Saridon: An Appeal for Illumination

I suffer from terrible migraine attacks. In fact, just last weekend, I had what I think is my worst migraine attack ever. Why is that? Well, the throbbing pain on my head started Saturday morning and lasted until last night! Yes, three days of excruciating pain. You're probably wondering why I "allowed" the condition to last that long. The fact is I immediately took three Ibuprofen caplets to manage the pain. A mere 250mg caplet no longer works for me. The dosage needs to be at least 750mg to 1000mg. The pain subsided... for a short while (or at least, while I was sleeping).

The following morning, I woke up to a throbbing pain at the base of my neck the crept upward to my skull. I felt as if the throbbing was crushing my brain. I wanted to look for an alternative to the Ibuprofen caplets I had. I was contemplating on taking Saridon, hoping it can help relieve me of the pain. I remember Saridon from an informative article about the dynamics of medicine promotion and advertisements I read online. Normally, I take Excedrin Migraine® for the worst cases of migraine. I take two 500mg caplets, and in as short as 30 minutes, the pain is gone. However, I opted to look for an alternative because I noticed that lately, a bad case of heartburn immediately follows after the medicines have taken effect.

Anyway, I tried to look for more information about Saridon. This is actually something I always do - read information about a medicine I would be taking - because it's better to be safe than sorry. I wanted to find out if it could relieve migraine headaches. Instead, I stumbled upon a well-written article or argument, if you may, about the safety of Saridon. Apparently, it contains 135 mg of propyphenazone, 260 mg of paracetamol and 55 mg of caffeine, and while I know that paracetamol is a pain reliever and caffeine serves as a pain reliever aid (Excedrin Migraine® actually contains 65mg of caffeine), I had no idea what propyphenazone is. The latter is a derivative of phenazone, which means several chemical components of phenazone can be found in propyphenazone.

Bayer Philippines, Inc. is the company behind Saridon's release in the Philippines. They say that this very efficient analgesic has been around for quite some time already and has become popular for being one of the fastest painkillers in the market. The medicine has a strong following in the Vis-Min regions, but it hasn't gone all out on a nationwide scale. Why is that? According to reports, the purported banning of the medicine has a lot to do with it. Currently, Saridon is banned in Korea, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Malaysia, and Thailand. They point to the adverse effects of Saridon especially to pregnant women. It's also considered the culprit behind severe cases of drug-induced blood dyscrasias, hypersensitivity reactions, nephrotoxicity, nausea, drowsiness, coma, and convulsions when taken in large doses.

After reading the articles of Ms. Janette Toral about Saridon, its efficacy, its banning, and its supposed side effects, I did a double take. Rather than buy Saridon, I relied on my trusted migraine medicine. Fortunately, my migraine has ceased. I am now relieved. However, I am still wondering about the true status of Saridon. With propyphenazone as its main ingredient, is it safe as its manufacturer claims it to be? Should I be wary of it? I am calling out to the Department of Health and Bayer Philippines, Inc. to shed light on this issue. I think every Filipino deserves to know.

Source: Saridon: An Appeal for Illumination