Alpro Prestige Scholarship Worth RM600K Is Open for Application!

WORDS LIM TECK CHOON

Alpro Pharmacy has announced the first dedicated scholarship for pharmacy students in the country called the Alpro Prestige Scholarship.

SCHOLARSHIP DETAILS
  • It offers up to RM600,000 per year,
  • Each recipient will receive RM20,000 financial support. The amount is divided into RM10,000 each year for their third and fourth year of studies.
  • Upon graduation, there will be a guaranteed placement for Pre-Registration Pharmacist (PRP) training followed by a job offer as a professional community pharmacist with exclusive remuneration package.
WHO CAN APPLY

The scholarship is open to third-year pharmacy degree students in Malaysia.

INTERESTED IN APPLYING?

For more information, visit https://www.alpropharmacy.com/alpro-prestige-scholarship (link opens in a new tab).

Application is opened until 15 June 2023.

Read All About It: Drug Control Authority Recalls a Cough Medicine!

WORDS LIM TECK CHOON

FEATURED EXPERT
LIM EN NI
Chief Pharmacist
Alpro Pharmacy

Recently, the Drug Control Authority under the Ministry of Health Malaysia issued a circular on the cancellation and product recall of pholcodine, an opioid medicine that is used in adults and children for the treatment of non-productive or dry cough. It is also used in combination with other active substances for the treatment of symptoms of cold and flu.

In Malaysia, you’ll need a doctor’s prescription to obtain pholcodine.

You can read more about the recall at the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency website here (link opens at a new tab).

According to Lim En Ni, this recall is due to a possible drug interaction with neuromuscular blocking agents.

WAIT, WHAT ARE NEUROMUSCULAR BLOCKING AGENTS?

These are medications that are commonly used for general anaesthesia during medical surgeries.

There are a few types of neuromuscular blocking agents, but generally, they prevent normal transfer of information through nerves at your neuromuscular junction.

This keeps you from moving the skeletal muscles connected to the affected neuromuscular junction, hence the use of these medications as anaesthesia.

SO, WHAT DOES PHOLCODINE HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THESE AGENTS?

Lim En Ni explains that people that take pholcodine-containing products in the past 12 months are at risk of experiencing anaphylaxis should they also receive neuromuscular blocking agents.

“Anaphylaxis is a serious, life-threatening allergic reaction,” she says.

ANAPHYLAXIS IS A SERIOUS MATTER
  • It can occur within seconds or minutes of exposure to something you’re allergic to.
  • When you experience anaphylaxis, your immune system will release chemicals that can cause your blood pressure to experience a sudden drop. Also, your airways to block and you will experience problems breathing normally. You will also typically experience weak blood pulse, skin rashes, nausea, and vomiting.
  • You will need an injection of epinephrine to stabilize your condition and then immediately proceed to an emergency room for quick treatment. Delays in getting treatment can lead to death!

WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT THIS MATTER

En Ni advises the following:

  • If you have purchased the medication but have not consumed it, you can return it to the pharmacy or healthcare facility that you obtained the medication from.
  • If you have used pholcodine in the last 12 months, visit a pharmacy and ask the pharmacist to help you prepare a medication list to show your surgeon or doctor should you need to undergo surgery. 
  • If you’re not sure whether you have taken pholcodine or your medicine contains pholcodine, consult a pharmacist for help.

Advice for People With Health Conditions That Will Be Fasting This Ramadan

WORDS LIM TECK CHOON

For the upcoming fasting month, we are pleased to share some important advice from the good people at Alpro Pharmacy.

WILL THE USE OF INHALERS INVALIDATE YOUR FASTING?
  • There are 2 types of inhalers: ‘preventer’ inhalers and ‘reliever’ inhalers. If you are unsure which of your inhalers is which, check with your doctor.
  • While fasting, you should continue to use your preventer inhalers, typically twice a day—before sahur and before you go to bed. It’s best to check with your doctor how often and when you should use your preventer inhaler.
  • Use your reliever inhalers when you have an asthma attack.
WILL FASTING PUT YOU AT RISK OF DEHYDRATION OR LOW BLOOD GLUCOSE (HYPOGLYCAEMIA)?
  • If you have diabetes, check your blood glucose 2 hours after sahur and when you experience symptoms such as dizziness, cold sweat, blurred vision, and shivering. Checking your blood glucose won’t invalidate your fasting.
  • If your blood glucose level is below 3.9 mmol/L, you will need to break your fast for the sake of your health.
  • People with diabetes shouldn’t delay breaking their fast. Keep some dates with you if you have diabetes and you’re fasting. That way, when you’re still stuck in traffic or at work during iftar, you can break your fast with 1 or 2 dates.
  • Eat foods rich in dietary fibre for optimal blood glucose control during the fasting month. Dietary fibre helps keep you feel full longer and stabilize your blood glucose levels.
HOW TO FAST WHEN YOU HAVE GASTRIC PROBLEMS
  • If you have gastric problems, break your fast by eating moderate amounts of foods.
  • Avoid eating fried foods and gassy drinks in too much amounts or too quickly.
  • Also, it’s best to avoid drinks that are high in caffeine, such as coffee.

Be Careful of This Viral Health “Advice”! Yes, Elon Musk Can Be Wrong Too!

WORDS LIM EN NI

FEATURED EXPERT
LIM EN NI
Chief Pharmacist
Alpro Pharmacy

A recent weight loss trend among TikTok users is the use of the diabetes medication Ozempic, which gathered over a million views—and counting!—using the hashtag #ozempic and #ozempicjourney. Even Elon Musk credited it as one of the reasons he shed 13 kg.

Ozempic is actually one of the many brand names for semaglutide, an anti-diabetic medication used for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and, in the United States, as anti-obesity medication for long-term weight management.

However, it is not the ultimate answer for obesity as it is a prescription medicine indicated for type 2 diabetes, which requires a patient to go get a complete medication review.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU MISUSE THIS MEDICATION?
  • Overdose of Ozempic or other similar prescription can cause low blood sugar or hypoglycaemia, which can lead to more health complications
  • Common side effects include gastrointestinal symptoms including nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain and constipation
  • Other possible side effects include pancreatitis, changes in vision, low blood sugar, kidney failure and gallbladder issues.
  • Furthermore, it is not suitable for people with medullary thyroid cancer or certain endocrine disorders
THE GO-TO OPTION TO REDUCE BODY WEIGHT SHOULD ALWAYS BE LIFESTYLE & DIET MODIFICATION

Diet is the key component in weight management. Many people are aware of this, but only a few succeeded in making changes to their diet in order to achieve a healthy body weight.

This is because most people initiate the lifestyle and diet changes without proper planning and consultation from experts such as nutritionists and dietitians.

With proper consultation from nutritionist and dietitian, weight loss progression can be measured with a much higher success rate.

Dietitian can personalize weight management plan effectively and safely while taking into account the underlying contributing factor needs to be addressed for each individual.

THE RISK OF BUYING OZEMPIC FROM UNLICENSED OR ILLEGAL SOURCES WITHOUT A PROPER PRESCRIPTION

In cases where one requires Ozempic, it should only be used under a doctor’s prescription and purchased from a licensed pharmacy.

Members of the public should keep in mind to not purchase this drug online via illegal sources as this puts their health at risk health.

They will also subject genuine people with diabetes that need this medication to unnecessary distress, should the medication run out of stock due to the self-prescribing habit of the netizens.

Another issue of note is that this medication has to be handled with care under tight temperature control as it is a cold chain medicine. Once the cold chain is broken, the efficacy may be affected and may also cause unwanted side effects.

Highlights of the Safe Medication Disposal Practices Roundtable

WORDS LIM TECK CHOON

Alpro Pharmacy hosted an industry roundtable, called Safe Medication Disposal Practices in Malaysia–Past, Present & Future, on 15th December 2022 at Monash University Malaysia.

Highlight 1
THE NEED FOR PROPER DISPOSAL OF MEDICINES
  • According to Foon Hwei Foong from Malaysian Community Pharmacy Guild, unwanted medications disposed into landfills are reabsorbed by water streams. This means that these medications eventually leads back to the water that we drink.
  • Dr Saw Pui San, a lecturer from Monash University Malaysia’s School of Pharmacy, cited how irresponsibly discarded contraceptive medicines ended up in our waterways and caused the sterilization of fishes.
  • Antibiotics are strictly regulated prescription medication, and many efforts were made to prevent antibiotic resistance. However, another often overlooked possible cause of antibiotic resistance is the leakage of improperly discarded antibiotics into our water systems.
Highlight 2
THE POLICY IS THERE, BUT THE AWARENESS AMONG THE PUBLIC IS LACKING
  • Amrahi Buang, President of the Malaysian Pharmacists Society, stated that laws and policies are in place across all access points of medication distribution in this country, with the Malaysian National Medicines Policy (MNPP) clearly stating the measurements and governance in place for medication safety.
  • He opined that health and medication literacy is still lacking within the Malaysia public, hence the need for an pharmaceutical industry medium to act as an education platform for the public.
  • Furthermore, he stated that pharmacists are strongly encouraged to start working collaboratively with their colleagues as well as other key players in the pharmaceutical industry to educate on, implement, and practice safe medication disposal.
  • Ostwin Paw, the CEO of Alpro Foundation, called for leaders in the industry to kickstart the conversation on the impact and risks of unsafe medication disposal methods on the environment.
Highlight 3
ALPRO PHARMACY HELPS TO LEAD THE WAY 
  • Lim En Ni, the Chief Pharmacist of Alpro Pharmacy, shared that Alpro Pharmacy launched the Safe Medication Disposal campaign in 2021 in a joint effort with several key pharmaceutical companies in the country.
  • To date, the initiative has safely disposed more than 1,000 kg of medication waste as well as garnered more than 100,000 signatures from the community pledging their support within 3 months since July 2022.
One of the key initiatives of the Safe Medication Disposal campaign is the placement of dedicated medication disposal bins at all Alpro Pharmacy outlets nationwide to collect excess medicines for proper and ethical disposal. For more information on this as well as on proper medical disposal, click here to visit the Safe Medical Disposal Campaign webpage (link opens in a new tab).

Healthy Meals Are Still Tasty for People with Diabetes, Thanks to This Book

WORDS LIM TECK CHOON

FEATURED EXPERT
CHUA KAI JIA
Dietitian
Alpro Pharmacy

Most of us have heard it by now: the 2019 National Health and Morbidity Survey from our Ministry of Health revealed that more than half of Malaysians are overweight or obese. Given that type 2 diabetes is closely linked to overweight and obesity, it’s therefore not surprising that the prevalence of this chronic disease in this country is high—the highest in Asia, in fact!

Furthermore, there is a misconception that, for people with diabetes, eating healthily means giving up all the foods and beverages they used to enjoy. This is not true, that the key to a healthy, balanced diet for people with diabetes lies with keeping count of one’s carb and calorie intake, so that these are within the recommended amount for the person.

Recognizing the prevalence of type 2 diabetes and the need to empower Malaysians with this condition to prepare healthy, diabetes-friendly meals that they will enjoy, Alpro Pharmacy together with sugO35, a personalized diabetes care service provider, has prepared a series of recipe books for people with diabetes.

Last November, Teroka FUN Resipi Diabetik was released in conjunction with World Diabetes Day.

This is the second volume in the series, following the first volume, U-Turn Diabetic the Fun Way.

“One of the most frequently asked questions from our diabetic patients is ‘What can I eat?’,” dietitian Chua Kai Jia shares with us.

5 GREAT THINGS ABOUT TEROKA FUN RESIPI DIABETIK
  1. It contains 25 diabetes-friendly recipes utilizing common ingredients used in Malaysian dishes. Each ingredient gets a chapter of its own, with fun facts and nutritional information about these ingredients.
  2. These recipes are prepared by nutritionists and dietitians.
  3. These dishes will appeal to Malaysians of all races, and they are also affordable to prepare and tasty to eat—proof that someone with diabetes can still enjoy delicious meals as long as they pay attention to what and how much they eat.
  4. Chua shares that this book will be useful to people with diabetes and their loved ones when it comes to adhering to a healthy, well-balanced (and tasty!) diet while keeping their blood glucose levels within a healthy range.
  5. The content is in Bahasa Malaysia and Chinese, making it accessible to a large majority of Malaysians.
HOW TO GET YOUR COPY
Digital
You can sign-up to get your free copies of the 2 recipe books using the links below. All links open in a new tab.
Print
The first volume is out of print. Volume 2, Teroka FUN Resipi Diabetik, is still available, however, for RM59.90. You can obtain a copy here (link opens in a new tab).
HealthToday is not associated with Alpro Pharmacy and sugO35. This article is presented for information purpose only, as we believe that these books can be of use to readers. We do not get any income from downloads or purchases through the links on this page.

Important Advice to Stay Prepared During the Monsoon Season

WORDS LIM EN NI

FEATURED EXPERT
LIM EN NI
Chief Pharmacist
Alpro Pharmacy

The Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) recently announced that Malaysia will experience continuous heavy rainfall from mid-November, leading to probable major flash floods in several states, and the monsoon season will last until early next year.

We would like to outline several precautionary measures for residents in flood-prone areas, from a community pharmacist’s point of view, to proactively mitigate flood damages ahead of the period and in the aftermath.

BEFORE A FLOOD
  • Closely monitor your surroundings and stay up to date on weather forecasts and warnings
  • Assemble disaster supplies, including long-term medications and first aid kits in water-proof bags in case of evacuation.
  • People, especially the elderly, with chronic diseases, are advised to visit their nearest pharmacy and bring along with their chronic medications, in order to keep a record in the pharmacy and have an up-to-date medication list; this will be useful should one lose the hard-copy of their prescription and face difficulties in retrieving their medication
AFTER A FLOOD
  • Due to poor sanitation and hygiene in flood areas, there is a high risk of flood-borne diseases such as leptospirosis, cholera, and dengue fever. Keep an eye out for general symptoms such as fever, headache, diarrhoea, muscle aches, and vomiting. In the case of any such symptoms, please visit the nearest healthcare centres immediately.
  • Alpro Pharmacy and DOC2US have launched the Life-saving Medication Care Programme, which provides a one-time supply of medications for up to 7 days for free. Those with contaminated or lost chronic disease medications can visit an Alpro Pharmacy outlet and speak to the pharmacist for more details. Note that a police report copy of the flooding is required for verification purposes.

Empowering Pharmacists to Better Serve The Nation

WORDS LIM EN NI

FEATURED EXPERT
LIM EN NI
Chief Pharmacist
Alpro Pharmacy

For the longest time, the role of a pharmacist has been seen by many, even among those in the profession, as retailer of supplements and other healthcare products. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the general public have come to recognize the values community pharmacists bring.

MEDICATION SAFETY

Very often, patients with multiple non-communicable diseases (NCDs) were prescribed with medications by different doctors, they might not be aware of possible medical contradictions. They brought these medications to community pharmacists like me, and we helped them review and explain the dosage and possible side effects of each medicine. Most importantly, pharmacists ensure the safety of patients from medication errors.

ACCESSIBILITY

Pharmacies are usually open for long hours and pharmacists offer informal, appointment-free consultation. At the height of the pandemic when clinics and hospitals required COVID-19 screening prior to consultation with doctors and patients avoided going to high-risk places, community pharmacists filled the gap by offering advice on COVID-19 and other health related matters including basic health screening and re-filling much needed chronic prescriptions through collaboration with telemedicine providers.

SOLUTION-BASED SERVICES

In recent years, many product-based retail pharmacists have transited to community pharmacists with solution-based services, such as wound-care, smoking cessation service, and diabetic-care.

THUS, COMMUNITY PHARMACIES INFLUENCE NATIONAL HEALTH CARE PROGRESSION IN POSITIVE WAYS

It is high time for the Government to endorse community pharmacists as an integral part of community health and wellness by allocating funding for programmes in support of the Government’s efforts in creating a smoke-free generation, battling against NCDs and providing preventive care for the ageing population.

The inclusion of community pharmacists in the Government’s outreach plan will benefit the country as a whole, as it will ultimately reduce medical costs, improve population health, increase the quality of healthcare in Malaysia and contribute to the country’s GDP.

This year, The International Pharmaceutical Federation announced the theme of World Pharmacist Day 2022 as “Pharmacy United in Action for a Healthier World”. This theme invites comrades from all sectors of the pharmacy profession to take part in the campaign. Regardless of culture or point of view, the core duty of every pharmacist remains—to safeguard medication safety for everyone.