carbs may be the fad, but this is a meta analysis by the European Society of Cardiology

"Compared to participants with the highest carbohydrate consumption, those with the lowest intake had a 32% higher risk of all-cause death over an average 6.4-year follow-up. In addition, risks of death from coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, and cancer were increased by 51%, 50%, and 35%, respectively"

Your access to the latest cardiovascular news, science, tools and resources.

14/08/2018

With the haze getting worse, do read this article on surgical face masks. It addresses common questions like which side of the mask should face outwards, is N95 better etc.

QUICK ANSWERS Which side of the mask should face outside? The coloured side. What if the mask is white on both sides? Look for markings like brand names etc written, usually on the side facing out. What if there are no markings, and I put it on with the WRONG side facing outward? Keep calm and breat...

03/08/2018

This is the shortened/summarizes version of the article on why we should really think twice before using any “trending” products against hfmd.

Every time an infectious epidemic/endemic breaks loose, there will be a whole barrage of "cures" or wonder ailments making waves on social media. Everything from traditional cures to so-called "latest" or cutting edge technology will claim to be the saviour you have been looking for. This year (2018...

16/07/2018

Let your kids watch this video while washing their hands. Beats yelling at them 😝

16/06/2018

Nacho from Spain just scored against Portugal last night.

And he is a type 1 Diabetic. He uses insulin and even brings his injections to the World cup.

Point is, if you (a diabetic) control your sugars well enough, you can literally do ANYTHING any other human being on this earth can do. Don't let diabetes hinder your dreams.

Talk to a healthcare professional today if you wish to learn more about how to manage Diabetes.