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IIRC medicines in Japan require an approval from the Japanese government that includes testing on Japanese populations, so dosages are calibrated to that. Japanese people are generally smaller/older so it makes sense the default is lower dosage.
Japanese regulators place heavy emphasis on safety over efficacy.
They also require drugs to be tested on a Japanese population (as opposed to the filing being based on US and European populations for most countries).
This emphasis on safety plus the general understanding that the Japanese are generally smaller than other ethnic groups means that even drugs that are not dosed based on weight are generally offered in smaller dosages when they come to the market.
This applies to both prescription drugs and over the counter drugs.
The medicines here are designed for Japanese patients to swallow and digest easily with the suitable dosage. And i think in practice, they start from the low dosage and prevent from providing too strong dosages. Thus, It is not designed for foreigners who have strong digestion and prefer stronger dosage in the first place. There were old people and children here in japan that find it so hard to consume their medicines and had choking experiences. Do u know how hard is it for us to swallow those freaking big tablet and pills from the EU and the States?
I was prescribed 300mg paracetamol tablets but I just told the doctor that I have been taking stronger stuff (being from the UK) and he just nodded his head, doubled the prescription and told me to take two instead of one. Obviously YMMV depending on the drug, but it’s worth a shot.
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IIRC medicines in Japan require an approval from the Japanese government that includes testing on Japanese populations, so dosages are calibrated to that. Japanese people are generally smaller/older so it makes sense the default is lower dosage.
Japanese regulators place heavy emphasis on safety over efficacy.
They also require drugs to be tested on a Japanese population (as opposed to the filing being based on US and European populations for most countries).
This emphasis on safety plus the general understanding that the Japanese are generally smaller than other ethnic groups means that even drugs that are not dosed based on weight are generally offered in smaller dosages when they come to the market.
This applies to both prescription drugs and over the counter drugs.
The medicines here are designed for Japanese patients to swallow and digest easily with the suitable dosage. And i think in practice, they start from the low dosage and prevent from providing too strong dosages. Thus, It is not designed for foreigners who have strong digestion and prefer stronger dosage in the first place. There were old people and children here in japan that find it so hard to consume their medicines and had choking experiences. Do u know how hard is it for us to swallow those freaking big tablet and pills from the EU and the States?
I was prescribed 300mg paracetamol tablets but I just told the doctor that I have been taking stronger stuff (being from the UK) and he just nodded his head, doubled the prescription and told me to take two instead of one. Obviously YMMV depending on the drug, but it’s worth a shot.