What are Generic Medicines?

There is a saying that “you get what you pay for”. Basically it means that quality cost money – if you are not prepared to pay much for an article or service you cannot expect much in return. Fortunately this is not applicable to generic medicines. Here the opposite is true – when buying generic medicines you actually get far more than you pay for. The reason is that generic alternatives sometimes cost less than half the price of branded equivalents.

But what are generic medicines exactly? A short explanation is that generic medicines are medicines marketed without a brand name. The generic name is the trade name the manufacturer gives to the medicine but to market it successfully, they give a brand name to the medicine.

The difference between a brand name and generic name can be explained as follows: The brand name is chosen by the manufacturer, usually on the basis that it can be recognized, pronounced and remembered by health professionals and members of the public. An example would be Viagra - this is the well-known brand name given to the generic medicine sildenafil. (Brand names are capitalized; generic names are not.)

Therefore, generic medicines are chemically identical to their brand name equivalents. They have the same strength, quality, dosage and results. There are only two differences: they may look different and they are definitely cheaper!

How are generics produced? Pharmaceutical companies spend years and lots of money on laboratory research to develop new medicines which are mass produced and patented under brand names for consumers. These branded or patented medicines have to be sold at a price that would recover the costs of the research required to produce them and also supplement continued research into the same and other medicines. Patents do not last indefinitely and when a patent expires, manufacturers can produce and sell the medicines under a different name and at a much cheaper price. This is called generic medicines – they have the same chemical ingredients but the brand name is not used due to the patent that expired. It can also happen that pharmaceutical companies may allow other manufacturers to produce generics under license before expiry of a patent.

But if they are the same as the branded medicine, why are they cheaper? Although generics have exactly the same ingredients they do not have the same massive costs involved in the development and testing of the branded medicine. Generic medicines therefore cost far less to produce and the savings are passed on to the consumer.

Generic medicines may differ in their inactive ingredients which can affect the colour, shape and size of the medicine.  It is only the external appearance of the medicine that differs but it is guaranteed that the active ingredients are the same quality. The only reason that the external appearances are differing is that trade mark laws (applicable for the branded name) do not permit generics to look the same as the branded ones.

Rest assured – generic medicines are exact copies of original branded medicines. Worldwide generic medicine manufacturers have to meet the same stringent quality control standards as brand manufacturers and have to prove that their products have the same active ingredients and same concentration level as the original branded medicines. Governments worldwide ensure that medicine control boards or equivalent boards instituted by law, act as watch dogs to make sure that quality which may affect the health of consumers are not jeopardized.

In conclusion, generic medicines have not been introduced or brought onto markets just for the sake thereof. No, worldwide medical costs are constantly increasing faster than the average rate of inflation and therefore the need to control the escalation of medicine prices also increased. An effective way to do it, but without influencing quality medical care, is to allow generic medicines on the market as competition for and substitution of branded medicines.

Generic medicines are here to stay for the benefit of the consumer.

Some Useless Facts

Some facts to thrill your neighbors with... (Or maybe not...):

• If you yelled for 8 years, 7 months and 6 days, you would have produced enough sound energy to heat one cup of coffee.
• If you toot consistently for 6 years and 9 months, enough gas is produced to create the energy of an atomic bomb.
• The human heart creates enough pressure when it pumps blood, that it could squirt blood 30 feet.
• Banging your head against a wall uses 150 calories an hour
• Humans and dolphins are the only species that have sex for pleasure.
• On average people fear spiders more than they do death.
• The strongest muscle in the body is the TONGUE.
• It's impossible to sneeze with your eyes open.
• You can't kill yourself by holding your breath.
• Americans on the average eat 18 acres of pizza every day.
• Every time you lick a stamp, you're consuming 1/10 of a calorie.
• Did you know that you are more likely to be killed by a champagne cork than by a poisonous spider?
• Right-handed people live, on average, nine years longer than left-handed people do
• In ancient Egypt, Priests plucked EVERY hair from their bodies, including their eyebrows and eyelashes.
• A crocodile cannot stick its tongue out.
• The ant can lift 50 times its own weight, can pull 30 times its own weight and always falls over on its right side when intoxicated.
• Polar bears are left handed.
• The catfish has over 27,000 taste buds; that makes the catfish rank #1 for the animal having the most taste buds
• The flea can jump 350 times its body length, that is like a human jumping the length of a football field.
• A cockroach will live nine days without it's head, before it starves to death.
• Butterflies taste with their feet.
• Elephants are the only animals that can't jump. (Thankfully)
• A cat's urine glows under a black light.
• An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.
• Starfishes haven't got brains

 There you are, use it, don't use it!
 

Tips to relieve stress

Each and every one of us knows what stress is and also has it. It is what motivates us daily to ensure that we are functioning at our best.

But just as high blood pressure and high cholesterol are not good to us, stress must be managed otherwise it can get out of control and can be detrimental to our health.

For those who are constantly on the edge with stress, here are some tips to counter stress:

1.       Take a nap: To take a nap is a simple, yet effective way to relax. It is there to refresh body and mind. An effective nap does not need to be long. It can be between 15 and 20 minutes. Longer naps can make you groggy and even make you toss and turn during your normal night time sleep.

2.       Keep a journal: make a habit to write your journal or diary daily at the end of the working day when at home. It is an excellent way to relax and to put things that caused excessive stress or problems in perspective and it also cleans up your mind – like emptying the recycle bin on your computer! (Talking about computers; instead of writing a journal or diary, what about Blogging? But remember, then it is public!)

3.       Take a walk in the park: Taking a walk in a park will allow you to look and listen to nature around you instead of thinking and worrying.

4.       Listen to good music: make time to listen to good, soothing music – it let you relax.

5.       Take a bath: A warm bath with the necessary bath salts or foam bath will ease the effects of tension and put you in a better state of mind.

6.       Make a joke: Laugh and the world laugh with you. This is true. Making a joke out of or during a tense situation will immediately lose some of its weight. 

These tips are simple and easy to follow but all will help you to create a peaceful and reflective space in your hectic daily schedule!

President Ulysses Grant

Ulysses Grant was the 18^th President of the USA from 1869 to 1877.

He was born on 27 April 1822 in Point Pleasant, Ohio. He started school in Georgetown and later on in Maysville Kentucky as well as the Presbyterian Academy in Ripley Ohio. When Ulysses Grant was 17 years old his father ensured that he was admitted to the Military Academy at West Point. 

He entered West Point in 1839 and he excelled at horsemanship and mathematics. He was a much disciplined person and was able to adjust to a militaristic training and lifestyle. He graduated in 1843 and was assigned to infantry duty on the south-western frontier. In 1845 he was transferred to Texas and he fought in the Mexican War from 1869 to 1877. After the war he was stationed on the Pacific Coast but his heart was not truly in the army and he was forced to resign from the Army due to personal problems.

He returned to his family on a piece of land where he tried without success to make a living for him and his family. To keep up supporting his family he tried one job after the other without much success. He ended up in working for his brother but his break came when the Confederate States of America seceded from the Federal Union and the Civil War broke out. Ulysses Grant was against any form of slavery and he therefore declared him loyal to the Union and offered his services to the Union Army.

He was accepted with open arms and he was commissioned as colonel of the 21st Illinois Volunteers. Due to his reputation he was immediately promoted to the rank of brigadier-general and placed in charge of the District of South-East Missouri. For the first time in his life he was successful in what he was doing and he was on a high when he directed the strategy that successfully concluded the Civil War in 1865. 

But, his war campaign was also marred with the negative – he was blamed of certain unsuccessful campaigns and of his personal life interfering with his professional decision making. Fortunately President Lincoln came up for him. To show the world that he was on the side of Ulysses Grant he promoted him to the rank of major-general. In 1867 he was appointed as Secretary of War but internal politics played a role again – when Congress insisted on the reinstatement of the previous Secretary of War, Ulysses Grant resigned. 

But, once again fate played a role in favor of Ulysses Grant. In 1868 the Republican Party nominated him for president. At the age of 46, he was elected as the youngest President so far. Unfortunately his youth and inexperience in politics caused him immense problems in dealing with Congress. In spite of this he was popular with the American constituency, so much so that in 1872 he easily regained the Presidency for a second term. But, the second term was not so good. It was plagued by corruption and scandal. His reputation was shot and his trustees in Office were making themselves guilty of corruption.   

At the end of his second term he suffered from throat cancer but he had time to complete his autobiography The Personal Memoirs of US Grant before he died on 23 July 1885. 

In summary of his life and times, he was a puzzling figure in American public life. He was a failure in his early ventures of business and military life. Later on whilst commanding the Union forces he climbed to the highest rank in the U.S. Army and his two terms as President of the United States are considered by many historians to be the most corrupt in the country's history. But to be historical fair to him, there must be some good in him too as it emerges that he was a person of strong character and considerable dignity.

How to decide on a dog for you

“A dog is a man’s best friend.” This is very true but it is important to make the right decision whether to have a dog or not as a dog can also be a man’s worst nightmare!

To get a dog is very exiting but also very challenging and a great commitment. Unfortunately there are too many dogs that annually ends up in animal shelters – dogs that are mistreated by their owners or dogs that become a burden for their owners. 

So, the decision is yours but here are some tips to assist you to make the right decision:

1. Be sure that there is place in your unique lifestyle for a dog: It is no use to have a dog and you are over-committed with your work or your social life. To have a dog for companionship is good and noble but then you must be there for him. A child must grow up with a pet and normally a dog is a good pet but it won’t take long before your child will outgrow the dog – go to school, busy with extra-mural activities and own social life. Dogs are also social creatures and need a lot of attention and you must be prepared to make time for socializing, training and grooming.

2. Take into consideration your domestic environment: The size of your house, garden and any other available open spaces in the vicinity of your house are very important for the physical needs of your dog. A big dog generally needs more physical exercise than the smaller breeds. Some dogs are typical house-bound dogs whilst others are typical outdoor dogs.

3. Take into consideration the financial implications: There may be once off costs to get a dog. The more pedigree it is, the higher the price. But, there is also recurrent expenditure – feeding costs, veterinary fees, vacation boarding, etc. which all have to be taken into account.

4. Make sure there is a cooling off period: Do not decide overnight to have a dog. Get the commitment of the entire family or household. Make sure everyone is on board with the commitment it will ask from everyone. Remember, normally everyone is keen and eager when it is a cute puppy -  they will fight to get its attention and to play with it,  but as it grew bigger it will be lose its shine. Therefore, after the decision is taken to get a dog, make sure there is a cooling off period of at least 5 days before you commit yourself with a seller.

Be responsible in your decision because a dog is truly a man’s best friend!