Drugs

Why do doctors prescribe drugs? Why do we take them? The answer is to change the body’s chemistry in order to correct a symptom. Anti-depressants are given to chemically increase neurotransmitter activity. Anti-inflammatory drugs  biochemically reduce inflammation, giving relief from pain. Antibiotics chemically kill bacteria Drugs exist to create chemical changes in order to bring […]

Eighty percent of Americans suffer from back pain at some point in their lives. Back pain is the second most common reason for visits to the doctor’s office, outnumbered only by upper-respiratory infections. According to a survey of 800 adults suffering from chronic back pain conducted in the spring of 2004 for American Chiropractic Association,

Lifestyle Change is Better than Drugs for Type II Diabetes< About 8% of the American population has type II diabetes. Type two diabetes exists when the body becomes insensitive to insulin and thereby has an increasingly difficult time handling sugar.  Research published in the New England Journal of Medicine (February 7, 2002;346:393-403) shows that lifestyle

Kids Take Too Much Pain Medication for Headaches According to a recent survey of nearly 700 children and adolescents, more than one in five were overusing over-the-counter pain medications to relieve headaches. Often parents aren’t aware their kids were using pain relievers. Of the children participating in the survey, 41% had migraines, 28% experienced tension

Is there an Alternative to Expensive and Dangerous? It is hard to go through the day without hearing about the high cost of health care in the United States. According to the journal, Lancet (Nov 20; 364(9448):1829-30), we spend over $1.5 trillion on health care; this represents about 15% of our GDP (gross domestic product).

According to research published in the British Medical Journal (February 10, 2001; 322: 336-342),waiting a few days to see whether symptoms of an ear infection improve before beginning a course of antibiotics appears to be a practical way to reduce the use of antibiotics. This may help prevent the overuse of the drugs, and thus

In April, 2005 the FDA asked manufacturers of anti-psychotic drugs that they were not designed to treat dementia in the elderly. Drugs included in the warning are Risperdal, Abilify, Seroquel, Zyprexa, Clozaril and Geodon; these are drugs that are used for treating schizophrenia and mania. Another drug that is used for the treatment of depression

In June, 2005 the FDA issued warnings about drugs used to treat ADD and ADHD. The drugs in question are called methylphenidates this includes drugs like Ritalin, and Concerta. The concern that the drugs may produce psychiatric side-effects, including visual hallucinations, suicidal thoughts, aggression, violent behavior or psychotic behavior, prompted the action. In February, 2005,

The FDA recommended (January, 2006) that two drugs used for eczema, Elidel cream and Protopic ointment have black box warnings placed on their labels. A black box warning is the FDA’s most serious warning and the drugs will be recommended only after other prescription medication has been tried. Between October, 2005 and January, 2006 the

When someone takes a sugar pill, believing it is medicine and experiences results similar to a patient taking actual medicine, that is the placebo effect. A study appearing in the Journal of the American Medical Association (Vol. 299 No. 9, March 5, 2008) shows that the cost of the sugar pill may make a difference