compounding blog

Nutrition and Gastric Bypass Surgery

Renee — Sat, 12 Feb 2011 08:15:55 +0000

Obesity has become an epidemic in our society. Many have tried programs such as Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig and NutraSystem. However, for some that is not enough and they decide to go for gastric bypass surgery. Many have found that after the surgery, doctors are giving them differing post-op instructions. This can make a patient feel a bit like a guinea pig as doctors test out a variety of treatments to help them maintain their body’s nutrients. But here is the truth:

1. Bariatric surgeons are experts at surgery. Some may be knowledgeable about nutrition and others may not.

2. Most primary care physicians are not well versed in bariatric surgery or nutrition.

With that being said, you need to find someone who can work with you and help you with your nutrition. At Village Green Apothecary, we can help you. We have a staff of pharmacists who are able to customize a nutritional supplement for your exact needs. Come in to Village Green Apothecary today and speak to our pharmacist, Ron about how we can make custom nutrition products for you.

Compounding for Kids

Renee — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 08:30:38 +0000

Although compounding has always been a difficult area of pharmacy practice, but probably some of the most interesting and innovative compounds are formulations made for pediatric patients. All parents will confirm that giving medication to any kid can be a challenging task. But most compounding pharmacists in the present day are equipped with valuable trade secrets to make administration of medicine easier to children. Many pharmacies offer a variety of flavor, and kids can select their preferred flavor.

Commercial dosage forms for pediatric patients are rather limited and compounding provides options where commercial medicine leaves a gap. For example; children cannot swallow tablets and capsules until they are school going. At times, the only dosage of medicine commercially available may be distasteful. In other cases, some medications may only be available in form of pills. Here, in situations like these, compounding pharmacists are the ones who can provide alternatives that too with the correct dosage. These alternatives include suspensions, solutions, emulsions, transdermal preparations, lollipops, gummies, rapid-dissolve tablets, and suppositories.

Transdermal gel is one of the most commonly used pediatric dosage alternative that cures nausea and vomiting, like promethazine. It can be easily made into a topical formulation for rubbing onto the wrist or other skinny parts of the body. For children below 2, many physicians prefer to use trimethobenzamide for nausea. Like their oral and rectal counterparts, though these forms of medicine too have the same side effects of sleepiness, but are a lot easier to use and quickly absorbs into the body.

Another common symptom in children is sore throat, which normally occurs with tonsillitis with a viral infection, or a streptococcus infection. In such cases, parents mostly opt for tetracaine lollipops. These lollipops are available in various sizes to suit all age groups, and the dosage varies from 0.5% to 4%, depending on the patient’s condition.

Many experienced compounders are today available who can flavor bitter, salty, or sour-tasting medications like metronidazole also, palatable.

Diaper rash is another common pediatric condition, and compounding pharmacists are a great help here too. Pediatricians prefer to use cholestyramine gel for persistent diaper rash caused by diarrhea. It is formulated in a petrolatum (e.g. Aquaphor) or hydrophilic cream base and binds the bile acids that results in irritation and redness.

For dental problems in children, a sedative compound sometimes is prescribed prior to dental procedures. These are generally administered 30 to 60 minutes before the procedure. Such compounds may include chloral hydrate, promethazine, hydroxyzine, diazepam, midazolam, meperidine, either alone or in different combinations. Each formulation is specially made to suit the needs of an individual patient. These components can be formulated in a single dosage, or a fast- dissolving pill.

Topical anesthetics such as lidocaine/epinephrine/tetracaine are frequently used in hospital settings and emergency departments to numb the skin for injections, drawing blood, or stitching wounds.

One more popular formulation is lidocaine/ benzocaine/ tetracaine gel, which can be used for minor in-office procedures, for example ear piercing. It helps ease pain and anxiety.

By now, it must be clear that the pediatric patients have very explicit remedial needs and commercially available medications can never meet all these needs. The innovative compounding pharmacists at Village Green Apothecary can help a great deal in providing alternatives with specialized dosage and flavoring to meet the individual needs of pediatric patients.

Achieving Self-control with Autism

Renee — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 08:15:08 +0000

Self-discipline is a skill that most autistic children have trouble acquiring. This includes not only inappropriate outbursts, but also habits that can be potentially dangerous, such as being aggressive towards others or causing harm to themselves, such as banging their heads off walls. To prevent these and other behaviors, one technique parents and educators can use to control autistic tendencies is self-management. Giving the child power over him- or herself is often the key to keeping control over violent situations and may be a positive step towards learning other behaviors as well.

Self-management works because the child is no longer fully controlled by others. By teaching self-management during specific times of day, such as while the child is at school or therapy, the child will be more likely to continue to practicing self-control during all times of the day. The key is to implement a program in which he or she monitors his or her own behavior and activities. Begin with short amounts of time, and continue to monitor the child from a more passive standpoint. Every ten to fifteen minutes remind the child that he or she is in control and needs to monitor and be aware of good and bad behavior.

This monitoring is a form of self-evaluation. When a child is in control, he or she may think more closely about behavior in the past and present. Set clear goals with the child-for example, an afternoon with no aggression towards others or a day at school with no self-injury. Every fifteen minutes ask the child how he or she is doing. Is the goal being met? If the answer is no, perhaps the child is not ready for self-management, or perhaps the goals are too unattainable. You want to make sure that the goals are easy to reach at first, and then move the child towards more difficult goals in the future. When a child is successful at self-monitoring, he or she will have a more positive attitude towards the experience.

Of course, an important part of self-management is a rewards system. Have the child come up with his or her own reward, depending on interest. Reinforcement will make these good behavior goals more clearly marked in the child’s mind, and by choosing and rewarding him- or herself, the child will feel completely in control of the self-management system. Choose simple rewards to start, such as smiley faces for every goal met and sad faces for every goal not met, and work up to a larger goal, such as a special activity or new toy when a certain amount of smiley faces has been attained.

These types of programs do not develop overnight, so it is important that you and the child have enough time to devote to a self-management experience. By reinforcing good behavior with rewards, as determined by the child instead of by an adult, he or she will be more likely to carry this on even when not participating in the program. If your autistic child is mature enough, this could be a good treatment program to try. It may also be worthwhile to come into Village Green Apothecary and talk with one of our pharmacists to determine if a nutritional compound can help with your autistic child’s behavior. We’d be glad to help!

Dietary Concerns: Gluten and Casein

Renee — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 09:30:38 +0000

Autism is a disorder that must be treated with a variety of methods since there is no effective way to completely cure it. One of the ways you can help keep the symptoms of autism under control is by studying diet. Parents of children with autism have reported that by controlling diet, they see a significant difference in their child’s behavior. Two of the main dietary concerns are gluten and casein.

Gluten is a substance found in many common food products, with wheat, rye, and oaks being the main culprits. Casein is found in dairy products, such as milk. If you or your child with autism eats many foods with these products in them, such as breads or cheeses, you may be able to better control autistic behavior by decreasing consumption of such foods.

The difficulty in digesting both gluten and casein comes from an inability to digestively handle the peptides in these substances. Since they are not broken down as in a normal body, these extra peptides are absorbed into the blood stream. Elevated levels of peptides disrupt major brain functions, contributing to the effects of autism. By cutting foods containing gluten and casein out of you or your child’s diet, you can help the body with the process of breaking down the peptides present in the body. To see if you or your child has a high absorption rate of these peptides, your doctor can administer a simple urine test.

Speak to a nutritionist or doctor before making any major changes in your diet. When you decide to cut gluten and casein from your diet, do not attempt to do this all at once. Cutting anything from your diet suddenly is unhealthy, and your body could go into withdrawal.

Instead, slowly begin reducing the amounts of breads, grains, and milk products until you are eating none. You doctor can provide you with a complete list of all the foods containing gluten and casein if you truly want to cut them all from your diet. However, it may be necessary to get the nutrients that you find in gluten and casein products in another way, such as with dietary supplements. These can be compounded at Village Green Apothecary in the exact amount that you or your child needs. Again, your doctor can help in this decision. Overall, maintaining a balanced diet is the healthiest thing to do. Leaving gluten and casein products out of your or your child’s diet may help control autistic behavior, so it is an option that should be considered, but eating a healthy diet altogether is the best way to keep you and your family healthy.

Are We There Yet? Family Vacations with Autistic Children

Renee — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 08:11:01 +0000

Although planning a family vacation with children may make any parents pull out his or her hair, it can be a rewarding experience for everyone in the end. It is no different if you have an autistic child in the family. The important thing to remember is that you need to be prepared for whatever life throws your way. To an autistic child, vacations can be scary and confusing, or they can be a great learning experience, leaving behind wonderful memories the entire family can enjoy.

First, choose your location based on your autistic child’s needs. For example, if he or she is sensitive to sound, an amusement park is probably not the best idea. Quieter vacations are possible at small beaches and by going camping. Overall, you should be able to find a location that everyone in the family enjoys. Once there, plan out your days accordingly. For example, you may want to see attractions very early or late in the day to avoid crowds. You also might want to consider taking your vacation during the off-season, if you children’s school work will not be disrupted. These gives your autistic child more comfort if he or she is nervous in crowded situations, and provides you with piece of mind. When choosing a location, also note how far it is from you home. How will you get there? If you have to deal with an airport, remember that security may have to touch your child and be prepared for this.

Choose a location and activities that everyone can enjoy, but also that provide learning and social interaction opportunities for your autistic child. For example, a child that does not like touch sensations may enjoy the soft sands of a beach, and the waves can provide a very different kind of feeling for him or her. Being outside, a beach is also a great place for your child to yell without disrupting others. Children who are normally non-responsive may benefit from a museum , where they can ask questions and you can ask questions of them.

Remember that most people on vacation at the location you choose will have never dealt with autism before. Try to be understanding of their ignorance-but also stick up for your child if he or she is being treated unfairly. Know your child’s constitutional laws, and also be willing to compromise. For example, if a restaurant is reluctant to serve you after your child caused a scene there last night, explain the situation and ask if it would be possible to take your food to go, even if this is normally not done. Try not to be rude to people; staring often happens, but instead of snide comments or mean looks, ignore them as much as possible and focus on having a good time with your family.

Before your next vacation, check with the pharmacist at Village Green Apothecary. We may be able to help keep your child calm with a compounded nutritional supplement. Se one of our pharmacists for details.

Autistic Children and the Strain on Marriage

Renee — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 09:30:35 +0000

Unfortunately, in modern times, many marriages end in divorce or separation. This statistic rises even higher when you mix in an autistic child. No matter how loving and understanding you both may be towards your child, the truth is that autism is a very difficult matter, and strain on the marriage is not uncommon. By trying to stay positive about your situation, and by working to keep your marriage healthy, you and your spouse can avoid marital problems and hopefully survive the trying times of raising an autistic child.

Why did you marry your husband or wife? By asking yourself this question often, you can focus on the good things in your marriage. Raising a child with autism is stressful, and if you are stressed, you have a tendency to snap at another person for the smallest missteps. Instead of focusing on these bad qualities, take some time to enjoy one another the way you did at the beginning of the relationship. This may include spending some time apart from your children. When you find out that your child is autistic, it is beneficial to make sure that you and your spouse are not the only two people with whom your child will respond. A grandparent, aunt or uncle, mature sibling, or nanny are good people to have in your child’s life in the most intimate way possible. This way, alone time with your spouse is possible.

Work together with your spouse to help you child, instead of fighting with one another. It is very likely that you will have different ideas about what to do in certain situations, so be prepared to compromise and always seek professional consultations before making any medical decisions for your child. By working together, remember that you are giving your child the best opportunities. Try to set apart time every week to spend together as a family, especially if one parent or the other is the primary caregiver.

Lastly, seek help when you need it. Part of any successful marriage is spending some time apart to focus on individual needs, and it is no different when you have an autistic child. However, if you find that you and your spouse are not happy unless you are spending time alone, it is time to reevaluate the situation. A family or marriage counselor can help you and your spouse get back on the right track to a happy life together. It might also be beneficial to meet other couples raising autistic children. You may find that they have solutions for helping your child’s behavior such as a compounded nutritional supplement or removing gluten from their diets. You are not alone, and it is never easy. By making an effort to keep your marriage happy, even when you are stressed with the task of raising an autistic child, you and your spouse can ensure that your marriage does not end in a messy divorce.

Stop the resistance to taking medication

Renee — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 09:30:43 +0000

Most of the parents would happily agree with me when I say that every child at some point has made and unnecessary fuss. This may be at the dinner table or while getting dressed in the morning or taking their routine medicines.
As parents, you know that kids can put you in a challenging situation often when it comes to taking their medicines. A child may resist taking a liquid medicine because of its bad taste. Some children have difficulty in gulping down capsules and pills. Almost all children (including adults) have a fear of needles and syringes.
Compounding pharmacy or pediatric compounding plays a significant role in making it easy for parents to give their child a complete dose of medicine without any resistance and unpleasantness. Pediatric compounding has a lot to offer in terms of a variety of flavors for pediatric medicines and suspensions that make an awfully tasting medicine edible.

In case you didn’t know, many medications that are available commercially and prescribed by pediatricians aren’t labelled for young children. Naturally if a medicine isn’t approved for administration in infants and young children, its dosage, form, and potency would not be suitable for using them in pediatric patients.
Pediatric compounding has the ability to formulate medicines into more infant and children friendly dosage, flavors and forms such as liquids, lollipops. These are a great help in cases where the child is too young to take medicine following a surgery, suppositories.
Professional compounding, is not limited to diluting the regular medications and mixing powders with bases. They make medications which do not contain certain preservatives, allergens or dyes that a particular kid may be allergic to. They consider physical as well as chemical properties of each active and inactive component in order to formulate an effective and safe made to order medication with the required taste, smell, thickness, color, consistency, quality, and potency.
A pediatrician, while prescribing medication to the patient can specifically mention the dosage just right for the kid. The experts at the compounding agency can therefore offer you a customized medicine best suited to your kid. Examples of such formulations include Omeprazole Suspension, Custom “Butt” pastes and Clonicel.
The effectiveness of any compounded medication is directly related to the method, skill and equipment used in making the formulation, purity of the ingredients, choice of the medicine bases, and correct use of additives such as penetration boosters.

Have trouble getting your kids to take medicine?

Renee — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 06:56:13 +0000

Let’s take a scenario. Your child is sick and you take him to the child specialist. The physician, after examining the patient, prescribes a medication. You get the medicine and come back home only to find that your kid does not take the medicine. Does it sound familiar? Let’s face it. It’s not just your child but almost all children have a trouble consuming a variety of today’s medicines. The fact is that you cannot actually blame them.

For a very long time, the therapeutic options for kids have been fairly restricted because the range of pediatric formulations available in the market is very limited. The dosage, dosage forms and flavors of many commercially available medications are mostly designed for adults. The form or the dosage is therefore, at times, incompatible with the requirements of young patients. With a view to increase the compatibility rate, we need to have a system which offers improved therapeutic outcomes and makes it simple for parents to give medication to their kids.
There is a solution and it is a special kind of pharmacy; pediatric compounding; a branch of compounding pharmacy. Here, Village Green Apothecary formulates customized medications for the patient in the form of topical gels for nausea and vomiting, balms and creams for diaper rash, or lollipops for sore throats. Each of these formulations requires a prescription. So make sure that your child specialist knows about these options available in the market. This will result in getting your child the right dose of medicine available in the form and flavor that he/she can consume without difficulty.
For young patients who find it difficult to ingest tablets or capsules, the same drug is available in an oral suspension or a liquid form as well. If the medicine tastes awful, the kid might refuse to take it. The variety of flavors can be used to put together a combination that children like.
Besides the dosage form and taste of the medicine, certain kids are sensitive to certain preservatives or fillers used in the drug. A compounding pharmacy can refrain from using these ingredients while preparing the medication to making it risk-free for the child.
This article outlines a few alternatives that can be exercised in order to help not just the patients but the physicians and parents of young children as well in taking medicines.
Special formulation for kids: Specially flavored mixtures, suspensions, chews or suppositories can be prepared for the kids to make their administration easier for the parents. The dose or the quantity of the medicine used can be customized to suit the kid’s requirements. When not restricted to doses only designed for adults, and altering the potency of each dose to suit the infant’s need will also play down any side effects.
Coating medicines with edible flavors: There are a number of palatable flavors like chocolate, raspberry, vanilla and bubblegum available in the market to camouflage the taste of the medicine. This will help in making the taste of the medicine pleasant to even the fussiest pallet, improve its quality, and makes the parent’s job a bit easy.
You must be curious to know what the basis of these formulations is. Well, many of the formulations used in various laboratories come from our chemical supplier, Professional Compounding Centers of America, who provides us with formulations, training, and education. It contains hundreds of formulations for infants and kids frequently used across the world. It includes oral, ophthalmic, rectal, and injectable products. The wealth of information that this text provides ensures that the formulations made for the pediatric patients will be reliable, consistent and dependable.
In addition to the formulations, this text also refers to the very important stability data specifically for these preparations which is generally not very easy to obtain.

Keeping Pets Healthy Through Veterinary Compounding

Renee — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 10:00:39 +0000

Whether you know it or not, the medicines that you give your pet have most probably been produced by a compounding pharmacy. Custom-made medications are a vital part of keeping different breeds of animals healthy. Thousands of animals all around the world receive such medicines every single day. Whether you own a horse or a cutie dog, he or she has in all likelihood received custom medicine.

Different dosages may be formulated depending on an animal’s average size. For example; dogs generally need larger doses than cats. Special flavoring may be used to make medicine more edible to different animals – for instance; cats might like to receive some chicken flavoured medicine.

Why do Veterinary Clinics Utilize Veterinary Compounding?

Like many others pet owners, it is natural for you to be concerned about your pet’s health. When your animal gets sick, you generally take them to a veterinary clinic as quickly as possible. Based on the diagnosis, your local vet will prescribe the most suitable medicine for your pet.

Pharmaceutical compounding pharmacies and veterinary clinics work simultaneously with each other to widen their prescribing abilities, and overall add to and expand a veterinarian’s ability to treat a patient promptly in the most effective manner.

The Many Uses of Veterinary Compounding

Compounding might also be used to make drugs easier to administer besides formulating medicine that is at the proper dosage for a specific animal and to make it more palatable taste-wise. Veterinarians work personally with clients to prepare the right kind of medicine for their needs. This is because giving medicine to a cat is a lot different than giving it to a horse.

People with especially fussy pets can ask for capsules in place of liquids, or may ask for particular flavouring to keep their pet happy. Compounding improves the ability of a vet to effectively prescribe the best medications for your animal which translates to a greater opportunity to offer the best possible treatment.

Compounding and a Happy, Healthy Pet

So the next time your pet needs some medicine, pay attention to what is prescribed. No matter what the type of medicine is, compounding most likely played a significant role in its formulation somewhere along the way.

Remember that the specific dosage that you give your pet bird or snake or the flavouring that makes your dog more palatable about taking his medicine wouldn’t be possible without ground-breaking compounding techniques. There’s no doubt that compounding is about keeping your pet healthy, and making it better, easier and a lot more manageable for you.

Tips on how to get rid of moles and warts effectively

Renee — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 10:00:25 +0000

If you are suffering from huge moles of warts, life can be a hurting affair on a day to day basis. Usually, they are just excessive skin growths which are caused by a viral infection but sometimes these moles and even warts could be malignant tumours which will need immediate treatment. Many people worry if they should have their mole or wart checked by a doctor for cancer. But the truth is only warts or moles that look somewhat different from usual or keep changing their colour, shape and size need to give you a cause of real worry and need you to visit your dermatologist.

To treat regular moles and warts, a more affordable and less embarrassing method is to go in for home remedies and natural medicines to treat these skin lesions. They are very common, especially moles and skin tags and the only real problem they pose is that the patient looks and feels unattractive that may lead to depression and loss of self confidence.

Nonetheless, it is important to first understand why these moles, warts and skin tags appear on the skin if you really wish to get rid of them.

Warts are caused by Human Papillomavirus or HPV. These can be of different types and each type affects a different body part. Some common varieties are Common Warts, Flat Warts, Planter Warts, and Genital warts. While each is different, it is genital warts that are most distressing and contagious. Most patients avoid seeing a doctor because they feel embarrassed by them. Finding some effective home remedies on the Internet is a painless way for wart removal and this may save them some money as well.

On the other hand, moles can be equally upsetting if they become huge and seem like spot on your face that entirely destroys the beauty of your face. Moles are more common than warts as there is no individual on this planet without these distinguishing marks. But for some, these may pose a big problem. Again, just like warts, moles are also of a different variety and it’s vital to know the distinction in each type. This further helps you to know if there is anything doubtful about the mole you are worried about and what type of treatments are best for them.

Junctional Melanocytic Naevi is brown in colour, flat in shape, and is very common.

Compound Melanocytic Naevi is varied in colour, are often hairy, and a little raised in size.

Dermal Melanocytic Naevi is hairy, and has raised bumps that are exactly the colour of your skin

A visit to the dermatologist will give you a better understanding of the causes and cures of each type. Yet, one must keep a check on their body parts in all the areas which are exposed to the sun as the moles which occur in these body parts could be dangerous.

New large moles after the age of 20 years should be taken seriously especially if they change their shape, colour, and size. It is good stay well informed about the risks attached to the moles if you have a lot of moles, warts or skin tags on your body.

This article shares some ayurvedic tips to get rid of moles as well as warts. These are;

· Applying the natural oil called Kaseesadi Taila on the wart and then covering with a bandage

· Applying castor oil to the wart or mole and surrounding areas and covering it with bandage

· Applying Aloe Vera on the affected area and the wart would disappear in only a few days

· Rubbing dandelion roots on the mole or wart at least three times a day

· Cutting fresh pineapple to slices and rubbing on the wart or mole repeatedly during the day

· Mix a handful of flaxseeds, flaxseed oil and honey and apply on the moles to lighten them.

· Make some fresh coriander paste and apply on moles

· Clove oil is very effective in removing warts and moles

· Try rubbing a piece of potato on the wart or mole and see the changes

· Rubbing onion pieces on warts daily also helps in getting rid of the warts and moles.

Natural methods as described above offer a large variety of benefits. These are much cheaper than a surgical treatment and they also ensure that you will remove all warts, moles as well as skin tags without leaving any scars. The biggest cause of anxiety for most people looking for a cure for their moles and skin tags is the scars. But if you choose a tropical treatment yourself without getting a proper prescription from a dermatologist, you will have to deal with ugly scars. On the other hand, with more natural, home remedies, there will be no side effects and you will also not scar your skin.

Whether you choose medications, tropical creams, surgeries or natural remedies, it’s essential to make a list of all the methods in a logical way and then evaluate the pros and cons of each method. You may then create a checklist and begin with the economical home remedies and give them sufficient time to work on your skin.