The E-commerce business concept has taken over almost every aspect of the world as we know it. As a result, the whole world turned into a global marketplace, erasing geographical and other borders and limits. Products, items and services that were used to be available to only certain categories of people, are now approachable and widely available, or in other words – at the tip of our fingers.
What does this mean for the pharmaceutical industry? The supply of certain produce, chemicals or ingredients that are being used in the manufacturing process is no longer limited to a certain country, area or company. On the other hand, the communication between pharmaceutical companies and their customers has never been better and more convenient, and the selection of medicines is transparent, accessible and more understandable than ever before. Nowadays, you can type in the name of the needed drug and Google will give you all the specifications of the product, along with the instructions for use, price and purchasing options on different websites.
But just like anything in life, more options often come with more risks. Having innumerable resources to choose from does mean having a fantastic opportunity to acquire all the essential (and non-essential) items you need, but it also exposes you to the world of scams, fake products, online advertising, and other modern problems.
If you order shoes or a t-shirt from another country and you get something completely different from what has been shown in the pictures, you would certainly be mad. And chances are you’d probably return the product, and expect to get your money back. Now imagine buying medicine online. How would you know if the drug you ordered is exactly the product you wanted? Putting your health at risk sounds scary, doesn’t it?
People who want to order their medicines online are usually worried, and that is for a good reason. The most common question that comes to everyone’s mind is – are the websites on the pharmaceutical online market legitimate and can they be trusted? Determining if the website of your choice is fraudulent or not, and if the selection of drugs they offer is renowned, tested and trustworthy is an important step of the process. That’s the reason why it should never be overlooked.
Luckily, there’s always a solution to every problem. Buying medicines online is extremely convenient, simple and oftentimes significantly cheaper than any other purchasing option, and can make our lives easier, as long as we’re aware of all the dangers that are hiding in the online retail world. Before you start shopping online, you should pay attention to both the most serious and the rest of the hidden dangers, in order to avoid them. Here are the things that could potentially be dangerous for your health (and your wallet):
1. Missing Ingredients
One of the most obvious concerns you can have if you are not sure about the website you’ve purchased your drugs from could be – is the list of ingredients FDA approved, safe and tested, and does your drug contain all the prescribed ingredients? Unfortunately, it’s been proven that a large number of online pharmacies offer drugs that are falsified and that are missing one or several ingredients. As a result, this can lead to serious health consequences, if you don’t consume the medications you need – falsely thinking that you do.
2. Private Information Exposure
Many illegal or unregistered websites may be a part of fraudulent organizations that have a clear goal of stealing your personal info and using it for illegal activities. This is why you should be careful about giving out your info when registering. Before you sign up to a website and give them your credit card number along with your name, date of birth, address and other info, make sure to check if this is a renowned pharmacy and whether it’s connected to a brick and mortar pharmacy or if it’s just a website that operates unregulated and completely virtual. However, on renowned websites such as pricepropharmacy.com, you can find all the information about the trustworthiness of their products, and you can contact their customer service to get any info you want. Transparency is the first thing you should look for.
3. Wrong Ingredients
The risks of consuming the wrong ingredient or ingredients in your drugs are obvious enough to understand how dangerous shopping medicines on illegitimate websites can be. The best thing that could happen in this situation is that you see no effects of the medicine you’re taking. The worst outcome would be experiencing dangerous side effects that may be detrimental to your health. If you receive drugs that have no labels, this is a major red flag. However, even if they do, always make sure to check the labels and talk to a specialist.
4. Inadequate Instructions for Use
There have been numerous reports of inadequate user instructions that resulted in overdose, or underdose of the medication people were taking. When consuming medicines, you should pay attention to every detail. Everything from the packaging, to the instructions for use, labels and the expiration date, should be in your focus.
5. Prescription Drugs Bought Without a Prescription
One of the reasons people opt for buying drugs online is the fact that this is the only way many drugs can be bought without a prescription. Before you opt for this, you should think twice. If the medicine you need has to be bought with a prescription, and you still choose to get it online, without a prescription, there are several problems that may occur. You can get fake products, products that contain too much or too little active ingredients, or that are past the use-by date. Although this may seem tempting, the best option is to avoid it whatsoever.
6. Scams
And finally, you might order your medicines from a scammy website, send them your money, and never get the drugs. Although there are more websites that offer unregulated products, there still are cases of stealing people’s money through shady platforms and online pharmacies. Before you sign up, select and purchase your drugs, try to find the licence of the online pharmacy and try to see where it’s registered and is certified. The legality of the website is one of the most important indicators that your medicines will be of good quality.