Health Headlines 2/1/08

Newsletter February 1, 2008

In This Issue:

This Week on PeoplesPharmacy.com
Featured Q&A
Featured Home Remedy
Children Hospitalized with Cold Remedy Reactions
FDA Oversight of Devices Inadequate
Diabetics May Benefit from Pain Reliever
Coffee Boosts Blood Sugar
Drug Name Mix-Ups Common and Troublesome
Does Honey Heal Wounds?
Youngsters and Seniors Are Happiest

Free Podcast Of The People's Pharmacy Radio Show

Miss the People's Pharmacy radio show last week? Download our podcast! Every week we post the radio show as a free audio podcast. You can subscribe to our podcast using a program such as iTunes, or visit our website and download a particular show you want to hear again. Each People's Pharmacy radio show is a 1 hour audio file which will be posted on Mondays.

Click here to download the podcast of last week's show, 665 Healthy Skin:
http://www.peoplespharmacy.com/archives/free_podcast/665_healthy_skin_podcast.php
Click here to learn more or subscribe to our podcasts:
http://www.peoplespharmacy.com/podcast/

Best Choices from The People's Pharmacy

We are pleased to announce a new edition of our book, Best Choices from The People's Pharmacy. Best Choices is filled with natural healing approaches for dozens of common conditions including:

arthritis
high blood pressure
constipation
insomnia
diabetes
leg cramps
headaches
menopause
heartburn
nail fungus
high cholesterol
osteoporosis

We also rate prescription drugs so you can get the best buys for your money. Best Choices is packed with remedies that will surprise you, statistics that will shock you, ratings to help assess your treatment options and drug information that could save your life. Purchases from the web site receive over a 29% discount off the list price of $34.95.

This special edition (524 pages) is not available in any bookstore. It contains an expansion of our People's Pharmacy Favorite Picks (home remedies) and a new chapter on Desert Island Drugs and Dietary Supplements. Some of the country's leading experts have contributed their insights on the best treatments for what ails you. This edition is not in stores or on other Internet sites. It is only available from Rodale Books and directly from The People's Pharmacy.

http://ppcart.fountainshosting.com/p-249-best-choices-from-the-peoples-pharmacy.aspx

This Week on PeoplesPharmacy.com:

This Week's Radio Show: 666 Health News Update
A lot of people are suffering with winter colds at this time of year. Questions have been raised about the safety and efficacy of over-the-counter cold medicines for young children, and possibly even for the rest of us. Are there...
http://www.peoplespharmacy.com/archives/radio_shows/666_health_news_update.php

Using A Neti Pot To Clear Out Sinuses
Q. When I was a child, my mother encouraged me to gargle with salt water when I had a sore throat. I just heard Dr. Oz on Oprah recommend salt water in a neti pot for improving sinus conditions. Are...
http://www.peoplespharmacy.com/archives/herb_home_remedy_qa/using_a_neti_pot_to_clear_out_sinuses.php

Extended Interview with Dr. Amy Wechsler
Listen to Dr. Amy Wechsler, dermatologist and psychiatrist, discuss common skin problems such as excessive sweating, hair removal, and treating warts, hair loss, chapped lips, cold sores and lice. Dr. Wechsler appeared on our January 26 2008 radio program, 665...
http://www.peoplespharmacy.com/archives/audio_files/extended_interview_with_dr_amy_wechsler.php

Getting Rid Of Drugs With Elmer's Glue
Q. I’ve read about the difficulties of disposing of unused drugs and want to share my solution. I poured Elmer’s glue into the pill container to cover the pills and let it set before putting the container in the trash....
http://www.peoplespharmacy.com/archives/pharmacy_qa/getting_rid_of_drugs_with_elmers_glue.php

Can Cholesterol Get Too Low?
Q. I'm 66, 6 feet tall, weigh 220 pounds and am in good health. A year ago, my labs showed a total cholesterol of 188 while using Vytorin. This is close to my average cholesterol reading for five years. My...
http://www.peoplespharmacy.com/archives/herb_home_remedy_qa/can_cholesterol_get_too_low.php

Milk of Magnesia Worked For Donut Face
Q. My face looked like a dry glazed donut for eight years, until I read your column about using milk of magnesia on the face and scalp. My dermatologist had been treating my scalp but I got nowhere. Both problems...
http://www.peoplespharmacy.com/archives/herb_home_remedy_qa/milk_of_magnesia_worked_for_donut_face.php

Prescription Drug Habit Hard To Kick
Savvy patients have learned that it is essential to ask physicians and pharmacists about side effects before they take any medicine. Drugs can cause reactions that range from mild discomfort to life-threatening complications. Even a thoughtful consumer may forget another...
http://www.peoplespharmacy.com/archives/editorial/prescription_drug_habit_hard_to_kick.php

Generic Epilepsy Drug Leads To Seizure
Q. I was taking phenytoin, an extended release generic form of the anti-seizure drug Dilantin. On September 19, 2007, I had a grand mal seizure and upon admission to a local ER, my lab results indicated my phenytoin level was...
http://www.peoplespharmacy.com/archives/pharmacy_qa/generic_epilepsy_drug_leads_to_seizure.php

665 Healthy Skin Podcast
The skin is the largest organ in the body. And when something goes wrong with the skin, it is often very visible. This means skin problems can have psychological complications. Dr. Amy Wechsler is both a dermatologist and a...
http://www.peoplespharmacy.com/archives/audio_files/665_healthy_skin_podcast.php

Does Caffeine Stunt Growth?
Q. Is it true that drinking coffee with caffeine from the age of 9 on up will stunt a young girl's growth and keep her short? A. We could find no research to support this old wives tale. The Penn...
http://www.peoplespharmacy.com/archives/pharmacy_qa/does_caffeine_stunt_growth.php

Can Iron Deficiency Lead To Restless Legs?
Q. For a long time I had trouble keeping my legs still, especially while I was trying to sleep at night. I did not seek treatment from my doctor because I did not want to take medication. Then I read...
http://www.peoplespharmacy.com/archives/herb_home_remedy_qa/can_iron_deficiency_lead_to_restless_legs.php

Featured Q & A

Orange Peel Craving Signals Problems
Q. Have you ever heard of eating orange peel? After almost every meal I eat, especially after eating something sweet, I get a craving for orange peel. It seems to satisfy some unknown dietary need in my body.

Is orange peel toxic in any way? Could craving it be a sign of a hidden deficiency in my diet or a psychological habit I have acquired? I hope you can help me solve this mystery, since none of the doctors I have consulted has known the answer.

A. Orange peels may be treated with fungicides or other chemicals to help improve shelf life. That's why we'd discourage you from eating very much of it.

Your food compulsion is reminiscent of others. Readers have shared overwhelming urges to eat carrots, tomatoes, clay, dirt or even laundry starch. It is quite possible that this condition, called pica, is related to a mineral deficiency.

One woman shared the following: "Several years ago I developed a strong craving to crunch on ice. I would always have a cup of crushed ice to eat until I read that craving ice could be a sign of iron deficiency. My doctor suggested iron pills, and in two months my craving for ice disappeared."

Please ask your doctor to perform a blood test to see if you are anemic. Both iron and zinc deficiencies have been associated with pica.

Featured Home Remedy

Coconut Relieves Doggie Diarrhea
I read your column about coconut macaroon cookies for diarrhea. The veterinarian has been treating my dog for this problem for months, but nothing has worked.

I gave him a macaroon and it was miraculous. I've switched to flaked coconut and it works just as well. I put it on top of his food and he loves it. You might want to alert your readers who are dog owners.

You can read more home remedies on our website:
http://www.peoplespharmacy.org/archives/home_remedies/index.php

Health Headlines:

Children Hospitalized with Cold Remedy Reactions
Children's cold medicines take another hit, this time from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Scientists for the CDC collected data on emergency room visits in 2004 and 2005 from about 60 representative emergency rooms around the country. During that time roughly 300 children were seen as a result of reactions to cough and cold medicines. When this number is extrapolated to the country as a whole, it yields an estimated 7,000 youngsters a year. The FDA recently moved against cold remedies for children under two years old. This new data may strengthen the recommendation of an expert panel that cold and cough remedies not be used for children younger than six. Since there is no good evidence these medicines are effective for young children, the new study published in the journal Pediatrics is likely to add pressure on the Food and Drug Administration to take action.
[Pediatrics, Online, Jan. 28, 2008]
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/peds.2007-3638v2

FDA Oversight of Devices Inadequate
The FDA is in trouble again. The Government Accountability Office took the agency to task for not using its limited resources efficiently. During Congressional hearings it was revealed that although 80 percent of our medications come from overseas companies, only about 7 percent of those plants get inspected each year. The situation is even worse for medical devices. That means that things like pacemakers, hearing aids and blood sugar monitors may not receive the scrutiny they deserve. Everyone agrees that the FDA is underfunded and understaffed. The Science Board for the agency has concluded that the FDA is at a breaking point. Other critics suggest that the FDA is already broken.

Diabetics May Benefit from Pain Reliever
A chemical cousin of aspirin that has been around for more than a century may offer unexpected benefits against type-2 diabetes. The drug is called salsalate and although it has many of the same properties as aspirin, it is less likely to cause stomach irritation or ulcers. Salsalate does have strong anti-inflammatory activity. Scientists at the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston tested this drug in a small number of diabetic patients. Those who took salsalate had a substantial reduction in blood glucose and lower C-reactive protein, a measure of inflammation. If this study is confirmed in larger clinical trials, salsalate might become a first line approach in treating diabetes.
[Diabetes Care, Feb. 2008]
http://care.diabetesjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/31/2/289

Coffee Boosts Blood Sugar
Regular coffee drinkers are less likely to develop type 2 diabetes. But people with this metabolic disorder may need to cut back on caffeine. Scientists at Duke University found that caffeine can raise blood sugar levels in type-2 diabetics. The investigators gave subjects a dose equivalent to four cups of coffee. Blood sugar levels went up 8 percent higher than when they took placebo tablets.
[Diabetes Care, Feb. 2008]
http://care.diabetesjournals.org/cgi/content/extract/31/2/221

Drug Name Mix-Ups Common and Troublesome
What's in a name? When it comes to drugs, a name makes a great deal of difference. A report from the United States Pharmacopeia suggests that drugs with similar names result in a large number of mistakes. More than 1400 commonly used drugs have been involved in errors of this sort, including the ten drugs prescribed most frequently in 2006. Some people may have died as a result. For example, the antihistamine hydroxyzine is easily confused with the blood pressure drug hydralazine. Mixing them up could have serious consequences. Other look-alike drugs include Lamictal and labetalol or vinblastine and vincristine. Next time you receive a medication in the pharmacy or in the hospital, double check to make sure you are getting what your doctor prescribed and not a sound-alike or look-alike drug instead.

Does Honey Heal Wounds?
An old folk remedy for wound healing has been put to the test. Scientists at the University of Auckland compared honey to traditional dressings for hard-to-treat leg ulcers. Almost 400 patients were randomized to standard bandages or dressings soaked in honey. After three months 55 percent of the honey-treated wounds had healed compared to 49 percent of those treated conventionally. From a statistical perspective, there was no difference. The honey approach was more likely to cause pain, possibly because honey is acidic. The researchers concluded that honey did not offer any advantages for treating venous leg ulcers.
[British Journal of Surgery, January 2008]

Youngsters and Seniors Are Happiest
Happiness researchers have discovered that middle age is the cruelest time. The investigators reviewed data on mental health covering 2 million people in 80 countries. In the overwhelming majority of countries people were most susceptible to depression in their 40s. Younger people and those over 70 were the happiest. The scientists did not have a explanation for why middle age is so challenging, but they speculate that this is the point at which people come to grips with the likelihood they will not achieve their aspirations.
[to be published in Social Science and Medicine]

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