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Back in the dim days of black-and-white television, one over-the-counter product that was frequently advertised claimed to help "the heartbreak of psoriasis." The phrase is no longer heard in commercials, but the heartbreak is still there. For reasons that are...
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Just think about the word lice for a minute or two and the chances are good your head will start to itch. Mention the word in polite company and some people will start to move away from you. When looking...
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One of the most frequently prescribed medications in the pharmacy is thyroid hormone. At last count, drugstores filled nearly 100 million prescriptions for thyroid hormone in 2008. But people taking a natural form of thyroid hormone are distressed because their...
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Not too long ago, we asked our readers whether they rely more on experience or on evidence. It's really a false division: even when doctors insist on evidence, they are relying on someone to record and analyze the experience of...
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Bones are getting a lot of buzz these days. For one thing, TV commercials promoting osteoporosis drugs like Boniva and Reclast create an image of healthy activity. Watch television and you are likely to see Sally Field watering her flowers,...
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Rheumatoid arthritis is a devastating disease. Besides crippling joints, it can leave the victim exhausted and in excruciating pain. Over the last several decades, drug companies have offered patients a Faustian deal: prompt pain relief with serious long-term consequences. In...
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The official name is cluster headaches, but some people call them "suicide headaches." That's because they can cause such excruciating pain that victims are desperate for relief. A headache specialist once told us that he had a patient who banged...
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Before Michael Jackson's tragic death, most people never heard of the drug propofol (Diprivan). It's not the kind of medication that anyone would ever seek out on the street. You can't use it to get high. In fact, you can't...
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If you've ever had surgery you were given a form to read and sign first. Doctors are legally and ethically obligated to provide information about the benefits and risks of operations. Patients are expected to provide informed consent after carefully...
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Parents can't win. Dermatologists tell them to keep their kids out of the sun or slather them with sunscreen to prevent skin cancer later in life. But now scientists say that an astonishing number of children are deficient in...
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Dermatologists insist that putting vitamin E on a burn or a wound will do nothing to prevent scarring and may even do harm. The People's Pharmacy readers, on the other hand, are convinced that topical use of vitamin E...
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Last year over 80 million prescriptions were dispensed for powerful acid-suppressing drugs such as Aciphex, Nexium, omeprazole, Prevacid and Protonix. That doesn't even count the millions of doses of Prilosec OTC that were purchased without a doctor's supervision. This makes...
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Diarrhea is your gut's way of defending itself against invaders. Sometimes they're germs like E. coli or salmonella. Others times they're drugs.An astonishing number of medications can cause digestive tract upset and diarrhea. We're not talking about loosely formed stool,...
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Everyone knows that donuts are not health food. They may taste good, but they're mostly empty calories--sugar, fat and white flour. Only the hole is non-fattening.Millions of senior citizens are now sampling a different kind of donut hole. This donut...
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The generation gap is nothing new. Margaret Mead once suggested that grandparents and their grandchildren are natural allies because they are both battling the generation in between.So perhaps that is why so many people become frustrated with their aging parents...
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Summer means fun, but sometimes that also means pain. This is the time of year that families go on vacation trips and do things that they are not always accustomed to doing.Hiking down the Grand Canyon or climbing the Grand...
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We first heard about ZIcam on October 9, 2000. That's when the a PR firm touted a study in the ENT (Ear, Nose & Throat) Journal showing that a zinc nasal gel shortened the duration of the common cold.At that...
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Sometimes the best-laid plans go awry. That's what happened when kudzu was introduced into the U.S. as a way of controlling erosion. Now this invasive plant has taken over large swaths of southeastern landscape and is choking out native species.It...
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- Aciphex,
- Actos,
- Avandia,
- Avelox,
- Bisphosphonate,
- Boniva,
- Cipro,
- fluoroquinolones,
- Jaw Bone Death,
- Levaquin,
- Menopause,
- Nexium,
- ONJ,
- Osteonecrosis of the Jaw,
- Osteoporosis,
- Paxil,
- Prevacid,
- Prilosec,
- Proton Pump Inhibitor,
- Protonix,
- Prozac,
- Reclast,
- SSRI,
- Tendinitis,
- Tendon Rupture,
- Zocor
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Do you have trouble sleeping? If the answer is no, count yourself lucky and read no further. Those who fall asleep easily and sleep soundly throughout the night are truly blessed.If, on the other hand, you're in the third of...
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When Tylenol was first introduced in 1955 it was a liquid prescription pain reliever and fever reducer for children. It wasn't until 1961 that Tylenol tablets were launched as over-the-counter pain pills for adults. Tylenol and its active ingredient acetaminophen...
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How do you feel about your feet? If you’re like most people, you’re just as happy to keep your socks and shoes on so nobody else can see or smell them.Warm weather means sandal time. But some folks are too...
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Ask any sixth grader what 1+1 equals and you will be told the answer is 2. Ask a pharmacist, though, and you might get a different answer.In the Alice-in-Wonderland world of pharmaceuticals, sometimes 1+1 equals 0 or even 3. That’s...
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In times of economic hardship, low-cost generic drugs can be lifelines. They make it possible for people to continue critical medications. Without them, people could die.But if generic drugs don’t meet quality standards they might be killing people themselves. This...
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“You scratch my back; I’ll scratch yours.” Human beings have operated on this principle even before the dawn of civilization.This practice can work for mutual benefit, but it also causes problems. When people in power make decisions based on favors,...
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Our immune systems evolved to protect us against foreign invaders. We are surrounded by bacteria, viruses and fungi that can make us sick, so it’s helpful to have defenders constantly on the prowl, protecting us from danger.The trouble is that...
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We have been collecting home remedies for more than 30 years. Some are silly, others are implausible, but many are practical and helpful. We try to apply the “might help, won’t hurt, doesn’t cost too much” principle.Sometimes, though, people suggest...
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hermits come out of their winter hibernation for outdoor activities. Digging, weeding and slinging mulch in the garden; spring cleaning in the attic or garage; and weekend running, tennis or softball can all contribute to strained muscles and aching backs.For...
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Recent headlines heralded unexpected benefits of a cholesterol-lowering drug: “Crestor Cuts Risk of Clots by 43 Percent.”Crestor (rosuvastatin) made news because deep vein thrombosis can cause blood clots to lodge in the lungs. This is a potentially deadly complication that...
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Most vitamin supplements have taken a beating in the press over the past few years. That’s because so many studies of vitamin pills to prevent cancer or heart disease have come up short.As a result of the negative news, some...
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The old wives have just been proven right again. They always claimed that if you wanted to stay healthy you needed to get a good night’s sleep. That was usually defined as about eight hours.In our modern, fast-paced lives, many...
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