To Buy Or Not To Buy - That Is The Question?

Rather than spending hours going from one pharmacy to the other, you can save an astonishing amount of time and money just by ordering from a list of medicines offered by many companies dealing with online buying, simply by going to the site, picking out the drug of your choice, and making the purchase with a credit card. All you need is a valid medical prescription from a licensed medical practitioner. An online pharmacy does not normally require medical examination before filling your prescription.

Through online buying of medicines one is directly connected to the manufacturer and factories and you do not have to deal with middlemen like suppliers, wholesalers and agents. So you are assured of getting your medicines at the most reasonable rates. You are also not faced with the problem of non-availability of medicines, checking expiry dates, etc. You are also not bothered with unnecessary medical examinations and medical insurance as in some cases there is no need for a medical examination or even to consult a physician.

There is a down side to all this. Prescription and over-the-counter drugs on the Internet from a company you are not familiar with means you may not know exactly what you're getting. The medicines may be contaminated and spurious, may lead to harmful side effects, may contain the wrong ingredients, may not help the condition or disease for which the medicine is intended, can be packed in fake packaging that looks genuine.

There are certain tips to keep in mind while ordering from online companies:

One has to take utmost care to spot a 'Quack Cure'. People should not get carried away by tall claims and words such as "secret', 'proven miracle', 'overnight cure', 'major breakthrough' etc. Also terms like 'cure cancer with herbs' and 'say goodbye to arthritis' and 'zap your backache away with this amazing device' should not be touched with a bargepole.

One must ensure that the company from where you are ordering the drugs is a registered company and is not considered illegal by any law enforcement agency, and that they have a valid license to dispense medicines. Purchasing from an illegal or invalid online pharmacy puts you at a risk of receiving contaminated or counterfeit products or in some cases no products at all.

Care should be taken to see that they have the ability supply medicines and beauty products of the same quality as the local pharmacies and in the prescribed doses.

That the drugs you are ordering are genuinely prescribed by a reputed medical practitioner, after proper medical examination.

One is not allergic to these drugs, their side effects and that they are not habit forming or addictive.

Some of the banned companies shut down and open later under a different name or address ready to do business again.

Also one should restrict ones buying from within your own country as the directions mentioned on the packaging may be in a foreign language or may adhere to the FDA policies of that country and not yours.

So, 'caveat emptor' - or 'buyer beware' when you make purchases for life saving medicines or beauty products online.