Why Compounding?

It is common for medications to go out of stock due to manufacturer issues, or even become discontinued altogether.
This causes a lot of anxiety and fear in patients who rely on these medications daily for an improved quality of life.
Compounding makes it possible for us to source the active ingredients and compound the required medication to allow patients to continue their treatment.

Some patients require a certain non-essential ingredient to be removed from a medication to prevent an allergic reaction. The most common types include lactose, gluten, alcohol, or dyes.
Others have specific dietary requirements which prevent them from taking commercial products.
For example, we can compound lactose free medication or use vegetable capsules for patients who are unable to take gelatin capsules.

Patient specific treatment often requires dosage adjustments to suit that patient’s unique health needs.
This means an exact dosage amount must be achieved which may be difficult to obtain from a commercially marketed product.
This is particularly beneficial in the case of a titrated dosing regimen.

A common example includes an elderly or paediatric patient who is unable to swallow their medication in capsule form. In these cases, we can compound the same medication in the form of a liquid for easier administration or a cream which allows the medication to be applied topically.

Taking medications can sometimes be an unpleasant experience especially if the medication does not taste good.
With compounding, we can change the taste of a medication using sugar-free flavours and even change the colour of it.
This makes the medication more palatable and aesthetically pleasing especially in the case of children and animals who can be picky when it comes to medicine.

Patients on multiple medications can benefit from having their medicine combined into a single dosage, such as a capsule or a troche.

This can also be achieved for those requiring a specific combination of vitamins, minerals and amino acids and do not wish to consume multiple capsules daily.