When new in this country, the numerous Advertisements for medicines used to surprise me. During a half hour programme on TV, out of 10 ads, 3-4 will be about some pill! Pills to sleep, to wake, to make you eat, to prevent you from eating, to absorb what you eat... happappa! No amount of fine-print side effects makes an iota of difference[I always get reminded of SVSekar's drama, 'Oru sondha veedu vaadagai veedaagiradhu' in which a 'mandreegan' character would prescribe a kashayam for mouth ulcer listing numerous side-effects and would end saying 'vaai punn pogum' and SVSekar would ask, 'vaai enna aagum?' :) ]. Every time an Ad ends with 'Ask your doctor about XYZ', I wonder how in India, patients get a good 'dose' from their Doctors for asking!
Pills was something one used, or so I thought, as a last resort after all 'kai vaidhyams'/ home treatments fail. Also, the art of swallowing pills is really something! Filling the mouth with water and dropping the pill straight into the throat without touching the tongue is a feat! But many a time, the water would rush through my throat and the pill would be left dangling!! And if there are multiple pills to be swallowed, then 'muzhi pidhungify dhaan'!!
Like many things that we have got used to here, I realised that pain balms were a non-entity in this country only when our folks complained of it during their visit here('Ennama, oru Amruthanjanam maadhiri onnum kedayadha inge?'). Sometime back, there was news about a lady never having cleaned her medcine cabinet in years with medicines' expiry dating almost decades back! I kind-of sympathised with her for like all other things sold in the US, these medicines too come in big packs! In our country, 'vitta, maathiraiyai padhiya odichu vaaile pottu vittu, 1/2 price vaangipaanga'!! These people can learn a thing or two from us!
20 comments:
LOL! also, out of those 3-4 ads out of 10, each one would have more air time for side effects!
pain relievers - sometimes I get bengay or icyhot (matter peyru dhaan.. but very effective)
2 "headbaths" in a row would give me a cold and a 2week consumption of endless strips of Coldact and Cure Cold in india. It was my first trip to US where I used to have continuous "headbaths" for a month(to keep my hair sitting quiet - I was scared of going to the hairdresser and getting my hairstyle out of shape!)that taught me the problem was the dust.
Mandreegan reminded me of the Kerala Namboodiri in Crazy's 'Satellite Saamiyar' :) After hearing it I developed crazyitis and DLed all his comedies in no time from coolgoose!
Very apt post.. at a time when I was down with cold most of last week and Geeta, after that.. I hate going to doctors here.. The irritating part about the pills' ads is the way the 'Warning about side-effects' stuff is read-out at supersonic speed.. There is pretty much no medicine without any side-effect, so if someone is 90% recovered, it is great.. :-)
I like capsules, bcos adhai vayile pottu thanni kudikkalam; thanni kudichum vayile pottukkalam.. :)
BTW, I dont know whether you got the answer for a qn. u asked.. My mother tongue is Kannada..
Deepak, Icyhot is relatively new, isn't it? Though I meant headache relieving balm.
Prasanna, this is only about 'pills'. Doctors, appointments 'kadhaiyai ketteenganna', it will make a another post!!
ttm, IMO, only Malayalis can handle continuous 'headbaths' anywhere in the world!
I watched 'satellite samiyar' on stage!
I made my folks bring me all the SVSekar drama audio cassettes but hardly get to listen to it!!
Raju, hope you both get well soon! The fine-print, supersonic speed is all b'cos they have to 'solli tholaikanam'!!
In a way capsules are better as they won't taste bitter!
"Goththu, goththu"! :)
Side effects of drugs is a huge scam. It's anti-business, anti-science rhetoric. Drugs are cool!
I, for people from 'hot' chennai everything here is 'cool', I guess!(Me too now switching to 'brown sugar')
i still remember those days when i am forced to eat mathirai -- the usual procedure is: crush it to powders, then mix honey to it and then eat :-)... my parents used to ask doctors if a syrup alternative exists for the tabalet ;-)
nowadays am better :-)...
read somewhere that by age of 35-40, many people in the developed country starts eating atleast 1-2 pills a day... (can be interpreted both ways: developed countries leading to more health risks or undeveloped countries not able to afford for tablets)
I've always wondered why/how people drink the water first and then pop in the pill! Should be the other way round, i say! :)
very well relate to the pill swallowing n muzhi pithungifying!! enakku athu romba kashtam!!
brown sugar is a dangerous drug.
This is a country of lawyers and lawsuits. That's why the so many warnings about side-effects, I think.
brown sugar is awesome for sweet pongal
Karthik, ya, why can't they make more syrup alternatives for adults too?
B(K), I've always wondered how people always popped the pill and then drank water!! My tongue plays 'OC'(untouchability!) with the 'OBC' Pill!!! :)
KC, good, I have company!
I, is it?
JC, you are right! Formality!!
ttm, isn't it? Yummy!!
These days yathuku than pillsnu vavasthaya illama pochu! Half of these I feel are nothing more than money making gimmicks.
I,
y is it that brown sugar is a dangerous drug? I thot it was more healthier than the white sugar. Pls share the info cos I'm also into brown sugar these days.
Thanks
has to be me, true. But sometimes we are to blame too(Placebo effect).
'I'-yoda previous comment paakaliya?
me too,
Satellite and Alavudeen & 1000w bulb are my alltime favorites, especially Alavudeen's proxy interview and the 'Anda Kaakaasam' part!!
SV Sekar pidikaadhu, quite irritating dialogues at times(and a rude ill-mannered individual in real life - this is what I read from sources like these and I'm not out to malign him). Crazy is the best! A guy called Karthik used to host all SVS dramas from some ohio based university. In 2001 or so, SVS joined AIADMK and a thondan emailed "S.V.Sekar my leader, you remove dramas before one week or you finish" The dramas were promptly shifted to coolgoose, even now one can see the uploader name as karthik167!
i don't knw y marijuana is a banned drug. its half as addictive as cigarettes, gum or booze. and its banned. unconstitutional.
ttm, I enjoy both their comedies though I agree that SVS is a heavy-weight in the head!! In the beginning both SVS and CM were together, isn't it?
I used to listen to a lot of SVS's dramas on audio cassette. Hence remember more of SVS drama dialogues.
I, 'avanga avangalukku avanga avanga kavalai'!
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