Buying antibiotics in Mexico

[mamieof3]

Question for those who have bought or buy antibiotics in Mexico. How do you all know what the correct dosage is, and how many days to take it? Just curious.

 

I am a nurse and so I know, but you can go on many medical websites (can't say which ones here but one rhymes with Tiki :D) and get the standard dosing and what it is used to treat. The Mexican Pharmacist will also give you dosing, but Azithromycin (Zpak) and Amoxil are very basic antibiotics that most people have taken many times. It is important to note that many illnesses are viral and not affected by antibiotics and if taken needlessly too often it (they) will not be as affective when you really need them to be. With that said, most adults know when they have a sinus infection or ear infection and those are not viral. Throat, even pus pockets, can be viral, so that is not as easily self-diagnosed. Most people know themselves pretty well, though. Disclaimer: I am not a doctor nor a diagnostician and recommend talking to your doctor about it. You might be surprised to find him/her very understanding of your plight. I told my dentist when I went to Mexico to get some extensive dental work done and he was not offended at all and in fact said he knows many people that go there for their extensive work....again, sad state of our medical system.

[Martini Mom]

It's also important to know what the DOC (drug of choice) is for a given infection. Many people, like my MIL, think if you get A, B, or C infection, you can just take any antibiotic to fix it. Certain meds work on certain types of infections.

[BeachChik]

I agree Stu!!! Not sure what is in the things you buy when the controls aren't as tight as they are here.

A lot of our costs are research, however this expensive health care got that way because we are not allowed to turn down those without health insurance that are in a true emergency. So illegals, drug seekers, anyone and everyone has health care here.

So if you don't have health insurance (which I find extremely irresponsible unless you have the cash to pay for it) then when you get into that accident and need treatment, if you don't pay, the hospital eats the costs(no Medicaid isn't automatically going to pay for it, only if you are disabled by it and somehow qualify for it, and frankly I'm tired of paying others costs through my high taxes)

The health care providers then have no choice but to pass on the expense to those that are financially responsible.

Sad system huh? I think those without insurance should have to pay cash up front. No pay, no service.IMO it's only fair.

Carole

 

Wow. I'm glad you aren't in charge.

 

So what you are saying is that hospitals shoould let people die that don't have insurance and can't pay? That's pretty heartless and sad.

 

I have insurance and wouldn't go without it but when I was young and working a minimum wage job I simply couldn't afford it. In todays world more than ever we have a large percent of the population that is working poor. If they can't afford insurance how could they possibly pay a 5k medical bill in cash? Everyone deserves the right to medical care regardless of whether they can pay or not. Comments like yours are what's wrong with the world today. God forbid something happens to you and you can't pay for insurance.

 

What we really should complain about is the cost of medical treatment in the US. Why can I go to another country and pay 1/3 the cost. We are ripped off everytime we go to the doctor.

 

My BIL has a rare disease. He has insurance and his pills still run about $1000 to $1500 Per month out of his pocket because the insurance doesn't cover it all and the medicine is very expensive. Pills he would die without. He doesn't qualify for AFLAC either. So what about these people? They have insurance and still stuggle to pay medical bills.

Edited February 16, 2012 by BeachChik

[Cinderose]

I would just watch what you get in Mexico - Ive had 2 problems with them.

One time I thought I was getting a bottle with 100 pills in it -I saw the bottle, handled the bottle and then purchased it. But between buying and recieving it - they did a switcheroo when they turned and put it in the sack for me and I got home with a bottle that only had 50 pills in it. I watch real close now and check before I leave the store.

And the second problem was - when I got the pills home (Ethromycin) and opened the seal on the bottle they smelled so bad (like the fertalizer I put out on my lawn) that I threw them out. So Im cautious on what I get now in Mexico.

[chasinraynbowz]

Op, we pick up amoxicillin when we are in Cozumel. I have done it for years and have never had a problem getting it home or with the meds themselves.

[Martini Mom]

I would just watch what you get in Mexico - Ive had 2 problems with them.

One time I thought I was getting a bottle with 100 pills in it -I saw the bottle, handled the bottle and then purchased it. But between buying and recieving it - they did a switcheroo when they turned and put it in the sack for me and I got home with a bottle that only had 50 pills in it. I watch real close now and check before I leave the store.

And the second problem was - when I got the pills home (Ethromycin) and opened the seal on the bottle they smelled so bad (like the fertalizer I put out on my lawn) that I threw them out. So Im cautious on what I get now in Mexico.

You do have to be vigilant. My friend, who was with us on our July cruise, thought she was buying Amoxicillin, but she didn't look at the bottle closely. When she got home, she noticed that it was actually Ampicillin. Her DH calls it Mexicillin. ;)

[kayhold]

You don't have medical insurance but you can afford the many cruises you take?? Priorites..........

 

Not only is that none of your business, its really unfair.

 

He never, ever said he couldn't afford care. For all you know, he pays full price when he goes to the Dr.

 

Your comment was rude, and uncalled for.

 

My mother, this past month, had to drop her health insurance because her premiums went up again. The highest deductible and crappiest plan she could get was over $2000 a month. A MONTH!

 

It's not feesible. Its not going to happen. She is on a fixed income. Its not going to happen whether she takes a $500 cruise, or not. Period.

 

If she has an emergency, the hospital will have to write it off because with her income, she is below the poverty level. If her home and car weren't paid off, she wouldn't be able to survive on her income.

[jonathansburden]

So if you don't have health insurance (which I find extremely irresponsible unless you have the cash to pay for it) then when you get into that accident and need treatment, if you don't pay, the hospital eats the costs(no Medicaid isn't automatically going to pay for it, only if you are disabled by it and somehow qualify for it, and frankly I'm tired of paying others costs through my high taxes)

The health care providers then have no choice but to pass on the expense to those that are financially responsible.

Sad system huh? I think those without insurance should have to pay cash up front. No pay, no service.IMO it's only fair.

Carole

I just saw this and I had to say something. My husband was laid off from a very lucrative position. He found another job quickly, but we had to wait 6 months before he qualified for insurance at his new job. COBRA care would have cost so much we couldn't have paid our rent. In those six months my youngest was hospitalized for several days and my oldest broke his collarbone. In your world my 10 month old baby would have died. My 2 year old would have had to suffer the pain of a displaced bone fracture with no medical care soley because we couldn't pay thousands of dollars upfront. I honestly can't believe that someone is that heartless. I hope you never have to face the choice of medical care or housing.

 

Oh, and for the record, over the past 18 months we've paid back every penny of what their care cost.

[kayhold]

I agree Stu!!! Not sure what is in the things you buy when the controls aren't as tight as they are here.

A lot of our costs are research, however this expensive health care got that way because we are not allowed to turn down those without health insurance that are in a true emergency. So illegals, drug seekers, anyone and everyone has health care here.

So if you don't have health insurance (which I find extremely irresponsible unless you have the cash to pay for it) then when you get into that accident and need treatment, if you don't pay, the hospital eats the costs(no Medicaid isn't automatically going to pay for it, only if you are disabled by it and somehow qualify for it, and frankly I'm tired of paying others costs through my high taxes)

The health care providers then have no choice but to pass on the expense to those that are financially responsible.

Sad system huh? I think those without insurance should have to pay cash up front. No pay, no service.IMO it's only fair.

Carole

 

I hope you're never in a situation that requires you to be unable to have insurance (job loss, lay offs, death of a spouse) so you don't have to eat your words.

[cruzmaven]

No one here cares about the effects of the overuse of antibiotics?

 

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/antibiotics/FL00075

 

http://kidshealth.org/parent/h1n1_center/h1n1_center_treatment/antibiotic_overuse.html

 

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/antibiotics-bad-good-bacteria/story?id=14374547#.Tz11YLRvCSo

 

Why It's Harmful to Overuse Them

 

Taking antibiotics for colds and other viral illnesses not only won't work, but also has a dangerous side effect: over time, this practice helps create bacteria that have become more of a challenge to kill.

Frequent and inappropriate use of antibiotics can cause bacteria or other microbes to resist the effects of antibiotic treatment. This is called bacterial resistance or antibiotic resistance. Treating these resistant bacteria requires higher doses of medicine or stronger antibiotics. Because of antibiotic overuse, certain bacteria have become resistant to some of the most powerful antibiotics available today.

Antibiotic resistance is a widespread problem, and one that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) calls "one of the world's most pressing public health problems." Bacteria that were once highly responsive to antibiotics have become increasingly resistant. Among those that are becoming harder to treat are pneumococcal infections (which cause pneumonia, ear infections, sinus infections, and meningitis), skin infections, and tuberculosis.

[Martini Mom]

No one here cares about the effects of the overuse of antibiotics?

[

 

What makes you think that?? Does having a couple bottles of "just in case" meds mean that you take them with every sniffle? Nope.

[kayhold]

No one here cares about the effects of the overuse of antibiotics?

 

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/antibiotics/FL00075

 

http://kidshealth.org/parent/h1n1_center/h1n1_center_treatment/antibiotic_overuse.html

 

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/antibiotics-bad-good-bacteria/story?id=14374547#.Tz11YLRvCSo

-

 

I would assume anyone putting this much effort into selfmedicating, would use them only if needed.

[BeachChik]

I hope you're never in a situation that requires you to be unable to have insurance (job loss, lay offs, death of a spouse) so you don't have to eat your words.

 

Just read in another thread she says she's a nurse :eek:

 

A nurse that says people shouldn't be treated if they can't pay. Scary.

Edited February 16, 2012 by BeachChik

[lil_tnk]

Is there any issues with bringing medications back??

[kayhold]

Just read in another thread she says she's a nurse :eek:

 

Wow. To be honest, she lost credibility with me when she started crying "BUT MAH TAX DOLLAS!"

[Martini Mom]

Is there any issues with bringing medications back??

 

So far, so good. :D

[chasinraynbowz]

Is there any issues with bringing medications back??

 

 

I have never had a problem.

[CanadaJulie]

Totally interested in this thread !!!

 

In August 2010, Mexico passed a law requiring prescription for all antibiotics. I didnt know about this and when we cruised in Dec 2010, I had no problem buying them at the Pueta Maya Pier shopping plaza.

 

Then I found out about the new law and assumed it would progressively get more difficult to buy them.

 

I would like to get cipro and a Zpak when I am there in 2 weeks. To all who have RECENTLY (like say since Dec 2011) been able to buy them, where exactly did you get them ? In the pier shopping plaza or did you have to go into town ?

 

As for the whole self-medicating thing... I go both ways on this. I DISagree with self-diagnosing then guesstimating which meds to take for it because it would be too easy to get it wrong. If your friend had red spots and was given Cipro, this doesnt mean that you need the same thing when you have orange spots that kinda sorta look like hers. But if you know exactly what you have (reccurent ear infection, bladder infection) and the dosage that you get from your doctor, then I see no problem in buying this exact product and taking it as your doctor prescribed the last 10 times. Saves me from wasting hours in a clinic with a bunch of other sick people...

[Martini Mom]

Totally interested in this thread !!!

 

In August 2010, Mexico passed a law requiring prescription for all antibiotics. I didnt know about this and when we cruised in Dec 2010, I had no problem buying them at the Pueta Maya Pier shopping plaza.

 

Then I found out about the new law and assumed it would progressively get more difficult to buy them.

 

I would like to get cipro and a Zpak when I am there in 2 weeks. To all who have RECENTLY (like say since Dec 2011) been able to buy them, where exactly did you get them ? In the pier shopping plaza or did you have to go into town ?

 

As for the whole self-medicating thing... I go both ways on this. I DISagree with self-diagnosing then guesstimating which meds to take for it because it would be too easy to get it wrong. If your friend had red spots and was given Cipro, this doesnt mean that you need the same thing when you have orange spots that kinda sorta look like hers. But if you know exactly what you have (reccurent ear infection, bladder infection) and the dosage that you get from your doctor, then I see no problem in buying this exact product and taking it as your doctor prescribed the last 10 times. Saves me from wasting hours in a clinic with a bunch of other sick people...

In Ensenada, we buy our on the main tourist road, Ave. Lopez. We go into several pharmacias to compare prices before we buy. They definitely aren't as cheap as they used to be.

[CharmedMom]

Totally interested in this thread !!!

 

In August 2010, Mexico passed a law requiring prescription for all antibiotics. I didnt know about this and when we cruised in Dec 2010, I had no problem buying them at the Pueta Maya Pier shopping plaza.

 

Then I found out about the new law and assumed it would progressively get more difficult to buy them.

 

I would like to get cipro and a Zpak when I am there in 2 weeks. To all who have RECENTLY (like say since Dec 2011) been able to buy them, where exactly did you get them ? In the pier shopping plaza or did you have to go into town ?

 

As for the whole self-medicating thing... I go both ways on this. I DISagree with self-diagnosing then guesstimating which meds to take for it because it would be too easy to get it wrong. If your friend had red spots and was given Cipro, this doesnt mean that you need the same thing when you have orange spots that kinda sorta look like hers. But if you know exactly what you have (reccurent ear infection, bladder infection) and the dosage that you get from your doctor, then I see no problem in buying this exact product and taking it as your doctor prescribed the last 10 times. Saves me from wasting hours in a clinic with a bunch of other sick people...

 

In Belize it was right there at the pier shopping plaza (there were bathrooms right around the corner under the same roof)

[gander24]

I am a nurse and so I know, but you can go on many medical websites (can't say which ones here but one rhymes with Tiki :D) and get the standard dosing and what it is used to treat. The Mexican Pharmacist will also give you dosing, but Azithromycin (Zpak) and Amoxil are very basic antibiotics that most people have taken many times. It is important to note that many illnesses are viral and not affected by antibiotics and if taken needlessly too often it (they) will not be as affective when you really need them to be. With that said, most adults know when they have a sinus infection or ear infection and those are not viral. Throat, even pus pockets, can be viral, so that is not as easily self-diagnosed. Most people know themselves pretty well, though. Disclaimer: I am not a doctor nor a diagnostician and recommend talking to your doctor about it. You might be surprised to find him/her very understanding of your plight. I told my dentist when I went to Mexico to get some extensive dental work done and he was not offended at all and in fact said he knows many people that go there for their extensive work....again, sad state of our medical system.

 

Thanks for making the statement that I haven't seen made here yet, that most things are viral and will get better on their own. Unfortunately, this paragraph has some untrue statements. Amoxil and azithromycin are very common, but just because someone has used them before doesn't necessarily mean they can extrapolate those experiences to other sicknesses. It has been my experience most adults do not know the true definition of sinusitis is (with classic double-sickening) and instead think they have one on day 2 of a head cold. Also, the vast majority of sinusitis is viral in etiology... and people who are self-treating as someone mentioned above may not realize different bugs = different drugs even if it is bacterial. (For example, lots of patients always request "the z-pack" not realizing that azithromycin is not effective for s.pneumo or m.cat bugs, which are huge offenders. And then there are the complications of sinusitis people often don't realize, such as brain abscesses which are rare but do happen.) And with otitis media, the vast majority of infections are viral and get better with supportive treatment, but antibiotics are the mainstay of choice. The problem becomes when people start self-medicating without regard to current regimen recommendations, for example, high-dose amoxil vs. standard dosing for drug-resistant OM in kids or even weight-based dosing.

 

Be careful, folks. Think about what you would tell your patients if you were the healthcare provider, especially if the meds are not backed by a monitoring organization... & there's a reason more and more we are offering supportive care for likely viral illnesses because the numbers are getting scary, even locally, for antibiotic resistance.

Edited February 16, 2012 by gander24

[jonbgd]

What makes you think that?? Does having a couple bottles of "just in case" meds mean that you take them with every sniffle? Nope.

You might not personally BUT...........Alot of people do. That is why people get antibiotic resistance.

If someone keeps getting the same bacterial infection and taking the same antibiotic it stops working eventually......

Also that could mean there are underlying issues

Edited February 16, 2012 by jonbgd

[Martini Mom]

You might not personally BUT...........Alot of people do. That is why people get antibiotic resistance.

If someone keeps getting the same bacterial infection and taking the same antibiotic it stops working eventually......

Also that could mean there are underlying issues

 

True, but I would rather have them sitting in my medicine cabinet and expiring because they went unused, than not having them at all. I don't want to start a whole new thread within a thread, but having meds sitting in my cabinet doesn't mean that I am all that into "western medicine." ;)

[jonbgd]

Be careful, folks. Think about what you would tell your patients if you were the healthcare provider, especially if the meds are not backed by a monitoring organization... & there's a reason more and more we are offering supportive care for likely viral illnesses because the numbers are getting scary, even locally, for antibiotic resistance.

 

Definatly I will agree with

Thats why there are more 'bug docs' today than there were 25 years ago.

[dololie]

The pharmancy in Belize is run by a lady that use to work at Wal-Mart. I give her my list and co-pays and she will tell me what I can buy their cheaper. I do not like Belize I get off the ship get my meds and go back. I may have to go to Belize this year because I have a new insurance company. They either charge me out the ying yang or refuse to fill my script.