Pill recall hard to swallow

A mix-up in the packaging of the 28-day grouping of birth control pill Ovcon 35 has resulted in the national recall of 150,000 packages of the item.

Lot No. H6J272A of the Bristol-Myers Squibb birth control pill are distributed nationally, said Patrick Donohue, spokesman for Bristol-Myers Squibb in Princeton, N.J.

A regular package of the pills contains four rows of seven tablets each, accounting for each week of the menstrual cycle. The first three weeks are peach-colored pills, active pills, and the fourth week consists of green pills, the sugar pills or placebos.

Active pills from the first week were found to be mixed up with the pills from the fourth week, which were placebos, Donohue said. He added that this is an "isolated incident" -- only six incidents of the mix-up were reported to the company, and none of those packages were opened.

"We're certain that it's nothing of a major consequence," he said, adding that 50,000 packages retained by the company were not found to have any mix-ups.

Of those reported, Donohue said a limited number are in the hands of the consumers because they were shipped to wholesalers in mid-December. Even then, the pharmacists could catch the mix-up, and experienced pill users most likely would also catch it, he said.

However, the possibility of pregnancy cannot be counted out, he added.

Donohue explained that the real concern is that a woman's menstrual cycle could be altered.

Kara Cullen (junior-marketing) said even though she is not on Ovcon 35, she can understand the severity of the situation.

"If I had a reason to worry, I'd be a wreck, honestly," she said.

Bernard Asbell, State College resident and author of The Pill: A Biography of the Drug that Changed the World, said missing a pill can be risky.

"If you miss a day, you're vulnerable to becoming pregnant," he said.

Dr. Robert Heinbach, a gynecologist at Women's Health Services at Ritenour, said if a woman is off her active birth control pills for more than seven days, her risk of pregnancy can increase each day after that. The key is how far a woman is in her cycle of birth control pills, and how many times she has had unprotected sexual intercourse.

In addition, her menstrual period could probably become irregular after using the wrong pills, Heinbach said.

If a woman suspects her pills are switched, Donohue said she should return the pills to her pharmacy. If they are found to be faulty, she can get them replaced at no additional cost. Heinbach said a woman who has taken these pills should notify her doctor.

Heinbach added that if the woman has used these pills, and has had unprotected sex, she can take the "morning after" pill within 72 hours for birth control -- the pill is 75 percent effective. If it has been more than that time, Heinbach said the woman would have to just "wait and see."

Presently, McLanahan's Drug Store, 116 W. College Ave., and Ritenour Building do not carry that exact type of pill in their pharmacies.