Expired medicines make blood toxic, cause death: doctors

KABUL (Pajhwok): The use of expired medicines make the blood toxic, create different problems, causes kidney and liver failure and even lead to the death of a person, according to medical experts.

Last year, the National Food and Drug Authority (NFDA) collected nearly 200 tonnes of drugs from pharmacies and eliminate them.

Dr. Sadiq Naeemi, a specialist in Antani Hospital, told Pajhwok Afghan News the use of expired medicine causing various sensitivities in human bodies.

He said for such patients the doctors initially apply anti-sensitivity drugs and them use different medicine to cure the patient.

Dr. Faridullah Omari, another doctor of the hospital, said: “The medicine must not be used after the expiry date. In addition to the date, the drugs must be kept in right place because it will lose its quality in improper place.”

He said the use of expired medicine caused “severe asthma” which the kidneys, liver and digestive system fail, it affects the immune system and it was also possible the patient would lose his/her life due to the use of expired medicines.

Meena Seidqi, internal medicine specialist, who has a clinic in the Deh Afghanan area of Kabul city, said the use of expired drugs led to high temperature in the body, signs of allergy or sensitivity appear on the body and the oxygen level drops.

“The expired medicines make the blood poisonous, there are different factors in the blood and when external things join the blood and it stop the movement of the blood and it cannot reach mind and hearth,” she added.

According to Dr. Sediqa, the government must take urgent measures to prevent the expire medicine’s usage, monitor drugs entering the country and pharmacies inside the country.

She said the families must not be reckless in this regard and must be careful about the expired medicine.

The NFDA said it was striving to prevent the use of expired medicines.

Over 70 pharmacies closed in the capital Kabul due to the lack of pharmacists and operational licenses in the past month.

The NFDA in a statement said that it monitored 177 pharmacies in Kabul City in the past month in which 72 did not have license and proper pharmacists thus they were closed.

The source said 40 pharmacies that did not had pharmacists and 32 others without license were closed.

Sa/nh