Who Needs A Compound Prescription?

When traditional medications just won’t do, a compound prescription often offers a safer, more palatable solution. If you’re in need of a custom prescription alternative, Tiffany Natural Pharmacy can help.

What Is A Compound Prescription?

When your doctor prescribes a medication, you likely take that slip of paper to a commercial pharmacy and exchange it for a premade tablet, capsule or liquid. Those medications follow a standard formula and can’t be altered. Compound prescriptions offer complete customization. Your doctor essentially writes out a recipe that includes strength and dosage, but you then have a range of options including delivery method, flavoring agents and other ingredients such as binders.

Compounded medications don’t come with a brand name and you won’t see them splashed across your television in fancy commercials, but what they lack in pizzazz they more than make up for in functionality.

Conditions Treated Using Compound Prescriptions

Compound prescriptions can be used for almost any illness, injury or condition treatable via traditional prescriptions, but some specialties seem to rely on compounding more than others:

Pain management
Dermatology
Nutritional therapy
Thyroid replacement therapy
Pediatrics
Allergists
Oncology

Compound Prescriptions For Allergies And Dietary Restrictions

Traditional medications follow a one-size-fits-all formula. Either you take the medication as-is or you don’t take it at all. This approach may be a mere inconvenience for someone who hates taking pills, but for patients with allergies to common inactive prescription ingredients, having access to a personalized alternative could be literally lifesaving.

Many medications include binders (ingredients that hold a tablet together), thickeners, carrier oils or flavoring agents that double as common allergens, such as:

Coconut
Corn
Wheat
Dairy
Peanut derivatives
Soy
Artificial colors

Other patients may not have allergies but rather intolerances or certain medical conditions that affect their ability to consume key ingredients or even religious or personal objections to contend with. Patients with celiac disease risk serious illness if exposed to medications containing gluten, while vegans may object to the beef gelatin commonly used in suppositories, tablets and soft capsules.

Patients Who Can’t Process Oral Preparations

Individuals with gut motility disorders, stomach cancer or throat injuries may not be able to take any kind of oral prescription. In those cases, being able to omit an ingredient or transform a pain pill into a topical ointment can help someone get the care and medical intervention they might otherwise be forced to do without. The same idea applies to chemotherapy patients and other individuals who experience extreme nausea. Even if they can swallow a capsule, it may not stay down. Transdermal preparations such as creams or patches serve as efficient and effective substitutes.

Giving Children Much-Needed Medication

It’s notoriously difficult to get children to take their medicine. Some pills can be daunting in size or feel like they’re sticking when your little one tries to swallow. Others taste terrible, even when crushed up in applesauce or chocolate pudding. Compound prescriptions allow parents to work in concert with their pediatrician to create a formula that’s more palatable and appealing to tiny patients.

Many medications include binders (ingredients that hold a tablet together), thickeners, carrier oils or flavoring agents that double as common allergens, such as:

Lollipops
Transdermal preparations
Suppositories
Emulsions, suspensions and solutions (thin syrups and other drinkable liquids)
Gummies
Rapid-dissolve tablets

Catering To The Elderly

When it comes to medication, our aging loved ones have special needs. Childproof containers can prove difficult for adults with arthritic joints, and sometimes doctors prescribe a medication that’s widely available in the wrong dosage, leaving patients struggling to cut up pills and calculate how much to take and when. Compounding these medications allows physicians to customize a medication’s strength and dosage to correspond with each patient’s unique situation, removing the guesswork and helping to ensure that patient’s health and safety.

Pet Medications

A sick pet can be devastating, but compounded medications could be exactly what Fluffy or Fido needs to get some pep back in their step. Pet compounding follows many of the same principles seen in compounding for humans but with the added step of assessing each creation to make sure it’s appropriate for our four-legged friends.

Visit Our Pharmacy

Compounded medication requires a deft hand and tons of experience. Our team at Tiffany Natural Pharmacy is well-versed in compounding and knows how to create a prescription that meets your doctor’s requirements and your needs. For more information or to discuss your prescription, visit our location in Westfield, New Jersey, and see how compounded medications can help you heal.