Senna
Senna or sennoside: laxative.
Wanted to strangle the parent when I was dispensing this medicine to her. This was what I told her, "Take one tablet daily when necessary to relieve constipation. If diarrhea occurs, stop." You would think this instruction is simple enough to follow for any adult who can understand the 3 languages that I speak: English, Chinese and Hokkien, but no. This was how the conversation went.
Me: Take one tablet daily when necessary to relieve constipation. If diarrhea occurs, stop. Total would be $1.50.
Parent paid up and left. Less than 2 mins later...
Parent: Sorry Miss, can I ask you something?
Me: Yes?
Parent: Let's say if my daughter has passed motion, do I still need to give it to her?
Me: No, the medicine is taken only when necessary.
Parent: No, what I mean is if she just passed motion, do I still need to give her the medicine?
Me: No, she only takes the medicine if she is constipated. If her bowel movements are smooth, there is no need for her to take the medicine.
Parent left the pharmacy, and came back in less than a minute's time.
Parent: So you are saying I do not need to give her the medicine if she can pass motion?
Me: (In irritated tone) Yes, she only needs to take WHEN NECESSARY.
Just exactly what is so hard to understand about "take when necessary"?!
Wanted to strangle the parent when I was dispensing this medicine to her. This was what I told her, "Take one tablet daily when necessary to relieve constipation. If diarrhea occurs, stop." You would think this instruction is simple enough to follow for any adult who can understand the 3 languages that I speak: English, Chinese and Hokkien, but no. This was how the conversation went.
Me: Take one tablet daily when necessary to relieve constipation. If diarrhea occurs, stop. Total would be $1.50.
Parent paid up and left. Less than 2 mins later...
Parent: Sorry Miss, can I ask you something?
Me: Yes?
Parent: Let's say if my daughter has passed motion, do I still need to give it to her?
Me: No, the medicine is taken only when necessary.
Parent: No, what I mean is if she just passed motion, do I still need to give her the medicine?
Me: No, she only takes the medicine if she is constipated. If her bowel movements are smooth, there is no need for her to take the medicine.
Parent left the pharmacy, and came back in less than a minute's time.
Parent: So you are saying I do not need to give her the medicine if she can pass motion?
Me: (In irritated tone) Yes, she only needs to take WHEN NECESSARY.
Just exactly what is so hard to understand about "take when necessary"?!
posted by Yamosh at 12:50 AM
1 Comments:
LOL. How frustrating is it huh! Anyway! Hi, I'm a Singaporean intern pharmacist in Sydney. I just stumbled upon ur blog. I can so agree with many things you wrote. =D
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