When a person goes to a doctor or health expert, he has the right to have all medical decisions explained to him. Some doctors do an excellent job at communicating with patients and some doctors do not communicate with patients. The patient also has a liability to give details of all health problems and answer all questions from the doctor honestly. The following is a list of questions a person should ask a doctor during a visit.

Any instance you do not understand something the doctor says, ask him to explain it to you. When a doctor indicates that he wants to do a diagnostic test beyond standard measurements, such as weight, blood pressure, and temperature, you can inquire what he is looking for when doing an x-ray, ultrasound, blood test, or other tests. You should ask for the reports and an explanation of all diagnostic tests.

When a doctor tells you to do something to help a disease, such as applying not to take sugar for diabetic patients, you can ask the doctor that how that will help you to treating. Any time the doctor gives you an instruction and you do not get clear it or need further explanation, ask him to provide more details. When a doctor prescribes pills, you can ask: Why? When? How much? And what are the side effects, if any. Before you leave the doctor’s place you should make sure that you know whether you will be require to see doctor again.

Discuss about taking the wrong quantity at the wrong time along with certain food or drugs can make the medications totally useless. A worst-case scenario of not following the directions may increase your disease or death.

Food and Drug Administration provides the following tips for taking medications securely. If your symptoms are not improving, consult your doctor immediately. You may need a different dosage or medicine. Alternatively, the medicine may need to be in your system for a while before improvements are noticed. If you get any severe side effects, consult your doctor. Examples include vomiting, trouble breathing problem, headaches, rashes, and loss of awareness. Do not stop taking medications when you feel improved.

Follow the doctor’s advice as to when you should stop. Check drug labels for specific instructions such as “take with food” or “do not take with milk” or “take early in the morning without breakfast” Check to see instruction where the medications should be stored such as “keep in a dry and cool place” or “keep in a fridge below certain temperatures”. Always keep drugs out of the reach of children.

Copyright ? Nick Mutt, All Rights Reserved. If you want to use this article on your website or in your ezine, make all the URL’s (links) active.

More expensive means better -right?! Wrong! There is a new drug out on the market called Moxatag. It is an extended release amoxicillin 775mg that has been approved to treat strep throat in patients over 12 years old. It was proven to work “as good as” penicillin and oh yeah costs about 25 times more then penicillin! Hello?!

So, I was at work and had a mom come in with 4 prescriptions for Moxatag to treat her family -they all had strep throat. Instead of filling it for Moxatag (which we did not have in stock anyway, I called the physician and had it changed to amoxicillin. She saved about $380.

I asked the doctor why he chose Moxatag instead of amoxicillin and he said -”It seemed easier because they only need to take 1 tablet a day instead of 3 capsules….and I had no idea how much it costs.”

So, what is the big deal about the new Moxatag?? You got me!

Strep throat is usually treated with: I called around to some pharmacies for prices of the medications without insurance…

? A 10 day supply of amoxicillin is as little as $4.

? In comparison, a 10 day supply of Moxatag is about $100.

After changing the script to amoxicillin 500mg three times a day, the family of 4 ended up paying about $20 instead of $400!

Why do physicians prescribe it? There are few reasons:

1. Penicillin 500mg - 1 tablet 3 to 4 times a day for 10 days OR

2. Amoxicillin 500mg - 1 capsule 3 times a day for 10 days OR

3. Amoxicillin 875mg - 1 tablet 2 times a day for 10 days OR

And now you can treat strep throat with:

Moxatag 775mg - 1 capsule 1 time a day for 10 days

1. It is only one capsule once daily -so patients will be more likely to finish all the medication and not miss any doses. (This is really the only valid “selling” point).

2. Drug reps visit physicians, give them the quick rundown on the new and “improved” drug (maybe some coupons and free samples) then you come in sick - the new drug is on the top of their heads so they prescribe it.

3. Most patients do not have insurance -so they don’t question why Moxatag is “better” than amoxicillin.

4. Most physicians just do not know how much medications cost. Moxatag is easier for the patient so they prescribe it.

There you have it! You can make an informed decision.

Please leave a comment if you want to discuss this further or have any other questions about antibiotics (I heart talking about antibiotics).

There hasn’t been a cure for the disease called Meniere. But there have been treatments for this. The treatment’s aim is just to minimize the pressure in the inner ear to relieve the patient from the symptoms of the disease.Meniere’s disease treatment could be divided in two since there is the acute stage and the chronic stage.

In the acute stage, Meniere’s disease treatment would focus on relieving these symptoms which are pressure, discomfort or fullness in the ear, drop attacks, painful tinnitus, fluctuating hearing loss, and severe vertigo or dizziness. To initially address the symptoms during the attacks, most patients just stay in place lying down. It is good if they could look at one spot. As others wants to be held, some wants to be alone. They must not be given any drinks as they could be choked. Plus, it may aggravate vomiting.

Some of Meniere’s disease treatment for the acute stage includes antihistamines, anticholinergics, sedative-hypnotics, anti-emetic agents, anti-nausea, or diuretics. These drugs are given to take care of the symptoms of dizziness, vertigo, and related nausea and vomiting. Different medications may be given between attacks to help normalize the fluid pressure in the inner ear, thus minimizing also the intensity and frequency of the attacks. Rest is very important during severe episodes until one week after the symptoms are gone, then the patient could resume to normal activities. Patients should use dim lights, no watching of television sets, no reading as this could trigger the symptoms to get worst.

In the chronic stage, Meniere’s disease treatment would focus on relieving the symptoms of vertigo in which patient experiences spinning and loss of balance; dizziness or light headedness; frequent sensation of fullness or wax in the ear; on and off and irritating hearing loss; and the uneasy and painful ringing in the ear. Some of Meniere’s disease treatment for a chronic stage would include surgery on the labyrinth, endolymphatic sac, or the vestibular nerve. In doing so, it lowers the pressure within the endolymphatic sac. Another surgery performed as disease treatment would be the insertion of a shunt. A shunt is a small silicone tube that will be positioned in the inner ear to take off excess fluid. In a good surgical treatment called Vestibular Neurectomy, the vestibular nerve that serves balance is severed that the brain may no longer receive distorted messages.

Vestibular Neurectomy, labyrinthectomy, sacculotomy, ultrasonic irradiation, endolymphatic or subarachnoid shunt and cryosurgery are just some of the surgeries that could be performed when the situation is severe and is not responding to other treatments. And since there is no proven cure on Meniere’s disease, long term of having it could cause permanent tinnitus or a hearing loss. And even all surgeries on the ear could bring in the risk in losing sense of hearing.

Meniere’s disease treatment, combined with the right diet which includes low-salt diet to reduce fluid retention, abstinence from alcohol and cigarettes, less exposure to stress and avoiding sudden movements may lead to a relief on symptoms of the disease. Using this combination, it appears to regulate the inner ear fluid levels, as it nourishes depleted cells.

The side effects of many modern yeast infection medicines may cause worrisome situation for you as part of the troubles you face. You must strive for having knowledge about curing yeast infections through applying best possible natural treatment procedures. There are countless options available before you today which can be applied in curing such yeast infections. In fact yeasts are the living organisms which are the part of primitive group of fungi organism. Keep reading and learn about various methods to be applied to cure your yeast infections. Getting information about them has become easy today.

You can easily look up for various natural cure yeast infection methods if you have internet connection at your home. In fact there are many natural cure yeast infection treatments available beforehand which are rather easier to follow. You hardly require any expertise or skill to practice. You can have such natural treatment materials applied to cure yeast infections from grocery stores or super markets near your area. Even your own kitchen is equipped with lots of such natural items which can be used in this treatment to eliminate yeast infections.

Did you know that garlic has anti microbial properties and is very effective in curing yeast infections? No many people will know this fact. After knowing the medicinal properties of the commonly used spices and condiments, you will definitely be startled. Before you start with any medications for the yeast infections, you must at least give it a thought of using garlic for the yeast infection treatment. If you are too hesitant, try the garlic remedy for at least one day and if you feel the difference, continue with the treatment for few days.

Don’t think of miracles to happen in a day or two while applying natural remedies. Apply this curing method patiently for some days to enjoy benefits of natural cure yeast infection. You will surely have soothing relief in a day or two after applying garlic pastes on yeast infections. Don’t discontinue this after getting relief in few days. Keep reapplying this paste for some more days to enjoy complete cure. You will feel better and enjoy good health after using this natural remedy for some weeks. Use garlic cloves in natural remedy and enjoy natural treatment at par.

Garlic is the best method to treat yeast infections from inside and outside once you consume garlic cloves and apply its paste on your yeast infections. Eating garlic cloves may give bad odor to you mouth hence it is better to have them before sleeping. Always choose clean and fresh garlic and its paste being used in the form of medication. Garlic cloves should be taken carefully after pealing off its outer white covering. If you are not aware of the grinding process then it becomes difficult for you to grind garlic cloves.

Hand grinding is the easiest way of grinding the garlic. If you don’t know the hand grinding procedure of making garlic paste, you can use the blender to make the garlic paste. Always remember to apply fresh garlic paste to the yeast infection as fresh garlic paste shows good effects. For other ways of curing yeast infections the natural way, you can buy good books on natural yeast infection treatments. Most of the natural cure yeast infection books are not very expensive and you can also buy them from online stores.

One very important thing that needs to be kept in mind when you are curing yeast infections is that you need to maintain a very high level of personal and community hygiene. Other natural remedies that are used for the treatment of yeast infections are as follows:

o Yogurt

o Tea tree oil

o Turmeric

o Apple cider vinegar

Do thorough study and search the above natural ingredients in your own kitchen. You don’t need to go too far for having them. In earlier times many herbal remedies were used as great source of first aid treatment for yeast infections. But once they became popular these herbal remedies became part and parcel of yeast infection treatment. Today they are extensively used due to best results. The twofold benefit of curing yeast infections through herbal medicines is that they are cheaper and at the same juncture safer too. Everybody can’t afford expensive over-the-counter medications thus herbal medicines are boon for underprivileged people.

Insomnia is a sleeping disorder that prevents you from sleeping or even falling to sleep. There are so many factors that would cause this sleeping disorder. Insomnia can happen either as a temporary effect or something where a change in the sleeping pattern is observed. Transient insomnia, as the word implies, is something which is not permanent. When this sleeping disorder would occur for a few weeks or so, it is likely to be an insomnia which is permanent. Insomnia can affect anyone. But it is more common to women than men, since women always undergo a constant change in their hormonal levels as they age. Due to the lack of physical activity, the medications that people take, and their conditions, insomnia would most likely become common as people would get older and older.

Insomnia that occurs temporarily can be caused by numerous factors. Stress and other environmental factors can also be included. It would also include the increasing level of noise and temperature in a particular area. Other factors that can cause insomnia would be to sleep in a well-lighted room, or the sound of someone snoring. Any of the ones mentioned above could give someone a hard time to fall asleep. You are no longer required to seek medical attention if your insomnia is temporary. When the cause of your insomnia is something found outside, then your insomnia would most likely stop when the cause has been found and a solution for it has been found.

If you are talking about the type of insomnia which is permanent, then you would need to seek some medical and professional help, since this type of insomnia can be caused by factors which are not superficial by nature. So, in order to find out how severe your insomnia is, you have to agree that a physical examination must be conducted on you so that the problem can be determined. When your insomnia persists with its recurring pattern, then it is advisable that you should go to the doctor and talk about it, and see to it that you have to do something about it.

The things that you take in the body are also possible causes why you are experiencing insomnia. This would include taking of alcohol, caffeine, etc. in large amounts. More serious cases would lie underneath as something physical or mental in nature. It includes depression and anxiety, heart disease, sleep apnea, and others.

It would take a lot of time and effort to find out what is causing your recurring insomnia. You have to go through so many tests for that. The tests would be either medical or counseling. But they are medical in nature. It is hard to determine the condition when diagnosing insomnia because people have different opinions and you have to take all into account. A good way to determine that one is having insomnia is to observe him or her if he or she has some difficulty in staying awake and alert during the day.

In this article, Suzy Cohen shares on a pharmacist journey to discovering the dangers and limitations of prescription drugs. Suzy Cohen has been a pharmacist for over 20 years. She’s the author of “24-hour Pharmacist” and “Drug Muggers.”

Kevin: This is going to be a great interview. I’m absolutely positive of that. So Suzy, welcome to the call.

Suzy: Thank you, Kevin. It’s an honor to be with you.

Kevin: I am thrilled to have you onboard. There are a few people on the call who don’t know who you are. So why don’t you give a little introduction about you, your story, how you came to write these two books.

Suzy: Okay, sure. Well, I went to the University of Florida and graduated in 1989 as a pharmacist - Go Gators! I came out very gung-ho about medication. In pharmacy school that’s what they train us to learn about, medication. They don’t really talk about herbs or natural meds or remedies. In fact, those things are just looked down upon as something that isn’t clinically tested and isn’t worthy of consideration. Medications are the way.

So I came out like most pharmacists do, very gung-ho about medication. I practiced in retail settings and hospital settings, for many years. I realized little by little that people weren’t always getting better on the medications that I dispensed from the pharmacy. Sometimes they got worse. In fact, a lot of times they were sicker on the medicines than they were with the original problem that they came in for. So there was a slow metamorphosis that was going on within.

Then I worked for nursing homes and my job duties there included me going to the nursing home and checking each patient’s chart and looking at all their medications and then going month to month to see how they did. Well, I did this for seven years. I noticed that there were a lot of people in the nursing homes that were very young and they weren’t all going home. It just didn’t make sense to me that some of these places were rehab facilities and yet people were getting sicker and sicker and sicker. So I started to realize that maybe the medicine wasn’t helping them and one step further, maybe harming them, necessitating the need for more and more medicine.

It was this huge awakening and thought that there had to be a better way to reach people. Just because you have an illness doesn’t mean that you necessarily have to take a drug. It’s not like you’re deficient in a drug. It’s because there’s some imbalance in a hormone or an enzyme or a vitamin in your body. These things need to be addressed naturally, not with drugs that fake your body out. So that all took some time.

Now 20 years later I’m very clear about what I think people should do. I think they should consider medication as a last resort only if diet and exercise and herbs and remedies and vitamins have not helped. I think after you’ve exhausted all those efforts and you’re still not feeling well, then it’s okay to consider medication. Some of them actually save lives. A lot of asthmatics require inhalers to stay alive and people with seizure disorders, sometimes they can’t go without their epileptic medicines. So certain drugs I think are fine. Painkillers I think are fine for people who live in chronic pain and just have no life. I have no problem with them taking what they need in order to have some quality of life. I’m one of those rare pharmacists though because I think that healing is a pie and there’s many slices to the pie. Some medications scare me and I think they’re useless. I think that they’re created just to generate money for the companies who make them. But there are other medications that are worthy. So I’m just basically trying to approach medicine from a sensible standpoint, not to scare people away from it necessarily, but to open their eyes and let them see that there are other options available to them. It’s not just a pill for every ill.

Kevin: How does it feel being traditionally trained as a pharmacist to start to realize this What went through your mind when you said, “Wait a minute, some of this stuff isn’t working.” How did that feel

Suzy: It didn’t feel so good. I’m a very sensitive individual and it didn’t feel good to dispense medication and then have a phone call six hours later, the next day, saying, “This stuff is making me throw up, is that normal ” Well, yes, that can happen with this particular antibiotic. Yes, it can cause severe diarrhea. Yes, it can cause these horrible leg cramps or whatever. It was very disheartening because, again, I came out very gung-ho and I thought, “Medications are the way. I’m going to cure the world.” Then it was very disillusioning.

Kevin: I really want to talk about your newest book. It’s a pretty controversial title. What’s the idea behind the title Let’s talk a little bit about some of the concepts in the book.

Suzy: Okay. The concept in my first book, is to provide an amazing, one-of-a-kind resource. Don’t let the title mislead you, this book is about natural alternatives, natural cures and amazing options, truths that you are not told by the doctors. The truth about your medicine but more than that truth about the natural remedies that can substitute for medication. It has chapters in there on fatigue and thyroid and osteoporosis, on sex drive, on everything. I don’t miss anything. Arthritis, osteoporosis, immune systems. It’s just 350 packed pages.

One of the chapters in that book is called “Drug Muggers.” It’s just a few pages long. It got so much interest during radio interviews and television interviews that I decided to write my second book.

What is it It’s about drugs that mug your body of needed nutrients, nutrients and vitamins and minerals that you need to stay alive. When a drug does this then you start to feel very, very badly.

One common example of this is with statin cholesterol drugs - Lipitor, Zocor, Crestor. People know these names. These are multi-million dollar blockbuster drugs used to lower cholesterol. Well, they do an effective job at that, but they also reduce co-enzyme Q10. That’s a powerful anti-oxidant that your body needs. You need that. You can make it in your own body. The medication robs your body of co-Q10 and if you don’t supplement with it then these statin drugs can cause leg cramps and muscle cramps of all sorts, even in your heart. Your heart is a muscle, isn’t it It can cause muscle cramps. So it can make your heart go into arrhythmias and tachycardias and all sorts of heart problems, even heart failure. There are a lot of problems associated with a co-Q10 deficiency, including memory loss, shortness of breath, fatigue, leg cramps, arm cramps, muscle aches and cardiac arrhythmias and all sorts of heart problems. And a serious deficiency of co-Q10 can cause a heart attack because your heart loves, loves, loves co-Q10. These statin drugs are mugging your body of it. That’s just one example.

My book will cover thousands of medications. I tell you exactly what nutrients are robbed. This is so important. Do you know why Because if you don’t know what nutrient is being stolen from your body you’re going to go back to your doctor’s office with a new symptom and he’s going to give you a new drug, when all you needed to do was replenish what the drug mugger stole.

Kevin: What are some of the common things that are then prescribed once someone, say they’re on Lipitor or something like that, what are some of the things that are prescribed for the muscle pain

Suzy: If you’re on a statin drug and you get this muscle pain they might prescribe Requip or Mirapex, which are two different drugs used for restless leg syndrome. So now you’re diagnosed with this thing called restless leg syndrome, which in my day we used to just call leg cramps. But now you know how they invent diseases so that they can give you new drugs to treat your new diseases. Well, all you needed was the co-Q10.

When you lower your cholesterol so much with these drugs you can wind up depressed. It’s proven fact. So what do they do They give you Zoloft or Paxil. You run out of the memory molecules — remember, your cholesterol is being lowered, right So you’re not able to produce, from a cholesterol, all these memory molecules and brain hormones that you need because cholesterol is their base molecule. So you run out of that. What does that mean You wind up depressed. You wind up with anxiety. Memory loss is a big one. Then you’re told you have Alzheimer’s to go with your cardiac issues, leg cramps and low sex drive. Think about that. Again, you’re lowering cholesterol, you can’t make those sex hormones. So what They’ll give you Viagra. Before you know it you’re on six drugs. All you had to do is replenish what the drug mugger stole.

We can harp about statin drugs because they’re popular, but it’s not just statins. My book talks about thousands of medications. One more example of this is those acid blockers. Don’t you love those The drugs like Zantac and Pepsid, Nexium, Prilosec, all of those. People need a pill to eat apparently. Well, I’m just cross-eyed over here. You can’t see it. [Laughter] But if you could my face is just contorted because I just can’t believe we need a pill to eat. But anyway, let’s just skip over that part for a minute.

Acid blockers are huge drug muggers of vitamin B12, amongst other B vitamins. In fact, they’re drug muggers of all the B vitamins. But let’s focus on B12 for a minute because B12 is needed for your nerves. What happens when you take an acid blocker for digestion, after a while you run out of B12. When you run out of B12 your nerves start to get messed up. You get pins and needles sensations in your fingers and toes. You might get neuropathies. B12 is needed for energy so you get very, very fatigued and you feel weak, especially in the arms and legs. You get these sores on your tongue and your mouth and you can’t make probiotics anymore because you need the B vitamins to help generate your natural, normal flora. So you get digestion problems, even though you’re taking these drugs for digestion. It’s just completely whacked.

You may have heard about NutriSystem before. It’s hard to miss this program, what with all the frenzy its ads are creating, whether on TV or online. Some people may chalk it off to another diet system similar to the hundreds of others out there, but NutriSystem Reviews written by actual users and experts show that NutriSystem actually has something to offer – especially to people who want to lose weight and are also dealing with diabetes, one of the leading conditions that plague the country today.
NutriSystem has various programs that cater to the needs of different people. There’s a program designed specifically for men, and another made especially for women. This is to help members of each sex get the diet program that answers their respective bodily requirements. There’s also a program that takes care of vegetarians, who eat only certain kinds of foods that must be taken into consideration. And then there’s a program just for diabetics.

Introducing the NutriSystem Diabetic

Diabetes is a tricky illness. Its treatment is not a one-time gig but a life-long engagement. That’s why NutriSystem Diabetic comes as an answered prayer to people who are affected by this condition. This particular program under the NutriSystem umbrella includes packaged meals that can be ordered without difficulty over the phone or even via the Internet – and shipped fast and safe right at your doorstep. Dieters suffering from diabetes are supplied specifically with calorie-controlled pre-pared by nutritionists every day of the week. And with constant orders, the prices of the foods go lower, making the foods more affordable to diabetics. This certainly comes as good news, specifically because diabetics are already spending so much on their medications, including insulin injections.

The meal plans for NutriSystem Diabetic vary from the other programs. The diet offers a simple and convenient approach to lose weight – and one that’s effective, too. Diabetics can choose to go with the pre-packed NutriSystem Food every mealtime, or they can combine them with other healthy food items that their physicians may require them to eat as well. NutriSystem Reviews show that the NutriSystem Diabetic recommends diabetic dieters to add four cups of fresh fruits and vegetables to the foods provided by the company, plus include daily exercise to speed up the weight loss process. What’s more, a free DVD that contains doable workout routines also come with the NutriSystem Food.

The portion control observed by the NutriSystem Diabetic is also worth mentioning. It makes it easier for diabetic dieters to lessen their calorie consumption without depriving them of the nutrition they need to cope up with their condition and last through the day feeling energized and healthy. The special diet plan indeed provides an advantage to patients of diabetes who want to lose weight. If you’re dealing with diabetes and want to shed off those extra pounds for good, the NutriSystem Diabetic is a good first step. Ask your doctor for more information and additional tips on how to beat your condition and fight weight gain on a permanent basis.

Cold sores are a symptom of infection by the herpes simplex virus, also known as HSV, usually the type 1 strain, although the type 2 strain (which is usually known for causing genital herpes) is capable of causing oral herpes as well. Let me just say right now that there is no known actual “cure” for herpes–once you’re infected with it, you’ve got it for life (sorry). What usually happens, in the most common scenario, is that you’re kissed by a relative with an active outbreak (a cold sore) when you’re a small child and that infects you with the herpes virus, which spends the majority of the time dormant in the sensory nerve cells near the site of infection (typically the face, and specifically the lips).

Herpes simplex cycles between periods of active and dormant phases–obviously, an active phase is when you have a cold sore and the rest of the time when you don’t is the dormant stage. An active stage, the average cold sore in other words, lasts between 2 and 21 days with an average for most people of about a week.

Now, mind you, that just because you don’t have an actual cold sore that you can see doesn’t mean that you’re not contagious and capable of infecting other people–there’s this thing called “asymptomatic shedding” where you’re “shedding” the virus and can infect other people. This all occurs up to a week before you get a cold sore and a week after it’s gone, so if you feel the tingling of an oncoming cold sore, you’re probably contagious and should be careful not to infect other people, and if you’ve just gotten rid of one you’re also probably still contagious. Also, asymptomatic shedding is more frequent in the first 12 months that a person has HSV.

If you’re concerned about infecting a partner with HSV, you should be aware of what is, in my opinion, the best possible use of anti-viral medications such as Acyclovir and Valacyclovir (because the only thing they do for you if you’ve got a cold sore is possibly shorten the duration by 1-2 days, which isn’t very reassuring): when one partner has herpes simplex and the other does not, the use of anti-virals like acyclovir and valacyclovir by the infected person can reduce the odds of infecting their partner by up to 50%. It is believed asymptomatic HSV-2 viral shedding occurs on 10.8% of days per year in patients not undergoing antiviral treatment, versus 2.9% of days while on antiviral therapy (Source: Department of Infectious Diseases, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, go here to see the full study: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16238897 )

Cold Sore Remedies

Ok, now I’m going to give you my own personal home cold sores cure that I’ve come up with through years of trial and error, I hope this is helpful:

1. Keep it clean and dry: wash it once every two hours with a wash cloth and soap, being sure to throw the dirty wash cloth in the laundry and use a new one each time to prevent further spreading.

2. Put some carmex (this is the best in my opinion) or other lip balm over it to keep the fluid from leaking out and spreading–the wax will act as a sealant.

3. Melt an ice cube over it for about 10 minutes every two hours after you wash it–this slows down the virus’s metabolism and makes it less likely to get worse and speeds healing time, plus it really helps with pain and irritation.

4. Apply witch hazel or rubbing alcohol (isopropyl alcohol) with a q-tip to it once every two hours–my friends and I have found this to usually be VERY effective at speeding up healing time (and if you do it early enough when it’s just a little red bump it will sometimes stop the cold sore dead in its tracks and keep it from ever emerging in the first place).

5. Start taking lysine at 1000mg 3 times per day along with high doses of Vitamin C (follow directions on the bottle), lysine has been proven (and in my and my friends experience, it works) to speed healing time for cold sores and to go a long way to prevent them in the first place.

There are several types of medication errors. When a drug is available in more than one dosage forms, there is the potential for error. For example verapamil is a medication often used to lower blood pressure or to treat cardiac arrhythmias (abnormal heart beats). It is available in many strengths from several manufacturers. The problem arises with the 120mg strength.

There is an immediate release (the tablet releases the drug relatively quickly) and an extended release (the tablet releases the drug slowly over a period of time) tablet of 120 mg verapamil. The extended release (ER) tablet will provide the drug slowly over a 24 hour period but the immediate release tablet provide all the medication at the same time. Once released, a medication has limited time in the body. In this cases about 8 hours. The immediate release tablet must be given every 8 hours to maintain its effectiveness.

The real problem happens when the intended product is the extended release tablet but the prescription is written or phoned in to the pharmacy as verapamil 120mg tablets, take 1 tablet daily instead of verapamil ER 120mg tablets, take 1 tablet daily.

What happens is the patient would get all 120 mg of the verapamil in the first couple hours (essentially an over-dose) and the balance of the day there would not be enough medication in the body to control blood pressure. I have personally seen this error in the pharmacy and in the hospital. The problem is compounded by the fact that the verapamil ER 120mg tablet is often for people who do not need a lot of medication to do the job whereas the verapamil 120 immediate release tablet is for those requiring a large dose (360mg per day). This error could cause severe decreases in blood pressure or dangerous decreases in heart rates.

Another example is Effexor 75 mg and Effexor XR 75 mg. The regular Effexor (venlafaxine) is intended to be given 2 to 3 times daily but the Effexor XR 75mg releases slowly over 24 hours so it should be given only once daily. The problem occurs when the prescription reads Effexor 75 mg once daily instead of Effexor XR 75mg once daily

The order is for the regular product and not the XR. According to the Effexor package insert there is a small increase in the possibility of seizures with the regular over the Effexor XR. Even though this is a small chance it is still a concern and this error can be prevented.

My last example is Wellbutrin (bupropion). This drug comes in three different dosage forms. There is a regular formula for dosing 3 times daily, an SR formula for twice daily dosing and an XL formula for once daily dosing. The presence of 3 different formulas can become confusing as errors can happen as in the examples above plus the potential of the prescriber to mix up the formulas and request an XR product by accident.

There are many drugs with the potential for this type of error.

In addition to the possibility of errors with these extended release products, there is no standards for the use of a suffix on drug names. Suffixes CD, CR, ER, LA, SR, XL, XR do not have a standard definition describing the dosage form or the release characteristics of the product.

There are steps you can take to protect yourself from these types of errors.

• Ask the doctor about the medication prescribed, if it is extended release, how often to take it, and what it is to be used for.
• Make sure you can read the prescription and it agrees with what the doctor told you.
• Be aware if your medication is available in more than one dosage form and verify you are receiving the correct one.
• Check the bottle from the pharmacy to verify it is the same as what the doctor wrote.
• Always question any changes in the size, shape or color of the medication you receive.

For a free special report on medication errors you can visit PharmerDon.com

When you are prescribed treatment or medicine for an ailment the doctor will have considered your case carefully and decided the safest solution for you.

For those with prescriptions they may feel that the drug isn’t working and consider taking a higher than recommended dosage. It can be highly dangerous to do this without consulting a doctor as can be combining different medications that the doctor isn’t aware of.

With prescribed medicine it’s important also to never share medicine with other people. They may have a similar condition to you but their body or condition may dictate that they take a different medication and by taking yours they may be doing more harm to themselves.

Below are 10 tips to ensure you are safe when carrying out your prescription.

1. Ask your doctor are there are any foods or drinks that should be avoided when on your medication, sometimes they can conflict or worsen your condition.

2. If you are prescribed multiple drugs or pills make sure you check when it is safe to take each one, some drugs may not react well when taken together.

3. Familiarise yourself with the name of the drug you are prescribed from your GP, and check the container when given the drugs if you go to a pharmacy, there’s always a chance for human error.

4. Don’t be afraid to ask your doctor about the drug you’re prescribed; what does it do? What to expect from it? Also know how to identify it from other pills by their markings/shape/etc.

5. By all means visit another doctor for a second opinion but always disclose any treatment or conditions you have from another doctor so that the second one doesn’t prescribe conflicting drugs or more of the same.

6. If you miss a time when you should have taken your dose do not double up at the next time to take your medicine, if it is vital not to miss the time then contact your doctor or pharmacist to find out what to do.

7. Continue the course of treatment even if you feel better, the drugs may have eradicated the noticeable symptoms but will still be working away behind the scenes to fully treat your problem.

8. When on prescription drugs try to avoid alcohol all together, many prescribed drugs do not mix well with alcohol and can be fatal, consult with your doctor as to whether you can consume alcohol whilst on your course of medication.

9. Use a pill case/organiser to help remind you of when to take various pills with their correct dosage too. Set alarms on your watch or computer to remind you or keep a diary.

10. When you have finished your treatment do not flush remaining drugs down the toilet, certain drugs won’t be filtered out by water treatment processes. Go to your doctor or pharmacist for advice on responsibly disposing of surplus medication.