When your day-to-day includes taking a regimen of medication to support your health and wellness, it is assumed what you’re taking is legitimate medicine. Unfortunately, that is not the case for everyone.
Counterfeit meds are increasingly common and endanger the lives of many people across the world. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 1 out of 10 medical products in developing countries and 1% in countries like the US are counterfeit. The risk of receiving illegitimate products increases when you’re ordering medicines online – but not if you know how to navigate safe online pharmacies that abide by pharmaceutical regulations.
How can you set yourself up for success and be well informed while ordering your meds online? We will tell you in this article as we explore how you can identify fake medications and web pharmacies. To emphasize the importance of this subject, let’s look at the risks associated with ordering medicines online from these pharmacies.
What Are the Risks of Buying Medications From Illegal Online Pharmacies?
Illegal online pharmacies have turned counterfeit drugs into a global problem. These platforms lure patients in with false claims and promises of authentic medications, while all they deliver are fake ones.
Apart from losing money and being scammed by these websites, this has obvious health risks. Some of the risks may include:
- The medicines you’re ordering online may be past their expiration date
- They may be counterfeit, substandard, and mislabeled
- They may contain toxic ingredients
- They may contain insufficient active ingredients or lack them entirely
- They may be made from dangerous raw materials in illegal and unsupervised laboratories
How Can You Identify Fake Medications?
There are no sure ways to know whether the medicines you’re ordering online are legitimate or not other than by testing them in a laboratory. However, there are signs you can look out for that will help you identify fake medicines. These indicators may not always be present. When they are, however, you can safely get rid of the meds. Let’s look at some of these signs.
Spelling Errors on Packages
Spelling errors are the most noticeable sign of a medication’s illegitimacy. You can rest assured that a legitimate manufacturer knows how to spell the name of the drugs correctly. If you see misspellings on the packages or the meds themselves, you can assume the meds are not authentic.
Appearance of Medicine
When ordering medicines online, you probably know how they should look. If you receive pills and tablets in different sizes or shapes other than the usual forms you get, call your doctor or visit a pharmacy to cross-check them. You should especially be wary of appearance changes on refills.
Quality of Medicine
If the meds you’re ordering online come from legitimated, regulated manufacturers, they will have high quality. If you see any indications of low manufacturing quality, such as cracked tablets or bubbled-up coatings, get rid of them quickly.
Broken Packaging
When ordering medicines online, the image of the product you’re purchasing should be a clear indicator of what the packaging will look like when it arrives at your door. Pharmaceutical manufacturers use secure packages that will not get damaged easily. If you receive a crushed box that looks like it has been tampered with or otherwise does not match with how the packaging looked in product description from where you purchased, do not use the product.
How Can You Identify an Illegal Online Pharmacy?
Now that you know how to distinguish fake and authentic drugs, how can you identify legitimate virtual pharmacies? As with medication products, there are signs you can look out for to ensure you’re ordering medicines online from an authentic source. Here are some of them.
Pharmacies That Offer Super-Bargains
When ordering meds online, if you come across pharmacies that offer super-bargains and deals that seem too good to be true, steer clear of them. Ensure you choose an online pharmacy that is transparent about upcoming expiration dates and offers guarantees based on them. At Inhouse Pharmacy, we do list discounted medications based on upcoming expiry dates, and we guarantee that they arrive well ahead of those expiration dates.
Pharmacies That Make Wild Claims
You might encounter other drugs when ordering your regular meds online. Seeing ads for magic weight loss pills and cancer-curing tablets on the homepage of a virtual pharmacy should be a warning sign to you. Not only are these wild claims nothing but lies and empty promises, but the same might be true with that website’s other products.
Pharmacies That Don’t Have Pharmacists On Staff
Most legitimate online pharmacies like Inhouse Pharmacy have access to pharmacists to answer customer questions and detect problems with fake prescriptions. If you’re ordering medicines online from a website without a licensed pharmacist, you may not be getting authentic drugs.
Pharmacies That Don’t State Their Privacy Policies
Most people don’t pay much attention to a website’s privacy policies. However, when you’re ordering medicines online, you should keep it in mind. When you come across online pharmacies without a privacy policies page, it’s best to steer clear of them. Look at our privacy policy page, for instance. At Inhouse Pharmacy, we clearly state everything you need to know to make a safe purchase.
Pharmacies That Don’t Talk About Their Shipping Policies
When you order from a website without a dedicated page that helps you understand what to expect when purchasing their products, you might lose your money and never receive your package. Inhouse Pharmacy clearly details what to expect in our shipping and return policies page, and our dedicated customer service team is here to answer any questions regarding these policies.
Pharmacies That Don’t Have Good Customer Reviews
Lastly, customer reviews can tell you whether you’re ordering medicines online from a legitimate pharmacy or not. Take a look at Inhouse Pharmacy’s customer reviews. By reading other people’s positive experiences, you can start ordering meds online with an assured mind.
Finding an Online Pharmacy You Can Trust
Watch out for these signs and find authentic places for your medical needs. Once you do, you can enjoy the numerous benefits that these virtual pharmacies offer.
A reliable virtual pharmacy you can trust is Inhouse Pharmacy. We offer safe and legitimate medications for various health conditions at affordable prices. Start ordering your medicines online from Inhouse Pharmacy to enjoy free shipping wherever you are and get access to responsive customer service. With our registered pharmacists, friendly customer service teams and quality medications, we strive to help you live your best life. Contact us now and take the first step toward better health.
