indian medicines corrosponding to US medicines

anony_mouse · Post by **anony_mouse** » Fri Dec 07, 2007 10:36 am

I am learning that it is almost impossible to get same brand names of medicines as we had in US (e.g. tylenol) . Does somebody has a good ready-
reckoner that translates from US medicines to India?

e.g. I used to take anti-histamins in US for my cold. what would be a good OTC alternative in India for that?

DosaiLvr · Post by **DosaiLvr** » Fri Dec 07, 2007 10:46 am

I look up the "US" drug or its contents on the Web and simply tell the pharmacist to give me the same. You can also find the brand name of the Indian equivalent on the web.

Anti-histamines - Avil, Incidal, Citrizine (I believe they are different drugs having similar actions).

Avil works for me better than other drugs but tends to knock me out too. I don't take Avil during day times.

Tylenol (from the top of my head) is acetominophine. I'm not sure if there is an Indian equivalent. We use paracetamol or ibuprofen to reduce fever

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Desi · Post by **Desi** » Fri Dec 07, 2007 10:55 am

Paracetamol and Acetominophen are two names for the same drug.

So Crocin is Tylenol.

There are different anti histamines, if I know which one, I may be able to help. Many of these come packaged with ascetominophen and cough suppressant etc. One I think is xerocid in India and another is corex and yet another one is Avil.

Some of these are combinations and others just an antihistamine.

Old-Spice2 · Post by **Old-Spice2** » Fri Dec 07, 2007 5:17 pm

>>>>e.g. I used to take anti-histamins in US for my cold. what would be a good OTC alternative in India for that?

Other OTC for cold is Coldarin.

shapra · Post by **shapra** » Sat Dec 08, 2007 2:42 am

Also, from what I heard last week, "Calpol" lists ingredients as Acetaminophen

Desi;63122Paracetamol and Acetominophen are two names for the same drug.

So Crocin is Tylenol.

There are different anti histamines, if I know which one, I may be able to help. Many of these come packaged with ascetominophen and cough suppressant etc. One I think is xerocid in India and another is corex and yet another one is Avil.

Some of these are combinations and others just an antihistamine.[/quote]

Chicago Desi · Post by **Chicago Desi** » Sat Dec 08, 2007 3:05 am

There are literally 100s of generic pharma manufacturers in India. Each one of them uses their own brand name for their products. One needs to know the generic name of the molecule to know what product one needs to buy in India.

Having said that, not all medicines made in India are the same as the branded products in the US from a bioavailability standpoint. If you are dealing with chronic diseases that may have life expectancy impact, I recommend using branded products available in the US because medicines made in India may not be bioequivalent and may cause more damage in the long run.

If you are required to buy medicines from India for some reason, please buy from a reputed manufacturer in India.

Desi · Post by **Desi** » Sat Dec 08, 2007 4:42 am

CD,

Even brand companies are increasingly outsourcing clinical testing to China and India.

If the chemical and structural formula are the same (which would be for generics), is not bioequivalence given (except for the conducting of the actual tests). What I mean is if bioequivalence testing was conducted, are not the results going to be a predictible foregone conclusion.

Only reason bioequivalence would be not there is if the formulation is not structurally and chemically the same. Would there be such a case normally.

I do understand that China sends us lead tainted toys and there can be fake drugs, but we are talkign about legitimate drug in India.

Am I missing something?

should_i · Post by **should_i** » Sat Dec 08, 2007 4:59 am

You can say the same name in the drug store and they will give you the equivalent. Tylenol is paracetamol, and crocin seems to be out of favor these days. I see a lot of folks buy "Dole" in India.

I found that the similar drugs from India works differently. As an example, crocin makes me sweat a lot, but tylenol does not. So get a brand that works and stick to it.

Brufen is ibuprofen?. Gelucil is Tums. A lot of allergy suppresents are there in India, just tell the guy that you have sneezes and he will give you the local favourite.

In US, you will get a wide veriety of combinations for allergies. Most of them are anti-histamine with pain reliever, expectorent or suppresent etc. So look for the main ingredient and pop in a Dole with that to relieve the pain.

Chicago Desi · Post by **Chicago Desi** » Sat Dec 08, 2007 5:32 am

Desi;63314I do understand that China sends us lead tainted toys and there can be fake drugs, but we are talkign about legitimate drug in India.

Am I missing something?[/quote]

Desi,

Even with legitimate drugs, there are processes to qualify the product. Quality from drug to drug differs by manufacturer, depending on the quality of the inputs. These inputs are materials, people, processes (machinery, etc.). Not all manufacturers have the same level of competence when it comes to people, processes and materials. Also, the quality control standards in India are poorly implemented. This makes it even more difficult for the consumers to differentiate between good drugs and bad drugs.

If the bioequivalence is between a certain +/- window of the original, then the quality is acceptable. There are many drugs that do not meet this criteria. Thats why I recommended a safe approach of buying products made by big name generic manufacturers.

layman · Post by **layman** » Sat Dec 08, 2007 8:01 am

Desi;63122Paracetamol and Acetominophen are two names for the same drug.

So Crocin is Tylenol.

[/quote]
I heard that they are not the same; in terms of the chemical composition. They serve the same purpose though.