| Thursday, March 24, 2005 |
| WHAT RISKS LURK IN YOUR MEDICINE CABINET?? |
NAPROXEN
Aleve, Anaprox, Naprosyn
Benefits: Relieves pain, tenderness and swelling.
Risks: Stomach irritation and bleeding. Drowsiness. Unpublished data suggests it may promote heart disease, but other studies indicate a cardioprotective effect. If you experience blurred vision, skin rash, ringing in the ears or signs of internal bleeding, such as bloody vomit or dark stools, contact your physician.
IBUPROFEN
Advil, Motrin
Benefits: Relieves pain, tenderness and swelling.
Risks: Stomach irritation and bleeding. May interfere with the cardioprotective benefits of aspirin. Get immediate medical attention if you exprience blurred vision, skin rash, ringing in the ears or signs of internal bleeding.
PSEUDOEPHEDRINE
Sudafed, Dimetap, Drixoral Nasal Dedongestant
Benefits: Relieves stuffy nose and opens airways.
Risks:Nervousness, restlenssness and difficulty sleeping, particlarly if combined with caffeine. Should not be taken by anyone with high blood pressure, glaucoma or kidney disease. Call your doctor immediately if you experience fast or irregular heartbeat, tremors or hallucination.
OMEPRAZOLE
Prilosec
Benefits: Directly inhibits production of stomach acid. Works best when taken for several days.
Risks: Stomach pain, mild rash, constipation. Can mask more severe problems such as gallstone or a narrowing of the esophagus. Increased the risk of developing pneumonia 89% in a recent study of elderly patients (presumably because of the acids in the stomach where no longer strong enough to kill pneumonia-causing germs).
ASPIRIN
Bayer, Bufferin, Ecotrin and others
Benefits: Relieves pain, fever, redness and swelling. Can save your life if taken during a heart attack. May lower the risk of a future cardiac attack or stroke.
Risks: Stomach pain and gastrointestinal bleeding. Should not be given to children with fever or vitral infections since a rare but serious blood disorders may result. Call your doctor immediately if you experience ringing in the ears, skin rash, difficulty breathing or signs of internal bleeding.
ACETAMINOPHEN
Tylenol
Benefits: Releives pain and fever but not the stiffness, redness or swelling of arthritis.
Occasional stomach upset. Because so many products contain acetaminophen, it is relatively easy to overdose unintentionally. Administration of an antidote within eight hours provides the best chance of recovery. Although the mixture of any painkiller with alcohol may cause liver damage, doctors believe the combination with acetaminophen may be particularly problematic.
ANTIHISTAMINES
Nenadryl, Alavert, Claritin, Clor-Trimeton and others
Benefits: Relieve itching, sneezing , runny nose and watery eyes.
Risks: Depending on the formulation, dry mouth, increased appetitite, weight gain. Older types of cause drowsiness (and may even be used as mild as sleep aids) Children are at greater risk of suffering seizures. Nightnmares, inrritabilty and unusual excitement are also more likely to occur in children.
H2 RECEPTOR ANTAGONISTS
Tagamet, Zantac, Pepcid
Benefits: Indirectly reduces production of stomach acid.
Risks: Headaches, diarrhea, dizziness.May be less effective when used with antacids. The combination of Tagamet (cemetidine) and Valium can trigger confusion. Use of these drugs increased the risk of developing pneumonia 63% in a recent study.
(abstracted from TIME/HEALTH by: Christine Gorman) |
| posted by infraternam meam @ 5:29 AM |
|
|
|
|
| About Me |
|
Name: infraternam meam
Home: Chicago, United States
About Me: I am now at the prime of my life
and have been married for the past 25 years.
Sickly at times, but wants to see the elixir vita,
so that I will be able to see my grandchildren from my two boys.
See my complete profile
|
| Previous Post |
|
| Archives |
|
| Links |
|
|
| Powered by |
|
|
