A growing number of pharmacies are dispensing medication to people in Myanmar.

MYANMAR has three seasons – summer, monsoon and winter – and the changes in weather that accompany the transition from one to another bring with them a host of ailments both major and minor.

Among these, perhaps the most frequently suffered is the common cold.

Thankfully most of the symptoms, including runny noses and coughs, can be treated with medications that are easily bought in any of the growing number of drug stores throughout Myanmar.

Many people buy medications over the counter with the aim of treating their ailments themselves, but Dr Hla Myint, a professor and veteran rector at the Institute of Medicine (1), advises those who are suffering from even minor ailments to consult with doctors and follow the instructions given by them and by pharmacists to avoid complications.

Dr Hla Myint, who also is the president of the Myanmar Medical Council and a national adviser to the World Health Organisation’s Myanmar Essential Drugs Project, said that widespread self-treatment using improper dosages or the wrong amount of medicine can lead to the development of drug-resistant strains of various diseases.

“Over-dosage can be dangerous, and under-dosage can cause the diseases to become resistant to the drugs, requiring stronger treatments the next time,” he said.

Patients should complete the recommended regimen rather than saving some of the medicine for use the next time they are sick, he said.

“Sometimes patients start feeling better and think they’re cured before they’ve finished the recommended dosage, so they stop taking the medicine,” Dr Hla Myint said.

Some people who save medicine will give it to friends or family members who suffer similar ailments.

“But drugs are prescribed in accordance with individual needs, and it should not be up to patients to judge who should be given what medication when they don’t have knowledge about the subject,” Dr Hla Myint advised.

In 2002 there were about 320 varieties of medicine in the Myanmar market, including prescription and over-the-counter drugs, both imported and domestically produced.

The importation and domestic production of medicine is administered by the Ministry of Health’s Food and Drug Administration, which also distributes a list of prescription drugs to drug stores throughout the country, Dr Hla Myint said.

He said the Myanmar Essential Drugs Project, which has been active since 1989, has established plans to regulate the selling of medicines at drug stores and to ensure that all such establishments are operated by trained pharmacists.