THE NEIGHBOR’S MEDICINES

Not one week goes by without someone coming to the counter with a question very similar to this:

“Good morning/afternoon, I would like a box of XXX.”

I give them an inquisitive look, often accompanied by a “Is it for any particular situation that I can help with?”, and I am confronted with the terrible answer:

“A neighbor/friend/relative takes it, and says it was very good, and so I wanted to try it, too.”

It makes one want to lift the palm to the forehead, to shout to all the saints to take me from here so that I don’t have to repeat sermon.

People. Please. I like you very much, but learn this: “The neighbor’s remedy is not better than mine.”

I do not want to say that it does not make sense to ask about it. How many times have we been surprised by really good advice. BUT, and this is a big BUT, this is not the Rule – it’s the exception.

Imagine an extreme situation: your neighbor, who by the way is an oncological patient and is undergoing pain therapy, is also a very unconscious person, and decides to tell you – who has worked out in the gym and has an uncomfortable pain on the shoulder – that drug Y is “very good,” and takes away all the pain. It appears that drug Y is an opiate, “cousin” of heroin. Is it good for you? Not? Right.

Not all situations are so extreme, but think about it a bit and remember that medicines (and even food supplements) are not a food delicacy, the latest technological innovation, or the new fashion trend, and should not be taken without prior advice.

And now, the same holds true for medicated ointments, creams and gels! Just because it is put on the skin does not mean that it will not hurt. After all, you are expected to do well, so believe that it can do you harm, too.

Ending on a lighter note: Do you know the people I love the most? Those who say to me, “Look, Joao, my father has a pain cream in his house, called any-thing-Z, which he says it’s very good. I did apply it, in case it might be bad for me, but what do you think, I have here a pain like this…? ”

Context, people … everyone has their own, and no one should take or advise anything without knowing it.