Ask which product the record covers
The U.S. agency responsible for drugs is FDA, the Food and Drug Administration. Compounded means made to order.
In September 2026, approved products underwent FDA review before sale; medicines prepared to order did not undergo that review.
Ask whether a claim is about the exact product offered, or only an ingredient with the same name.
Source AAsk what was actually studied
Was the study in people? Did it use the product and form now being discussed? What was measured, and what question remains open?
Ask the clinician to explain the result without a slogan. Ask why it matters for your own health concern.
Read a letter with its date
An FDA warning letter describes concerns at the time it was sent; later exchanges with the business may change where those concerns stand.
The letter alone does not tell you whether the business has since fixed the problem. Check for a later FDA response or notice closing the matter.
A business with no letter may simply have never been reviewed.
Source BA reported problem does not prove its cause
According to FDA, a reported health concern alone establishes neither that the drug caused it nor that medical reviewers checked the details.
A count of these reports is not a count of confirmed problems caused by the medicine, according to FDA.
FDA says the reports cannot tell you how likely a problem is.
Request the total number of users alongside the number with harm confirmed to have been caused by the medicine. You need both numbers to understand the chance of harm.
Source CUse the date as part of the answer
A rule, a product’s approval and an offer’s terms may describe different points in time. Ask what date the claim covers.
Read the source next to the answer, then ask what still needs checking for your own care.
Notes behind the answers
- Source A — FDA: What is reviewed before marketingFDA compounding explanationFDA on compounding qualityBack to answer A
- Source B — FDA: Letters and their limitsFDA letter databaseBack to answer B
- Source C — FDA: Limits of medicine-problem reportsFDA explanation of medicine-problem reportsBack to answer C