The People's Perspective on Medicine, since 1976
Helping you to make informed decisions about both traditional and alternative treatments.
Show 1153: How to Listen to TV Drug Commercials
If you watch television, you can’t avoid TV drug commercials for maladies from type 2 diabetes to auto-immune diseases like psoriasis or rheumatoid arthritis to refractory cancers. Do you see these …
Will Drinking Diet Soda Raise Your Risk of Strok…
Sugar-sweetened beverages have developed a very bad reputation over the past decade or so. They contribute empty calories without corresponding nutritional value. Sugary drinks have been linked to kid…
FDA Cracking Down on Dietary Supplements for Dem…
The Food and Drug Administration has just taken action against many companies that advertise their dietary supplements for dementia. The commercials often imply that these products could be used to tr…
Will FDA Approve Esketamine Nasal Spray for Depr…
An FDA advisory panel voted this week that a new form of an old compound is sufficiently safe and effective to be considered for approval. The old compound is ketamine, which has been used as an intra…
Will Rx Drug Commercials with Price Information …
Perhaps you have seen Rx drug commercials on television. There are ads for medications to treat psoriasis, diabetes, ulcerative colitis, rheumatoid arthritis, breast cancer and lung cancer, to name ju…
What Is the Link Between Infection and Celiac Di…
Celiac disease is an intolerance to the protein gluten found in wheat, barley and rye. It triggers the immune system to attack and damage the lining of the digestive tract. Doctors have long known tha…
Why Don’t Doctors Recognize Lisinopril Cough?
We have been writing about drug-induced coughing for more than 30 years. In the beginning we tried to be diplomatic. Here is one of the first questions we ever received on this topic (March 28, 1988).…
How to Make Onion Syrup for a Cough
In the midst of cold and flu season, many people are troubled with lingering coughs. Are you barking like a seal? Is your cough keeping you awake at night? Luckily, there are a number of remedies that…
Is It Possible to Lower Cholesterol with Margari…
For decades, doctors told their patients to eat margarine instead of butter. The idea was that people who ate cholesterol-rich butter would raise their level of blood cholesterol. Then public health e…
How Risky Is It When Insurance Companies Overrul…
Doctors don’t always know best, but they certainly know their patients far better than an insurance company representative. Physicians used to be able to prescribe medications without being second-g…
Overcoming Rebound Nasal Congestion from Deconge…
People with allergies are often caught in a terrible double bind. Their stuffy noses lead them to decongestant nasal sprays. After a few days of continuous use they become dependent upon the spray. If…
What Is the Right Dose of Baking Soda?
We love simple remedies using ingredients you already have on hand in your pantry, so long as they work and they are safe. One time-honored approach to ease indigestion is taking a baking soda solutio…
How to Help Neuropathy with Hiking Boots
Neuropathy is pain that originates from the nerves. For some reason, due to diabetes, damage or some other difficulty, the nerves send pain signals even when the area is not in imminent danger (the us…
Can You Stop Bleeding with Black Pepper?
We have been collecting home remedies for more than 40 years. One of the most unusual came to us from Nell Heard, who told us about a camping trip to Yellowstone National Park. She went with her siste…
Show 1152: Can You Conquer Your Cravings with Mi…
Have you ever thought about how a bad habit gets started? You can blame the neural wiring and chemistry we share with all animals. When we do something that feels good in the moment, we remember it an…
Statins for Older People | A New Study is Wildly…
The headlines this week have been emphatic: “Study: Proof Statins Help Older People.” Then there was this one: “Cholesterol Lowering Drugs Giving Older Adults Better Heart Health.” We were int…
What Is the Other Drug Epidemic?
Much has been written about the epidemic of opioid drug misuse, overdose and death. With more than 130 people dying every day in this country as a result of opioid overdose, we all have a right to be …
Are Rebates to Blame for Drug Price Increases?
Many drug companies have raised prices over the last few months, but they say it’s not to improve their bottom line. Indeed, a number of pharmaceutical manufacturers maintain that they are raising p…
Special Creams Fail to Fight Pain
Americans spend hundreds of millions of dollars on specially formulated topical pain creams. Medicare Part D paid more than half a billion dollars for such prescription products in 2015. Doctors may p…
The Itch That Won’t Quit | Itching After Stopp…
Chances are good that you have seen a Xyzal commercial on TV. You see an animated owl with a distinctive accent. He wears a monocle…presumably to give this wise owl some extra authority. He lets you…
Can Acupressure Wrist Bands Help You Get to Slee…
Far too many Americans sleep less than the recommended seven hours a night, according to the CDC. Are you among them? Sleep difficulties can come from having trouble falling asleep or from waking in t…
Do Antibiotics Interact with Oral Contraceptives…
Should women using oral contraceptives to prevent pregnancy be warned to take extra precautions if they need to take an antibiotic? There is surprisingly little agreement on this in the medical commun…
What Medicines Cause Depression? Are You Vulnera…
When most people think about drugs and depression, they likely imagine antidepressants. That is, medicines to help overcome the blues. They rarely consider the possibility that the medications they we…
Have You Tried Castor Oil to Clear Nail Fungus?
Toenail fungus can be very tough to treat. Even with prescription medications, you have to have a lot of patience. Toenails grow slowly, as you may have noticed, and you need to keep treating the fung…
Do You Feel Better on Armour Thyroid Than Synthr…
An underactive thyroid gland is a very common condition. In fact, levothyroxine, the hormone generally used to treat hypothyroidism, is the most commonly prescribed drug in the US. After a period of d…
Will Honey and Chocolate Ease Your Cough?
A persistent cough can be hard to manage. Lots of people would like to find a remedy, and some individuals have found sweet ways to calm a nasty cough. Would you believe honey and chocolate could ease…
Valentine’s Day Is Special
Will you be our Valentine? We have a very special offer for you from now through Valentine's Day, February 14. Special Offer on Lip Care: You can get two for the price of one of our all-natural People…
Pucker Up for Valentine’s Day
Are you ready for the holiday? We're not referring to Groundhog Day, although that is tomorrow. It may have some romantic potential (check out the movie, Groundhog Day, if you don't believe that), but…
Show 1151: What Was the First Immunotherapy for …
Back at the turn of the 20th century, the only treatment for most types of cancer was surgery. When a young New York doctor lost his first patient to sarcoma despite treating her by the book, he began…
Could Aggressive Blood Pressure Control Save You…
A new study suggests that aggressive blood pressure control may have modest benefits for cognitive function (The SPRINT MIND investigators, JAMA, Jan. 28, 2019). That is the conclusion from a fol…