BBB shares advice for filling prescriptions online

There are myriad reasons why American consumers are attracted to online pharmacies. Some seek lower prescription prices. Others seek the privacy of not having to deal with a pharmacist or doctor face-to-face. Some may want to avoid the cost of visiting a doctor in order to acquire a prescription. Then there are those who may be trying to acquire prescription drugs for recreational use or who have even become addicted to certain drugs.

Whatever the reason, the Better Business Bureau warns that some online pharmacies are dangerous to your health.

While studies are showing significant increases in the number of people who are buying their medications online, many dont understand the very real risks that the practice is exposing them to.

COUNTERFEIT DRUGS

Consumers would be wise to remember that anything that is valuable, from $100 bills to designer handbags to prescription drugs, can be counterfeited. It is fake, copycat drugs that pose serious health risks to online pharmacy customers. Though they may look like the real thing, counterfeit drugs may have any of these problems:

They are contaminated due to being manufactured at uninspected or illegitimate sites.

They may not help the condition or disease the medicine is meant to treat.

They contain the wrong active ingredient or the wrong amounts of ingredients, none of or too much of an active ingredient and may therefore lead to dangerous, unexpected side effects.

They may be placed in legitimate-appearing packaging.

Other potential problems

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BBB shares advice for filling prescriptions online