Are Thai People Pill Poppers?

[fred2007]

Well I am 60 years old and I have taken some tablets when I really had to. But I just wonder why all

of my family including wife and friends take pills for just about every thing. They just have a little

headache they take a pill, they have a bit of a cough or some thing else they take a tablet.

I guess taking all this tablets will not do them any good in the long term it will make them inmune to

the drug they are taking. I am wrong ?

[Shotime]

No, you are not wrong, at least in my experience. They seem to have a deep trust in taking pills for a wide variety of "ailments." Pharmacists and Doctors are taken at face value. They never question it. I was always more concerned with the effects of mixing such a wide variety of pills. Bowel movement pills, facial acne pills, headaches, stress, etc. I know a girl that takes 20 pills a day. They do not ever question what a Doctor or pharmacist tells them.

[Neeranam]

It's amazing how many people are taking xanax and valium.

Anyone going to the doctor with alcohol/work related stress is given them.

Anyone with panic disorder/anxiety are given them.

Anyone with a drug problem is given them - unbelievable.

No wonder they're always smiling.

[londonthai]

with the all drugs over the counter, without a prescription, even very potent medicines, like antibiotics and steroids, are self-prescribed and taken at will.

doctors do prescribe too many drugs - if one won't work, than the other might, so they have a better results with the patient statistics and less work with the sick returning for more help.

my wife has so many drugs in her medicine drawer, that she forgets what they are for and often asks me to check on them on the net

[fred2007]

with the all drugs over the counter, without a prescription, even very potent medicines, like antibiotics and steroids, are self-prescribed and taken at will.

doctors do prescribe too many drugs - if one won't work, than the other might, so they have a better results with the patient statistics and less work with the sick returning for more help.

my wife has so many drugs in her medicine drawer, that she forgets what they are for and often asks me to check on them on the net

I hope we are not married to the same women

[SomNamNah]

Unfortunately the eclectic nature of Thailand has gone astray in my opinion.

Western style Milk before bed,

Western pills for the sniffles

Western Sweet fizzy piss water for drinks...

the list of western syphilisation boo boo's here is endless.

Western cheese hasnt taken hold... yet.

Arghh..

luckily these things are expensive, and maybe they will revert to healthier options.

Edited November 27, 2008 by SomNamNah

[Maigo6]

It's amazing how many people are taking xanax and valium.

Anyone going to the doctor with alcohol/work related stress is given them.

Anyone with panic disorder/anxiety are given them.

Anyone with a drug problem is given them - unbelievable.

No wonder they're always smiling.

They won't be smiling when they try to give them up.

[Farma]

The Thais may take a lot of pills. Now ask any Thai pharmacist what group has a reputation for requesting restricted or prescribed drugs without a prescription and expecting them to be supplied.

The answer most of the time will be farangs.

[fred2007]

The Thais may take a lot of pills. Now ask any Thai pharmacist what group has a reputation for requesting restricted or prescribed drugs without a prescription and expecting them to be supplied.

The answer most of the time will be farangs.

I have been here for more then one year I have had a couple of flue tablets when I was really sick, if you like me to add up how many pills my wife and family had since then I need a really

big calculator with a 8 digit to add all of them up. They take a tablet when they think they get a flue

even so they don't have one they take one when they think they might get a headache and so on.

Come one be realistic

[Farma]

Suffice to say I have inside information. I am being realistic.

It sounds like your family would make good customers.

[rgs2001uk]

Suffice to say I have inside information. I am being realistic.

It sounds like your family would make good customers.

I hope you arent dealing to pinheads chawnah.

[elkangorito]

My comments in blue.

Unfortunately the eclectic nature of Thailand has gone astray in my opinion.

Western style Milk before bed,

There's absolutely nothing wrong with milk. Taken before bed, it is known to aid sleep. As usual, the words "in moderation" are useful.

Western pills for the sniffles

The pills may be western but they are taken under a Thai doctors orders.

Western Sweet fizzy piss water for drinks...

See the milk comment above although I don't recommend "fizzy" (sugar) drinks before bed.

the list of western syphilisation boo boo's here is endless.

Western cheese hasnt taken hold... yet.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with western cheese...if you don't eat it by the kilogram.

Arghh..

luckily these things are expensive, and maybe they will revert to healthier options.

Healthier? Eating the same meal every day is unhealthy. On the other hand, a balanced diet is perfectly ok. There is nothing wrong with unprocessed food...the way that people choose to eat is usually the problem.

As for "pills", nobody has so far mentioned a brand name or a type of pill.

One of the biggest problems in Thailand is that people BLINDLY do what the doctor says...without question. The next biggest problem is the overuse of antibiotics. They are dished out like lollies & Thai people happily swallow them.

With a little help from me, one of my Thai colleagues now does not take antibiotics for a cough etc, as she did before, unless it's serious. She listened to my suggestion & used the internet to get a lot of info on antibiotics. Now, she even tells her Thai friends not to take them unless it is serious. She agrees with me that it's better to take time off work & get well naturally. Going to work with the flu only gives it to others & further reduces productivity. Getting better without antibiotics may strengthen your immune system.

As far as acne is concerned, I suffered from hormonal acne for about 20 years. It took 2 courses of Roacctutane to stop this problem.

Most Thai people I see with acne, have the bacterial type, which is easily treated with Benzoyl Peroxide if the skin can tolerate it. Fortunately, it comes in many strengths - 2.5% to 15%. It is recommended to start on the lowest strength & see what happens after about 6 to 8 weeks. This is cheap & it works. One may also consider changing eating & exercise routines to assist the treatment.

Strangely, many Thais (& Filipinos) seem happy to spend a small fortune with some "skin specialist", who tells them to buy very expensive & long term treatments. As an example, a very vain friend who has a moderate case of bacterial acne, has been seeing a so called "skin specialist" for over 2 years with (in my opinion) unnoticeable results. I tried to tell him about Benzoyl Peroxide & he almost exploded, saying that he could not go against the wishes of his doctor.

[mgjackson69]

That is the crux of the problem...the Thai deference to "authority". They just never think about questioning a doctor or pharmacist. And they see no reason to know what they are taking or anything else about it...if the doctor says, then it is ok.

My wife was absolutely floored when I told her the story about me raising hel_l with my father's cardiologist because I thought his course of treatment was wrong. She asked, "How can you do that?". I said, "Simple, my father is the customer...that doctor works for him. Since my father does not recognize the problem, or will not say anything about it, I am taking it on myself as the eldest son to try to fix it."

She was also surprised when she took me to a clinic in BKK for an ear infection and I told the doctor what to prescribe and how much. I did so in a respectful manner, and the doctor agreed with me. Later she said I should not tell the doctor that...my response was, "Why not? I had a pretty good idea what was wrong, and what it would take to fix it. Why should I not let the doctor know that I have that knowledge?"

[garyh]

Thai people are not happy if they do not get pills from the doctor to fix what ever is wrong with them.

[henryalleman]

Western cheese hasnt taken hold... yet.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with western cheese...if you don't eat it by the kilogram

And its a perfect way to avoid osteoperoses, evenso the milk.

[Heng]

Yeah, it's one of the reasons my grandfather started his chain of pharmacies. So we could have all the pills we want. All day, everyday.

:)

[dave111223]

If i have a headache i'll take an aspirin, or if i have a stomach ache i'll take an antacid. But i'd have to be pretty sick to touch prescription pills (as i've heard they become less effective the more you use them, so i figure i'll save all the effectiveness up for when i really need it).

My wife on the other hand will not touch an aspirin unless she's writhing around with a migraine, but if a doctor prescribes her 5 different colored antibiotics she'll be gobbling them down 3 times a day, no problem.

Seems like here doctors can do no wrong.

In my limited experience with doctors (both here and in the west) they almost always seem to be wrong.

[Geekfreaklover]

Every single time, My family, or myself have been to a clinic or hospital. Before leaving we are issued with the pills. And every single time, no matter what the complaint, we are given an asortment of tablets. This assortment of tablets allways includes a bag of parecetamol. The others I have to look up in my medical dictonary, for possible side efects etc etc.

Its the good old placebo effect.

And as for over the counter drugs...Beware the Tiffy...Anti cold / headache drug that knocks you out fo a few hours.

Edited November 28, 2008 by Geekfreaklover

[mgjackson69]

And as for over the counter drugs...Beware the Tiffy...Anti cold / headache drug that knocks you out fo a few hours.

And quite often that is exactly what is needed...a few hours of good downtime.

[Geekfreaklover]

And as for over the counter drugs...Beware the Tiffy...Anti cold / headache drug that knocks you out fo a few hours.

And quite often that is exactly what is needed...a few hours of good downtime.

Yeah, agreed, but have you seen the television advert for Tiffy - It shows a noodle stand worker with a cold and then after taking Tiffy he is bright eyed and bushy-tailed working again with a smile on his face....More likely he will be asleep underneath the noodle cart!!

[mgjackson69]

And as for over the counter drugs...Beware the Tiffy...Anti cold / headache drug that knocks you out fo a few hours.

And quite often that is exactly what is needed...a few hours of good downtime.

Yeah, agreed, but have you seen the television advert for Tiffy - It shows a noodle stand worker with a cold and then after taking Tiffy he is bright eyed and bushy-tailed working again with a smile on his face....More likely he will be asleep underneath the noodle cart!!

Agreed...it is not the thing to take before heading out for a road trip.

[0Mix1up]

it does seem to be the case

if i tell my gf im feeling unwell

she asks if i've taken a pill yet?

when i asked her to go get something, specifically

she came back with 3 different pill types all written in thai

i asked what they were, she didn't know

i refused to take them as i didn't know what t.f. i was going to take

this upset her!!!

[TheJoker]

No wonder they're always smiling.

:jerk:

[TheJoker]

As far as acne is concerned, I suffered from hormonal acne for about 20 years. It took 2 courses of Roacctutane to stop this problem.

Most Thai people I see with acne, have the bacterial type, which is easily treated with Benzoyl Peroxide if the skin can tolerate it. Fortunately, it comes in many strengths - 2.5% to 15%. It is recommended to start on the lowest strength & see what happens after about 6 to 8 weeks. This is cheap & it works. One may also consider changing eating & exercise routines to assist the treatment.

Strangely, many Thais (& Filipinos) seem happy to spend a small fortune with some "skin specialist", who tells them to buy very expensive & long term treatments. As an example, a very vain friend who has a moderate case of bacterial acne, has been seeing a so called "skin specialist" for over 2 years with (in my opinion) unnoticeable results. I tried to tell him about Benzoyl Peroxide & he almost exploded, saying that he could not go against the wishes of his doctor.

My GF has hormonal acne to..giving her tips doesn't seem to work, because she listen to the "doctors". Using Chinese medicines to swallow as a drink? Lots of it.... Some creames. And it doesn't do anything instead of making you more poorer. But cannot do anything if they don't wanna listen to a western doctor with normal solutions to this problem. She washes her face at least 4 times a day.. I told it's not good for you skin to wash with soap than cream it again and then wash it again... But she's very stuck to HYGIENE..?

[wileycoyote]

Yes

[Geekfreaklover]

As far as acne is concerned, I suffered from hormonal acne for about 20 years. It took 2 courses of Roacctutane to stop this problem.

Most Thai people I see with acne, have the bacterial type, which is easily treated with Benzoyl Peroxide if the skin can tolerate it. Fortunately, it comes in many strengths - 2.5% to 15%. It is recommended to start on the lowest strength & see what happens after about 6 to 8 weeks. This is cheap & it works. One may also consider changing eating & exercise routines to assist the treatment.

Strangely, many Thais (& Filipinos) seem happy to spend a small fortune with some "skin specialist", who tells them to buy very expensive & long term treatments. As an example, a very vain friend who has a moderate case of bacterial acne, has been seeing a so called "skin specialist" for over 2 years with (in my opinion) unnoticeable results. I tried to tell him about Benzoyl Peroxide & he almost exploded, saying that he could not go against the wishes of his doctor.

My GF has hormonal acne to..giving her tips doesn't seem to work, because she listen to the "doctors". Using Chinese medicines to swallow as a drink? Lots of it.... Some creames. And it doesn't do anything instead of making you more poorer. But cannot do anything if they don't wanna listen to a western doctor with normal solutions to this problem. She washes her face at least 4 times a day.. I told it's not good for you skin to wash with soap than cream it again and then wash it again... But she's very stuck to HYGIENE..?

There is a powder you can buy for acne - Pires - I think it's called. Works a treat and available in all good pharmacies and seven elevens. 5 or 10 bhat a pop (excuse the pun).

[NarcissusRIP]

And as far as I know, the average pharmacist does not even ask if you are currently taking any other pills..

I'm amazed that it (seems) to turn out the right way most of the time.

Edited November 28, 2008 by NarcissusRIP

[TheJoker]

As far as acne is concerned, I suffered from hormonal acne for about 20 years. It took 2 courses of Roacctutane to stop this problem.

Most Thai people I see with acne, have the bacterial type, which is easily treated with Benzoyl Peroxide if the skin can tolerate it. Fortunately, it comes in many strengths - 2.5% to 15%. It is recommended to start on the lowest strength & see what happens after about 6 to 8 weeks. This is cheap & it works. One may also consider changing eating & exercise routines to assist the treatment.

Strangely, many Thais (& Filipinos) seem happy to spend a small fortune with some "skin specialist", who tells them to buy very expensive & long term treatments. As an example, a very vain friend who has a moderate case of bacterial acne, has been seeing a so called "skin specialist" for over 2 years with (in my opinion) unnoticeable results. I tried to tell him about Benzoyl Peroxide & he almost exploded, saying that he could not go against the wishes of his doctor.

My GF has hormonal acne to..giving her tips doesn't seem to work, because she listen to the "doctors". Using Chinese medicines to swallow as a drink? Lots of it.... Some creames. And it doesn't do anything instead of making you more poorer. But cannot do anything if they don't wanna listen to a western doctor with normal solutions to this problem. She washes her face at least 4 times a day.. I told it's not good for you skin to wash with soap than cream it again and then wash it again... But she's very stuck to HYGIENE..?

There is a powder you can buy for acne - Pires - I think it's called. Works a treat and available in all good pharmacies and seven elevens. 5 or 10 bhat a pop (excuse the pun).

Yes she is using that powder, together with the Chinese medicine. But she's uses it maybe allready 3 years..