How to check a medication with the Sport Integrity app.

Some medications sold in Australia can contain ingredients which are prohibited in sport. Even some cold and flu tablets can contain prohibited ingredients. So, it's important to check every medication before you use it. 

Step 1. Open the medication checker. Open the app and scroll across to the right to the checker medication tile. Click the start button. Alternatively, you can click the medication checker button on the toolbar at any time. This will launch Global DRO, a website which lets you check any registered medication.

Step 2. Enter your details. Click each of the drop-down boxes to enter your information into Global DRO. This includes who is using the medication in which sport and where the medication was purchased. It's important that you enter every detail correctly as certain medication may be prohibited in some sports but not in others.

Step 3. Enter your medication in the search box at the bottom of the page. enter the medication name brand or ingredient you wish to check. For this example, we'll search for 'chemist's own cough cold and flu day and night tablets'. As you enter these details, common search suggestions will be displayed below. If your medication is displayed, you can click it and take you through to the next step. If not, enter the full name of your medication and click the search button.

Step 4. Accepting the terms and conditions. Once you've searched a page, terms and conditions will be displayed. Make sure to read these terms and conditions in full before clicking the accept button at the bottom of the page to proceed. 

Step 5. Select the product you wish to check. Scroll down the page and view a list of medications brands and ingredients which match your search and click the product which you wish to check. Make sure that it matches the exact product that you're searching for. 

Step 6. Check the status of your product. This page will give you all of the information about the status of the product you've searched for in your sport.

Remember, a product's status as prohibited may be dependent on when it is taken how much of it is taken or how it is administered. The status section will tell you whether this product is prohibited in or out of competition both or not at all, and whether there are any limitations on how this product can be administered.

As you can see, 'chemists own cough cold and flu day night tablets' are prohibited only within the in-competition period. This means the substance cannot be in your system from 11:59 pm the night before your competition.

Also, on this page we're given information about specific ingredients and their restrictions both in and out of competition. In this case it's the ingredient pseudoephedrine which makes this product prohibited in the in-competition period.

Step 7. Keeping a record. Screenshotting the search details part of this page is a great way to keep this information in case you need to refer back to it later. There are also options below to view and save your search results as a PDF or send it as an email. Sport Integrity Australia recommends that athletes retain a record of all of their searches of any medication which they take. 

What if my product is not listed in Global DRO? If the product you're taking isn't on the list, this doesn't mean that it's safe to take. If your product is not listed, it might be a supplement which you can search for in the app's supplement checker if you still can't find your product you should contact Sport Integrity Australia directly either by email or by phone, to find out more information about your product. Sport Integrity Australia's substance inquiry contact details are listed at the bottom of the page.

So, let's recap. Step 1. Open the medication checker. Step 2. Enter your details. Step 3. Enter your medication. Step 4. Accept the terms and conditions. Step 5. Select the product you wish to check. Step 6. Check the status of your product. And step 7. Keep a record if your product is not listed on Global DRO. Check the Sport Integrity app's supplement checker and if you still can't find your product, contact Sport Integrity Australia directly. For more information, visit sportintegrity.gov.au.