Better Health: Smart Health Commentary Better Health (TM): smart health commentary

Latest Posts

News You Should Know: Distracted Driving, Nurse Strike, And ADHD

distracted driving, cell phone, reporting on health, car accident, riskDistracted Driving: Studies of driving while talking on a cell phone may have overestimated the risk of car crashes, new research suggests, Amy Norton reports for Reuters Health.

Nurse Strike: Some 4,000 nurses are expected to strike for one day at eight Sutter Health hospitals in California on December 22, John S. Marshall reports for the Associated Press. We predict a less than peaceful holiday for patients and hospital staff.

ADHD: Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at Reporting on Health - The Reporting on Health Daily Briefing*

New Drug Warnings For Breastfeeding Mothers

Periodically, the FDA publishes drug warnings that should be shared with the public, especially if it affects pregnant women. Each year, over 4 million babies are born in the US and 43% will continue to be breast fed at 6 months. All of these moms will invariably use meds at some point after birth, so which meds are helpful and which are potentially harmful? These questions may now be answered by the Infant Risk Center, at the Texas Tech University Health Center, in Amarillo, Texas. This center provides up-to-date information regarding the safety of medications that are taken both during pregnancy and after birth.

Most drugs enter breast milk immediately after birth and during the first 4 to 10 days of life at a fairly fast rate based on the physiology of breast cells. New moms must therefore be careful of pain medications that are prescribed during the post partum period. Hydrocodone aka Vicodin is a potentially addictive opiate that is given for pain management. When it is processed by the body, it breaks down into a component called hydromorphone that is even more potent. The University of California at San Diego Medical Center performed a small study to determine how much of the drug is secreted into breast milk and what percentage is absorbed by newborns. 3 to 4% of hydromorphone was found in breast milk which is considered safe. As a rule of thumb, nonopioid medication should be prescribed first during the post partum period for pain relief. If the pain persists, no more than 6 Vicodin (hydrocodone) tablets or 30 mg should be prescribed in one day. Dosages greater than 40 mg should be avoided and the newborn should be monitored carefully for depressed behavior or inadequate breastfeeding.

Recently the FDA sent a drug warning to healthcare providers regarding the risks associated with the entire class of antipsychotic medications such as Haldol, Risperdal®, Risperdal® Consta®, Invega® and Invega®Sustenna, Clozaril, Zyprexa, Seroquel, Abilify, and Geodon. These medications are used to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorders but are associated with abnormal muscle movements and withdrawal symptoms of newborns whose mothers took these medications during the third trimester. However it is recommended that patients should not abruptly stop taking these medications without speaking with their healthcare professional first. For further information, readers may go to the FDA website http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/Drug Safety/ucm243903.htm.

Remember, a healthy pregnancy doesn’t just happen. It takes a smart mother who knows what to do.

*This blog post was originally published at Dr. Linda Burke-Galloway*

Drug Safety In Preventing Acute Mountain Sickness

This is a guest post by Dr. Jeremy Windsor.

**********

Steroids and Acute Mountain Sickness

In recent years, many attempts have been made to identify safe and effective medications to prevent acute mountain sickness (AMS). Acetazolamide (Diamox), currently the “drug of choice” for this purpose, is not perfect and occasionally causes objectionable side effects. Dexamethasone (Decadron), a powerful steroid medication, has become increasingly popular for prevention and treatment in certain circles. While there is ample evidence to suggest that dexamethasone is effective, a recent case report highlights that this drug is not without risk.

In the latest issue of the journal Wilderness & Environmental Medicine [WEM 21(4):345-348, 2010] in an article entitled “Complications of steroid use on Mt. Everest,” Bishnu Subedi and colleagues working for the Himalayan Rescue Association (HRA) described the case of a 27 year-old man who was prescribed a course of three drugs, including dexamethasone, intended to support him during his attempt to climb Mt. Everest. After more than three weeks of taking the medications, the mountaineer noticed the appearance of a rash and decided to stop taking them. Rather than wait for the rash to subside, he chose to continue his acclimatization program and ascend to Camp 3 at 7010m altitude. The patient arrived exhausted and confused; onlookers quickly recognized that something was seriously wrong and so a rescue party was organized to help him back to safety. Read more »

This post, Drug Safety In Preventing Acute Mountain Sickness, was originally published on Healthine.com by Paul Auerbach, M.D..

FDA Restricts Acetaminophen In Popular Pain Medications

This is a guest post from Dr. Mary Lynn McPherson.

**********

FDA Restricts Acetaminophen In Popular Pain Medications

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) made an announcement yesterday that affects one of the most common pain medications on the market, and as a consequence may affect countless numbers of the 75 million Americans who experience chronic pain (for perspective, that’s more than the number of people suffering from cancer, heart disease and diabetes combined.) The FDA has asked manufacturers of popular prescription pain medications like Vicodin or Percocet to limit the amount of acetaminophen (also known as Tylenol, or APAP) used in these drugs to no more than 325 milligrams per tablet — the equivalent of one regular-strength Tylenol tablet.

The move came because research has shown that acetaminophen can cause liver damage when taken in higher than recommended doses. The problem is that many over-the-counter medications ALSO contain acetaminophen, and patients may take one or more of these common products (like Tylenol) to reduce their fever or get rid of a headache along with their prescription pain relievers.

Before you know it, you could be taking more than the maximum daily dose of acetaminophen which is 4,000 milligrams. I go out of my way to advise people I work with of this warning, but not everyone takes time to talk to the pharmacist and not all pharmacists make themselves readily available. That is why it is critically important that you talk to your pharmacist to make sure that you are not taking more than this amount. The pharmacist is the last stop between you and medication misuse — you could be taking a medication that contains acetaminophen and not even know it. Read more »

Painkiller Safety

Perhaps as many as one in every five American adults will get a prescription for a painkiller this year, and many more will buy over-the-counter medicines without a prescription. These drugs can do wonders — getting rid of pain can seem like a miracle — but sometimes there’s a high price to be paid.

Remember the heavily marketed COX-2 inhibitors? Rofecoxib, sold as Vioxx, and valdecoxib, sold as Bextra, were taken off the market in 2004 and 2005, respectively, after studies linked them to an increased risk of heart attack and stroke.

The nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), like aspirin, ibuprofen (sold as Advil and Motrin), and naproxen (sold as Aleve) seem like safe bets. But taken over long periods, they have potentially dangerous gastrointestinal side effects, including ulcers and bleeding. Kidney and liver damage are possible, too. More recently, some of the NSAIDs have been linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Low doses of aspirin (usually defined as 81 mg) is an exception and is often prescribed to lower the risk of heart and stroke.

Even acetaminophen, which is often viewed as the safest pain drug and a low-risk alternative to the NSAIDs because it doesn’t have their gastrointestinal side effects, comes with a caution about high doses possibly causing liver failure. Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at Harvard Health Blog*

Latest Interviews

IDEA Labs: Medical Students Take The Lead In Healthcare Innovation

It’s no secret that doctors are disappointed with the way that the U.S. healthcare system is evolving. Most feel helpless about improving their work conditions or solving technical problems in patient care. Fortunately one young medical student was undeterred by the mountain of disappointment carried by his senior clinician mentors…

Read more »

How To Be A Successful Patient: Young Doctors Offer Some Advice

I am proud to be a part of the American Resident Project an initiative that promotes the writing of medical students residents and new physicians as they explore ideas for transforming American health care delivery. I recently had the opportunity to interview three of the writing fellows about how to…

Read more »

See all interviews »

Latest Cartoon

See all cartoons »

Latest Book Reviews

Book Review: Is Empathy Learned By Faking It Till It’s Real?

I m often asked to do book reviews on my blog and I rarely agree to them. This is because it takes me a long time to read a book and then if I don t enjoy it I figure the author would rather me remain silent than publish my…

Read more »

The Spirit Of The Place: Samuel Shem’s New Book May Depress You

When I was in medical school I read Samuel Shem s House Of God as a right of passage. At the time I found it to be a cynical yet eerily accurate portrayal of the underbelly of academic medicine. I gained comfort from its gallows humor and it made me…

Read more »

Eat To Save Your Life: Another Half-True Diet Book

I am hesitant to review diet books because they are so often a tangled mess of fact and fiction. Teasing out their truth from falsehood is about as exhausting as delousing a long-haired elementary school student. However after being approached by the authors’ PR agency with the promise of a…

Read more »

See all book reviews »

Commented - Most Popular Articles