Are generic medicines as good as branded ones?
Yes, generic medicines are as good as branded ones. Generics must prove the same active ingredient, dose and absorption profile as the original, and decades of surveillance keep confirming equivalence; most doctors take generics themselves. The price difference funds marketing and recovered research costs, not quality.
Colors, fillers and coatings differ, which occasionally matters for rare specific sensitivities, and for a handful of narrow-margin drugs doctors prefer sticking with one manufacturer.
If a switch coincides with feeling different, mention it rather than silently paying five times more; usually reassurance or a one-brand solution settles it.
Source: FDA, generic drug facts
See a doctor promptly if
- Taking more acetaminophen than the pack allows, even slightly, over several days. Contact a doctor or poison service the same day, before any symptoms appear
- Black tarry stools, vomiting blood, or new upper abdominal pain while taking an anti-inflammatory
- A rash, swelling of the lips or tongue, wheeze, or breathlessness after any painkiller
- Needing a painkiller most days for more than two weeks, or a headache that returns as each dose wears off
- Fever with a stiff neck, a rash that does not fade under pressure, confusion, or severe breathlessness
- Much less urine than usual, ankle swelling, or sudden weight gain while taking ibuprofen regularly
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Answered by the AskDoc Medical Team · Medically reviewed under our Medical Director, MBBS · How we review
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