Canadian Pharmacy » Archives for January 2006

NeoVisc (Sodium Hyaluronate) injections are one way to prevent the pain caused by osteoarthritis in your knees. NeoVisc is a viscosupplement (lubricant) that can be injected into your knee to reduce the pain that occurs when your knee moves. NeoVisc is a 1.0% solution of high-purity sodium hyaluronate. To explain it in the simplest terms, NeoVisc is the WD-40 you add to a rusty hinge.
Osteoarthritis is a type of arthritis that occurs when the cartilage between your joints breaks down. Cartilage acts as the cushion between your joints. As the cartilage breaks down, your joints start rubbing together causing inflammation and pain. The most common areas affected by osteoarthritis are your hands, feet, spine, and large weight-bearing joints, like your knees or hips. Unfortunately, there is no cure for osteoarthritis, but with treatment, you can prevent the pain and suffering.

Directions for using NeoVisc

NeoVisc should be injected by a trained professional at a clinic or hospital. All orders of NeoVisc come with an information pamphlet. Please read the pamphlet and ask any questions prior to receiving NeoVisc injection treatments.
NeoVisc treatments consist of three injections into the synocial space of your knee joint. These injections are called intra-articular injections. You will receive one injection per week for three weeks.
Optimal results are usually seen within thirty days after the last NeoVisc injection, but some patients experience improvements after the second injection. Patients experience up to eight months of pain relief. In some cases, the NeoVisc injections can stimulate the growth of natural healthy hyaluronate.

General guidelines for NeoVisc

• Store NeoVisc below 86 degrees F (30 degrees C).
• Store NeoVisc in the original packaging.
• Store NeoVisc away from light.
• Do not freeze NeoVisc.
• Take NeoVisc on time (If you miss an appointment, notify your doctor as soon as possible).

Side Effects of NeoVisc

All patients should complete the full treatment course, even if they start feeling better. It is important to keep a regular schedule for your NeoVisc injections.

Additional warnings:

• Avoid using certain skin disinfectants (containing ammonium salts).
• Pregnant females should discuss NeoVisc with a physician. It is unknown if this medicine is excreted in breast milk.

Is a Prescription needed for NeoVisc?

No, a prescription is not needed to order NeoVisc from Canada.

Why would I choose NeoVisc over other viscosupplements?

Tests show that there are no significant differences in treatment outcomes with NeoVisc as compared to other hyaluronate products, but NeoVisc can cost up to 50% less than other products.

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Understanding Osteoporosis: The Silent Threat to Bones

Most people assume that bones can only break under extreme conditions. Bones are actually comprised of living tissue that is constantly replaced by new, stronger tissue. If the regeneration cycle is altered, your body will remove more tissue than it creates. This is known as osteoporosis. To better understand one common treatment option, see Alendronate for osteoporosis. There are no symptoms of osteoporosis. You can’t feel your bones weakening, so osteoporosis often goes undiagnosed until you actually break a bone. Since maintaining bone density matters, it can also help to read about vitamin D deficiency and how it may affect bone health.

Alendronate
Alendronate (brand name – FOSAMAX) is a bisphosphonate that reduces the activity of the cells that create bone loss. By decreasing the rate at which bone tissue is lost, patients see an increase in the amount of bone tissue. If you’ve been prescribed a version that includes vitamin D, you can learn more in Fosamax Plus D.

Side Effects

If you suffer from any of the following conditions, you should not take Alendronate:

• certain disorders of the esophagus
• unable to stand or sit upright for 30 minutes
• severe kidney disease
• low blood calcium

If you have difficulty swallowing liquids, you should not take the liquid Alendronate solution.
If any of the following symptoms develop or worsen, you should stop taking Alendronate and call your doctor immediately:

• heartburn
• difficult or painful swallowing
• chest pain
• severe bone, joint, or muscle pain

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Fluticasone Propionate (brand name – Flonase) is a prescription nasal spray approved to treat indoor and outdoor allergies and nonallergic symptoms. Fluticasone Propionate helps reduce the inflammation that leads to nasal symptoms that include congestion, sneezing, and itchy, runny nose.

Fluticasone Propionate combats symptoms for both seasonal and year-round allergies. Seasonal allergies most often occur in the spring and fall when pollen is released, whereas year-round allergies are triggered by dust, mold and animal dander.

Year-round nonallergic nasal symptoms are caused by inflammation and irritation of the nose lining. The general symptoms for people suffering from nonallergic symptoms have runny noses and postnasal drip, as well as stuffiness.

Why Fluticasohttps://www.doctorsolve.com/drugsstore/flonase-nasal-spray/ne Propionate?

Unlike other nonprescription nasal sprays and allergy medications, Fluticasone Propionate is not habit causing and doesn’t cause drowsiness. Since the spray is delivered directly inside your nose, it is more effective. Fluticason Propionate attacks your symptoms where you need it the most.

SIDE EFFECTS

Most side effects go away during treatment. Side effects include sneezing, stuffy nose, and an unpleasant taste or smell. In some cases, the lining of your nasal passages may dry. If any of these symptoms continue or become bothersome, notify your doctor.
If you experience any of the following side effects, stop taking Fluticasone Propionate immediately and contact your doctor:

• nosebleeds
• nose or throat pain
• difficulty breathing
• tightness of chest
• swelling of eyelids, face, or lips
• rash or hives

Bacterial infections have become a concern for both physicians and patients. Infections caused by difficult-to-treat bacteria are becoming more and more common. The most common bacterial infections include urinary tract infections caused by bacteria and chronic bacterial prostatitis.

UTI

Urinary tract infections, or UTIs, are common and affect millions of people each year. Although both men and women can develop UTIs, women suffer from them more frequently than men.

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are treated with antibiotics. These drugs kill the bacteria that cause the infection. For uncomplicated UTIs (UTIs that develop in normally healthy people), antibiotics are normally prescribed for 3-7 days, depending on how often UTIs reoccur.

Complicated UTIs (UTIs that develop in people suffering from an underlying disease or infection) are more difficult to treat than uncomplicated UTIs. Complicated UTIs are caused by more varied types of bacteria. These bacteria are more resistant to the medications. A doctor will normally prescribe medication for 7-14 days for complicated UTIs.

It is important you finish the course of prescribed medication, even if you begin to feel better or your symptoms go away. If bacteria are not completely eliminated, the infection may come back. Normally, after a few doses of medication, you will start feeling better, but the infections and symptoms may persist for a few more days.

Prostatitis

Prostatitis is an inflammation of the prostate, which can often be caused by an infection. Infections by bacteria or other organisms cause prostatic inflammation in many men with prostatitis. These bacteria usually come from the urinary tract. The two most common types of bacterial prostatitis are:

• Acute bacterial prostatitis is the least common of the four types but also the easiest to diagnose and treat effectively. Men with this disease often have chills, fever, pain in the lower back and genital area, urinary frequency and urgency often at night, burning or painful urination, body aches, and a demonstrable infection of the urinary tract as evidenced by white blood cells and bacteria in the urine. The treatment is an appropriate antibiotic.
• Chronic bacterial prostatitis, also relatively uncommon, is acute prostatitis associated with an underlying defect in the prostate, which becomes a focal point for bacterial persistence in the urinary tract. Effective treatment usually requires identifying and removing the defect and then treating the infection with antibiotics. However, antibiotics often do not cure this condition.

Ciprofloxacin

Ciprofloxacin is a prescription medication that blocks bacterial DNA replication by binding itself to an enzyme called DNA gyrase. The gyrase enzyme prevents the untwisting required to replicate one DNA double helix into two and is commonly prescribed to fight UTIs and prostatitis.

Side Effects of Ciprofloxacin

Side effects are difficult to anticipate when using Ciprofloxacin. To be safe, contact your doctor if any side effects occur, or intensify. The most common side effects are nausea, abdominal pain, diarrhea, rash, and vomiting.

If you notice a skin rash or any other allergic reactions, contact your doctor immediately. Although quite rare, people using Ciprofloxacin have suffered serious and occasionally fatal allergic reactions. These reactions can be accompanied by:

• A collapse of the circulatory system
• loss of consciousness
• swelling of the face and throat
• shortness of breath
• tingling
• itching
• hives

If you experience fever or jaundice contact your doctor immediately.

Acyclovir dosage for herpes helps reduce the severity of painful outbreaks and stops new blisters from forming. Unlike bacterial illnesses, viral illnesses are not living organisms. Viral illnesses attack living cells and reproduce themselves, at the expense of the host cell.

Antiviral medications inhibit the replication of viral DNA needed for a viral illness to reproduce.

Virally infected cells absorb more acyclovir than normal cells and convert more of it to an active form, prolonging its antiviral activity.

Acyclovir is a prescription antiviral drug used in the treatment of certain infections with herpes viruses.

These include genital herpes, shingles, and chickenpox as well as herpes simplex virus and other types of herpes virus infections that cause painful blisters.

How long does acyclovir take to work for herpes?

Oral administration of acyclovir may take up to two hours to reach peak plasma levels. Symptom reduction may begin within three days, but it is essential to complete the entire prescribed course of the medication. For optimal effectiveness, acyclovir should be initiated within 48 hours of the onset of symptoms.

Acyclovir Dosage for Herpes

For the acute treatment of herpes zoster, the recommended acyclovir dosage is 800 mg taken orally every 4 hours, five times daily for 7 to 10 days.

The acyclovir dosage for genital herpes (initial treatment) is 200 mg every 4 hours, five times daily for 10 days.

Chronic suppressive therapy for recurrent genital herpes involves taking 400 mg twice daily for up to 12 months, with a re-evaluation at the end of the period. Alternatively, doses can range from 200 mg three times daily to 200 mg five times daily. The frequency and severity of untreated genital herpes episodes may change over time, and after one year of therapy, a re-evaluation is recommended to determine if continued treatment is necessary.

For intermittent therapy of recurrent genital herpes, 200 mg should be taken every 4 hours, five times daily for 5 days, starting at the earliest sign of symptoms.

For treating chickenpox, children aged 2 years and older should take 20 mg/kg per dose orally four times daily (80 mg/kg/day) for 5 days, with children over 40kg taking the adult dosage of 800 mg four times daily for 5 days.

Intravenous acyclovir is recommended for treating varicella-zoster infections in immunocompromised patients.

Chances of spreading while on acyclovir

While it is not guaranteed that you can completely prevent your partner from contracting the herpes virus, taking certain precautions can significantly reduce the risk. acyclovir, a commonly used antiviral medication, helps to suppress herpes and decreases the chance of transmitting the virus to a partner by 50%. However, even with acyclovir, there remains a 5% annual risk of a female partner contracting the disease.

To further reduce the risk, it is important to avoid vaginal, oral, or anal sex during a herpes outbreak. Using condoms in combination with herpes treatment can also help minimize the chance of transmission. Condoms are particularly effective at preventing male-to-female transmission.

When both acyclovir and condoms are used together, the risk of passing on herpes can be reduced by up to 75%. Additionally, recent studies suggest that Tenofovir, an anti-HIV drug applied vaginally as a gel, may significantly lower the risk of sexual transmission of herpes.

Postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) is pain that continues after the rash from shingles heals, caused by nerve damage from shingles. PHN can develop in anyone who has shingles. About 12.5% of people who had shingles develop PHN. PHN is most common in people 60 years of age or older.
PHN can develop if you:

• Developed a very bad rash when you had shingles
• Felt a lot of pain from the shingles
• Felt pain before your shingles rash started
• Have trouble fighting infections (such as from cancer or an organ transplant)

The pain from PHN varies from person to person. The pain can be mild or severe, constant or infrequently. The pain can be burning, stabbing, or even shock-like.

A seizure is the result of extra electrical activity in the brain. When the electrical activity is focused on a small portion of the brain, it is called a partial seizure. Partial seizures can spread to involve the whole brain (convulsive seizures).

There are two types of partial seizures:

• simple
• complex.

During a simple partial seizure, a person remains alert and can still follow commands. A complex partial seizure results in a loss of consciousness and often a person cannot remember the events that occurred during the seizure.

Neurontin
Neurontin is a prescription oral medication for management of PHN pain that lasts for up to three months after shingles heal. Neurontin is proven to greatly reduce patients’ pain.

Neurontin may begin to work as early as 1 week after you start treatment. It is important to note that it some cases it may take longer for PHN to work. In some instances, the pain caused by PHN may not get better.

Neurontin also helps control partial seizures in epileptics. This is essential helping to provide a better life.

Side effects
Neurontin may cause side effects. Common side effects include drowsiness, dizziness, and weakness. You should not operate heavy or complex machinery until you are affected by Neurontin.

Blood clots can limit or completely restrict the flow of blood to important areas of the body, leading to heart attacks or strokes. For people that already suffered a stroke or heart attack, or have poor circulation as a result of peripheral artery disease (PAD) are even more likely to form clots in their arteries.
Blood clots are a natural defense mechanism, protecting a body from excessive bleeding in the case of an injury. Whenever a cut occurs, platelets stick together to form a clot. Clots can also be formed when platelets clump together on or near the plaque (a rupture of a cholesterol buildup in the walls of the arteries.

Plavix

PLAVIX is a prescription medication that prevents platelets from sticking together (clotting), improving blood flow to reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes. Taking PLAVIX daily can help reduce the risk of a future heart attack or stroke
Physicians often prescribe aspirin in combination with PLAVIX to provide more protection against a future heart attack or stroke than aspirin alone. Your doctor may recommend using PLAVIX daily with aspirin if you:

• Have been hospitalized unstable angina
• Have suffered a non-Q-wave heart attack

These events are sometimes referred to as acute coronary syndrome (ACS). For the millions of people suffering from ACS, taking Plavix and aspirin can help make a difference.
It is important to understand Plavix doesn’t work the same as medication that reduce blood pressure or cholesterol. Medications like Lipitor keep your blood pressure and cholesterol at appropriate levels, but do not reduce clotting. Clotting is the major cause of most heart attacks and strokes.

Why Plavix?

Taking Plavix daily helps protect you against another heart attack or stroke.

If you’ve already suffered a heart attack you are:

• 5X more likely to suffer another heart attack (than the general population)
• 3X more likely to suffer a stroke (than the general population)

If you’ve already suffered a stroke, you are:

• 9X more likely to suffer another stroke (than the general population)
• 2X more likely to suffer a heart attack (than the general population)

If you suffer from peripheral artery disease, you are:

• 4X as likely to suffer a heart attack (than the general population)
• 2X as likely to have a stroke (than the general population)
• 15X more likely to die from cardiovascular disease

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What is osteoporosis?

A common misconception is that bones are solid and can only break under extreme trauma. Most people don’t realize that bone is actually living tissue, just harder tissue than your skin or heart. Your body continuously replaces older bone tissue with new tissue, to keep your bones strong and healthy.

Osteoporosis interrupts the natural regeneration cycle, causing your body to remove more bone tissue than it creates, causing your bones to become thinner and much more likely to break. It is impossible to feel bone loss, so most people don’t even realize they have osteoporosis until it is already a serious problem. Taking calcium supplements is important, but may not be enough to prevent fractures caused by osteoporosis.

Why Actonel?

Actonel (risedronate sodium tablets) is a prescription drug that stops further loss of bone and increases bone mass in most people who take it. Actonel reverses bone loss quickly, and is the only medicine available that reduces the risk of spinal fractures within a year.

Actonel is a bisphosphonate that can be used to prevent and treat osteoporosis that occurs after menopause, as well as Paget’s disease and steroid-induced osteoporosis.

Side effects

Side effects for Actonel are generally mild or moderate. The most common side effects are:

• back, muscle, bone or joint pain
• stomach pain
• constipation
• headaches
• nausea
• diarrhea

Contact your doctor if symptoms are severe.

Fight the Feeling Under the Weather: Home Remedies and Medications for Colds and Flu

Tried-and-true home remedies can help you feel better when you find yourself “under the weather” with a cold or the flu. And a few over-the-counter medications can help relieve nasty symptoms.

First, do you have a cold or the flu? Chances are, if you had a flu shot, you don’t have influenza (or have a mild case). You can still get vaccinated to protect yourself for the rest of the flu season, which runs through April, according to the CDC.

The symptoms are confusing, but here’s a simple test: People with the flu get sick more suddenly, look much sicker, and feel as if they really were hit by a truck. Higher fever, body aches, extreme tiredness and dry cough are more likely to be flu, according to experts at eMedicineHealth. A runny or stuffy nose, maybe a slight fever, and cough are hallmarks of the common cold.

In either case, antibiotics are not what you need. In fact, taking these strong prescription medications weakens their effectiveness when you might need them. Colds and flu are caused by viruses. Antibiotics cannot fight viruses. So reserve them for bacterial infections, and your doctor is the best judge of that. Antibiotics taken “just in case” still do no good unless your doctor determines you should head off a bacterial infection if you have a chronic condition.

Often, what you need to ease the symptoms of colds and flu can be found right at home – where you should be so you aren’t coughing and sneezing and infecting others. Mary Windle, PharmD, Pharmacy Editor of eMedicine, Inc., and Adjunct Assistant Professor at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, College of Pharmacy, offers this prescription to feel better fast:

Treating Colds and Flu: What You Can Do at Home and When to See a Doctor

For chest congestion:

• Drink plenty of fluids (8 to 10 cups a day) such as water, sports drinks, herbal teas, fruit drinks, or ginger ale. Even clear soups – yes, chicken soup. Fluids help break up congestion, prevent dehydration, and keep your throat moist.

• Inhaled steam can ease congestion too. Create steam with a humidifier, or steam up the bathroom by running a hot shower. Or create a mini-steamer by boiling water on the stove and placing the pot on a table. Drape a towel over your head and the water (careful!) and inhale the steam. The effect is enhanced if you add a half teaspoon of Vicks VapoRub, 1-2 drops of eucalyptus oil or a few slices of ginger to the boiling water.

For nasal congestion:

• Relieve clogged nasal and sinus passages caused by excessive mucus with either decongestant pills or liquid medication or with a nasal spray. Oral decongestants you can buy at your drug store contain pseudoephedrine (with brand names such as Sudafed or Triaminic). This ingredient can cause an increase in heart rate and blood pressure and may keep you awake because it’s a stimulant. Anyone with high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, thyroid disease, or glaucoma (high pressure of the eye) should not use these decongestants. Depending on state law, you may have to ask and sign for products containing pseudoephedrine because it is used in making illegal street drugs.
• Nasal spray decongestants do the same thing and have the advantage of going directly to the problem area – your nose. The active ingredient is oxymetazoline found in brand names such as Afrin, Dristan nasal spray, Neo-Synephrine, and Vicks Sinex. Do not use these sprays longer than 3 days or you will risk getting a rebound effect – your nose will become stuffy once again. These are best taken following a hot shower and lots of nose blowing to clear out the mucus as much as possible. Nasal sprays are a good alternative to pseudoephedrine at bedtime because they won’t interfere with sleep.

For fever and pain, body aches, and tiredness:

• Rest in bed. And if you’re home in bed, you’re not at work or around others and spreading your germs.
• Over-the-counter medications such as acetaminophen (Tylenol) or ibuprofen (Advil or Motrin) can help decrease fever and ease sore throat pain and body aches. Never give a child aspirin or medications containing aspirin due to the risk of Reye Syndrome.

For cough:

• For a dry hacking cough, you may choose a medication that contains a cough suppressant – to block the cough reflex and keep the cough from waking you at night. Look for over-the-counter medications that contain dextromethorphan, like Benylin DMD.
• For a cough that produces excessive mucus, or phlegm, you may want to use an expectorant to loosen secretions so you can cough them into a tissue. A cough is a reflex. When your airway passages are irritated, you cough. Guaifenesin is the most common active ingredient in over-the-counter expectorants (for example, Benylin DMDE). Help them work by drinking plenty of fluids.

For sore throat:

• A warm salt-water gargle can relieve a scratchy throat. Dissolve about half a teaspoon of salt in a glass of warm water.
• Lozenges, mouthwashes, and sprays that contain a numbing ingredient such as benzocaine, phenol, or menthol can ease the pain. Some people think lozenges containing zinc relieve cold symptoms, but the benefits are not proven, and zinc can cause stomach upset and has an unpleasant taste.

When to contact the doctor: Call your doctor if your symptoms of cold or flu last more than 10 days, if you’re not getting better, if your fever goes above 102 degrees F, or if you feel shortness of breath, or other worrisome symptoms.

For more information on colds and flu, self-care tips, and a searchable database of consumer health information, go to http://www.emedicinehealth.com/ (search the site for Understanding Cold and Flu Medications).

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Heartburn isn’t just the result of eating spicy food. Many people experience persistent and frequent heartburn (for example, two or more nights per week), and assume it is strictly diet-related. It may actually be a symptom of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). GERD symptoms may actually result in the development of erosive GERD. Erosive GERD occurs when sores develop on the lining of the esophagus.

GERD is caused when the opening between the esophagus and the stomach relaxes at the wrong times. Normally, this opening allows food to travel only from your esophagus into your stomach. When the valve between the stomach and the esophagus relaxes at the wrong time, contents of the stomach can flow up to the esophagus, causing irritation.

Protonix heals erosive GERD

PROTONIX is a prescription drug that used to heal the sores that develop in the esophagus as a result of GERD. Most patients using Protonix heal within 8 weeks of treatment. In a year long clinical trial involving patients with healed erosive GERD, 93% of nights were heartburn-free and 94% of days were free from acid regurgitation (for patients treated with Prontonix 40mg).

Protonix (called PANTOLOC in Canada) is a proton pump inhibitor used to treat ulcers, gastroesophageal reflux (GERD), erosive esophagitis, or Zollinger-Ellison syndrome. It may also be used to treat other conditions as determined by your doctor.

Side Effect of Protonix

Common side effects (that may go away during treatment) include headache, dizziness, diarrhea, or nausea. Please check with your doctor immediately if the side effects persist or cause considerable discomfort or if you experience the following:

• swelling of hands, face, lips, eyes, throat, or tongue
• difficulty swallowing or breathing
• hoarseness
• rash

Why DoctorSolve™?

At DoctorSolve™, we know that you have a lot of online Canadian Pharmacies from which to choose. Some are better than others, and many shouldn’t be selling drugs at all. We want you to know that we’re different – much different.
Our business is a private medical facility, owned by physicians. Our staff and agents include physicians, pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, nurses, and medical office assistants. You deserve nothing less than the highest standards of care from the Canada pharmacy you choose.