Veterinary Wellness Blog

Buyer Beware

October 2, 2012

Online pharmacies are cropping up all over the place, and the FDA is warning consumers that it’s buyer beware.

According to the recent report in the Huffington Post, buyers are “likely to get fake drugs that are contaminated, are past their expiration date or contain no active ingredient, the wrong amount of active ingredient or even toxic substances such as arsenic and rat poison.”   The report went on to say that only 3% of online pharmacies actually follow state and federal laws.

The concern is safety.  Wrong ingredients could interact with other medications, cause reactions, or in the case of toxic ingredients, can kill.  Inactive ingredients, expired ingredients, or wrong doseage amounts can cause overdoses which can be fatal, or may cause your pet to be deemed “resistent” to a medication, causing the veterinarian to pick a more potent medication that may have more side effects or may be more expensive.

Heritage Animal Hospital maintains a well stocked in house pharmacy that contains the medications we use and recommend.  A licensed doctor reviews the medical chart for other medications or possible interactions, and calculates a dose based on a physical examination and laboratory testing.  We know your pet, and we want to help keep them healthy.  So while you may be able to find the medication cheaper elsewhere, please consider the FDA’s warning and decide what your pet’s health is worth to you.