Archives for August 2010 | DoctorSolve Blog

August 25, 2010

Canadian Prescriptions for Painkillers Harder to Obtain

Filed under: canadian-pharmacies — Tags: canadian-pharmacies, codeine, morphine, online pharmacies, oxycodone, painkiller prescriptions, painkillers, rationed painkillers — Amanda @ 5:28 pm

Due to a growing misuse of prescription pain-killers in Canada, prescriptions for drugs like morphine, codeine, and oxycodone are now “rationed” by Canadian doctors. Experts have recently created specific guidelines that test patients who ask for painkillers. Doctors are now more careful about who they prescribe hard painkillers to.

Canada is now thought to be the third-largest opioid consumer per capita in the world. There was a 50 percent increase of the use of painkiller drugs between 2000 and 2004. The proper use of opioid painkillers is to be effective in patients with chronic pain (that persists for more than 6 months). These drugs are very strong and easily addictive, and are even being sold by drug dealers on the street.

The guidelines in the article published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal are meant to help doctors safely prescribe medications to patients who need them, and prevent patients who abuse them from obtaining a prescription. The goal of the article is to reduce the diversion and addiction problems associated with these heavy painkillers. When used properly these drugs are good medications and help many people who suffer from long-term pain. The guidelines include advice on which medications are effective for which types of pain, the recommendation that patients give urine tests to test for the use of painkillers, dosage recommendations that start with low doses and gradually increase to test for effectiveness, signs of possible drug abuse and how to spot prescription fraud, and guidelines for patients who are stopping the use of opioids.

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How to Avoid Fraud in Online Pharmacies

Filed under: online pharmacies — Candace @ 5:11 pm

Thousands of people have lost millions of dollars to fraudulent pharmacies. Not only are pharmacies a concern to consumers, but recently criminals were caught posing as FDA (Food and Drug Administration) officials. These criminals phoned previous customers of online pharmacies to inform them that buying medications from a pharmacy that is not a brick-and-mortar facility is illegal and demanded a large fine. The FDA stated that an FDA official will not phone a customer expecting a fee.

When concerned about a pharmacy and its authorization follow the following tips:

Check the contact information – Make sure that the information provided is legitimate by testing the phone number or e-mail.

Word of mouth – Make sure that a website is reliable with checking that others say about that website. Look for promotions from other people or people claiming this web is counterfeit.

Check the certificates – Look at the certificates of the website. Check any links on these certificates. Use your own judgment to tell whether these are real or fake certificates.

Check any blacklists – Experts have made pharmacy blacklists concerning which pharmacies are frauds. If you find a pharmacy that you were planning on buying from which is blacklisted, first compare the blacklist to another list, and ensure that it is accurate before not using that particular pharmacy.

Report them – If you do find a fraudulent site, report them to officials to keep other consumers safe.

DoctorSolve.com has a clean record in all its years of operation. They have gained the trust of over 200,000 customers over the 11 years they have been in operation. To learn more about doctor solve, see their safety service guarantee.

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August 24, 2010

Stopping Negative Health Effects

Filed under: tanning beds — Tags: gum disease, healthcare, heavy drinking, junk food, Skin cancer, skin damage, tanning, tanning beds, tartar buildup, toothcare, toothpaste, unprotected sex — Candace @ 6:01 pm

If you ever disregarded health talk on the dangers of things like tanning, junk food, and other luxuries it is time to listen and learn how to stop the negative impact these things have on your health.

Tanning – Every summer you go outside and frolic in the water, spend time at the beach, and forget to bring your sunscreen. Some people may even invest in a few visits to a tanning salon. Besides skin cancer, exposure to light rays from both the sun and tanning beds or lamps can cause skin aging. If you already have skin damage it is recommended you see a dermatologist. You should always use sunscreen over 30 SPF. Try to avoid too much sun exposure at peak time: 10 A.M. to 4 P.M.

Poor dental hygiene – Not brushing and flossing leads to gum disease, cavities, inflammation, gum recession, and eventually tooth loss. Ignoring the bacteria in your mouth will let them spread and cause problems. Even if it seems it is too late you can still stop further damage. First of all, get a new toothbrush (any old toothbrush is probably filled with bacteria, or the bristles may be damaged, so start fresh). Brush after breakfast, and after dinner. Make an appointment with the dentist as only a professional will be able to remove the tartar buildup that brushing and flossing will not remove.

Junk food – Everyone loves a treat once in a while, but when it becomes a daily splurge it is dangerous to your health. First look at the body mass index and see if you are at a healthy weight. Next check your blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Make a list of your usual snacks, and then a list of the healthy alternatives. For example rather than a bag of chips have an apple and cheese slices. Try to add more physical activity into your daily routine.

Unprotected sex – Having multiple sexual partners and not using protection puts you and your partner at many risks. HIV and other STI’s are just a few of the risks of unprotected sex. It is recommended adults get tested for HIV once in their lives. There are free tests available at clinics and community organizations. A blood test is also recommended to check for Hepatitis B, and genital rash or sores.

Heavy drinking – Risky drinking is more than four drinks a day for men, three a day for women. Having more than recommended even just 12 times a year can significantly increase your risk of alcohol disorders, alcohol abuse, and alcohol dependence. Thankfully, if you drink excessively in your twenties you are at less of a risk of any alcohol disorders. If you used alcohol when you were stressed you may find yoga helpful rather than relying on alcohol. Stay attentive: know how much you are drinking and why.

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August 23, 2010

A New Kind of Muscle Memory

Filed under: exercise — Tags: exercise, health, muscle, muscle memory, steroids, weight lifting — John @ 9:13 pm

If you’ve ever wondered why some people can go to the gym for only a month, but manage to come out with muscles you didn’t know a person could have, then University of Oslo physiologist, Kristian Gunderson may have the answer you have been looking for. Gunderson headed a study on muscles and how exercising can cause indefinite changes in the muscle.

The recent study demonstrated how your muscles are able to ‘remember’ their former strength, thus making it easier for a person to regain the muscles they previously had. This means that if you worked out in high school or University, but let yourself go for a few years, you may be able to regain that former muscle in less time than you could have imagined.

However, researchers are not certain how long this new kind of ‘muscle memory’ will last. Gunderson makes it clear that the structural changes that occur in the muscle may be very long-lasting, potentially permanent.

During the study, the researchers put mice through strength training for their hind legs to build muscle. The researchers then took the mice off their training regimen to examine some of the muscle nuclei. What Gunderson and her team observed was that, although the mice lost muscle mass, the nuclei remained. This would give the muscle an extra advantage, a head start if you will, if the mouse was trained again.

For those wanting to stay fit and be able to maintain or regain muscle further into life, the earlier you exercise appears to be better for you. Gunderson explains that your muscles ability to develop this kind of ‘memory’ becomes weaker over time. This means, that if you exercise while you are young, it will be much easier for you to receive the benefits of your work when you are older.

Gunderson also discovered something that could impact all of sports. It seems that athletes, who use steroids to train also receive this advantage, as steroids also give you more muscle nuclei. This means that even though an athlete may have stopped using the illegal steroids, they may still be receiving an unfair advantage from it. This could affect the way doping punishments will work in sporting events. For example, if the effects of these changes to the structure of a muscle are permanent, should the ban become permanent? Officials in charge of sporting events may need to discuss the findings in order to determine if any potential rule changes will be required.

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How to Stop Embarrassing Body Problems

Filed under: human body — Tags: body problems, burping, cotton mouth, growls, hhiccups, leaks, stomach aches, stomach discomforts, stomach problems, sweating, yawning — Candace @ 9:11 pm

It happens at the worst time possible; sweating, stomach growls, bladder problems, and other body problems can be terribly embarrassing. Thankfully there are ways you can reduce and prevent these badly timed body issues.

Body leak – Small leaks when you laugh, cough or exercise are very common, especially in women who have given birth. There are conditions that may be causing your bladder leaks so the first step would be to go see a doctor. There are exercises you can help you to gain control on your bladder. One of these is to stop the urine flow every time you go to the bathroom. Instead of just letting your bladder go try to start-stop and control it. Practicing this will help you to have control in sticky situations. Deposable panty liners can help if the problem is unstoppable. Instead of using pads meant for menstruation, look for an incontinence section, as those products are more effective.
Burps, hiccups, and growly stomachs – Burping and growling are due to the consumption of gassy foods. Hiccupping is caused by an irritation to the diaphragm which can increase when you eat gassy foods. Burping and hiccupping can increase due to anxiety. When you are nervous or anxious, you tend to swallow excess amounts of air and this is what causes the stomach problems. Cut down on gassy foods like cruciferous veggies and fried foods. For those with lactose intolerance you should also cut down on dairy products. Drinking lots of water and limiting alcohol also helps.
Excess sweating – Sweating can be a medical condition but normally is just attributed to stress. Stress hormones cause and increase in sweat. Try an antiperspirant rather than a deodorant and try to prepare for stressful situations ahead of time. Limit caffeine intake, chocolate, and spicy foods. These types of foods increase your heart rate and breathing and can increase sweating. Keeping a glass of cold water handy is also a good trick. Holding it on your wrists can help stop sweating.
Yawning – You hate to look uninterested, but mid-conversation you have a burst of yawns. There are two causes of yawning: a lack of sleep, or anxiety. If you are anxious and breathe shallowly you can stimulate yawning. Sucking on hard candy can help, because as it melts you swallow the liquid and it’s impossible to swallow and yawn at the same time. If you have cotton mouth the candy will help keep the saliva flowing. Avoid chewing gum in this situation as It causes you to swallow more air and can lead to more yawning and belching. Sipping water slowly can also help with yawning problems

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Things Aren’t Always What They Seem

Filed under: healthy living — Tags: cereal, chips, diet pop, healthy foods, juice, salad, unhealthy foods — Tanveen @ 9:10 pm

Most people have a very stereotypical point of view in terms of what is healthy and what isn’t. However, you will find that foods you think are healthy and good for you are not as great as you think.

Cereal

Most breakfast cereals are full of sugar. These cereals usually advertise the nutritional value of the cereal. However, if the cereal is high in sugar then the other nutritional benefits are really of no value. It is important to buy cereal that is low in sugar and high in fiber.

Salads & Fat- Free Dressings

Not all salads are healthy. In fact, this is probably the most stereotyped food item. Most people think that it is impossible to go wrong with a salad. Regardless, a salad can have as many calories as eating a burger and fries depending on what you put on it. It is very important to be more careful about salads when ordering from a fast food chain or restaurant.

In addition, all supermarkets sell fat-free salad dressings. Do not fall for them! Just because it is fat free does not mean it’s good for you. In fact, you need some fat in your salad dressing so that your body can absorb all the nutrients from the salad.

Whole-Wheat Chips

We all know that chips are considered junk food. However, if we buy whole wheat chips it’s a much healthier choice! Not actually true. The very popular whole wheat tortilla chips only contain a relatively small amount of whole wheat. This doesn’t really make them much better than the regular version. The bottom line is that chips should not be eaten all the time and rather be a treat every so often.

Juice

Juice should not make up majority of the servings for your fruit and vegetable intake. Most people think that drinking 100% pure juice is the equivalent to actually eating the fruit. You should try to limit yourself to about 1-2 glasses per day. Juices that are labeled as fruit cocktails or real fruit beverages are actually extremely high in sugar. Try to avoid these types of juices at all times.

Diet Pop

For most people, drinking pop is very regular and occurs every day. Some choose to buy the diet version instead of the regular so that the drink will have substantially less calories and sugar. However, a sugar substitute called aspartame is used. As a result, people that drink diet pop are more likely to develop unbalanced levels of insulin and blood sugar.

In most cases, it is the ways the foods are marketed that make people believe that it is healthy. It is important to actually read the nutrition label and the ingredients. The ingredients are listed in order from most used to least.

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Healthy Living for Busy Lifestyles

Filed under: Healthy Eating — Tags: breakfast, eating healthy, family, healthy living, meal plan, obesity — Tanveen @ 9:10 pm

In today’s world, everyone lives a very busy lifestyle making it seemingly impossible to fully commit to a healthy meal plan. Many people end up succumbing to fast food or freezer food (myself included). As a result, obesity is continually increasing in the Unites States making it more important to establish health living so that oncoming generations can change this growing trend of obesity.

Despite all the obstacles we face in everyday life, if we commit to eating well, then nothing should be able to change that. There are many techniques that can be used.

Organize a Meal Plan

Plan out what you are going to eat for the rest of the week or half of the week, whatever you prefer. In your meal plan, incorporate the meals you are going to eat out (try to make healthy choices). Your meal plan should include the time or meal of day, the name of the dish you will cook, the ingredients needed, and where to find the recipe. For example, page 212 in “Healthy Cooking”. Having a meal plan will allow you to be faster and more efficient. No more time spend dwelling on what to eat.

Make a Grocery List

As you walk through a grocery store, the more things you look at the more you want. You will end up buying many items that you probably hadn’t initially thought you would. If you have a grocery list handy with all the things you need then you will be able to head straight over to these items and avoid scanning the shelves for other unnecessary items (in most cases junk food).

Breakfast, Breakfast, Breakfast

Breakfast is undoubtedly the most important meal of the day. However, many people end up skipping this meal because of their busy lifestyle. Breakfast should never be missed, even if you have to wake up a little earlier for it. You could even prepare your breakfast the night before so that you do not have to rush in the morning. Another great idea is to take something on the go like a fresh fruit smoothie or a healthy baked muffin.

Don’t Eat Late

For many people, working late is a part of their day to day life. The best thing to do is to take a break at around 7:00 pm and have your dinner then. If you feel hungry when you go home, grab some fruit or veggies to eat. Nuts would also be a nice tasty little snack. If it so happens that you cannot get a break at the said time and have to eat a meal at night when you come home, it is recommended you eat something light. Soup is a good choice as it is not too heavy but yet fills you up. Homemade soup is the best. You could prepare some and even freeze it in separate containers (one serving size each) so that you can use it when needed. Now that’s good freezer food! If you have to rely on a can buy something very low in sodium and fat.

Family Participation

As a family there is so much you can do to facilitate healthy living. Cooking together is a great way to bond within a family and have everyone work together as well. For those that have children, having them help you prepare dinner or lunch would be a great way of teaching them the right types of food to eat and what a balanced diet is all about. This is probably the best way to pass it on to other generations. For example, if your children always see you eating chips or what I call lazy food such as chicken nuggets and frozen pizza then in the future they too will lean towards those types of foods.

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August 17, 2010

Surgery May Help Diabetics Reduce or Eliminate Their Need for Medications

Filed under: Diabetes — Tags: bariatric surgery, Diabetes, healthcare, Insulin, johns hopkins, medications, obesity, prescriptions, Type 2 diabetes, weight loss — John @ 5:48 pm

Diabetes is a fairly common disease that millions of people in the United States are living with each and every day. While diabetes is manageable, the cost of medications to do so can often become difficult to afford. However, results from researchers at Johns Hopkins University may be very promising to certain people suffering from diabetes.

Researchers observed 2,235 adults living with Type 2 diabetes, which is generally associated with being overweight, who received stomach-reducing surgery. What these researchers discovered was that after only 6 months, almost 75% of those who received surgery were no longer taking their diabetic medications. Furthermore, 2 years following the surgery, 84.5% of those who received surgery were now free of their diabetes medication or in many cases, multiple medications.

Not only were many of these patients able to experience a significant decline in their weight after the surgery, they were also able to experience a significant decline in their healthcare costs. With the price of medications in the United States being as high as they are, reducing or eliminating the dependence of medications can make such a difference in a person’s life.

However, researchers made another interesting discovery while observing these patients. While they found that stomach-reducing surgery allowed patients to stop taking their diabetic medications, they found that this became possible even before patients began to experience weight loss from the surgery. This could support theories that suggest that surgery actually alters the stomach hormones, allowing them to control blood glucose levels more effectively.

While there are certain risks associated with this surgery, for diabetics, the benefits may heavily outweigh the risks. In the end a person should discuss the options with their doctor, family, then weigh their options and decide what will be best for themselves.

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5 Most Common Conditions Misdiagnosed By Doctors

Filed under: health — Tags: doctors, hypothyroidism, incorrect diagnosis, misdiagnosed, misdiagnosis, mistakes — Candace @ 5:48 pm

It’s a good idea to seek a second opinion when seeing a doctor. 40 percent of doctor’s mistakes are misdiagnosis. Because multiple diseases share similar symptoms it is difficult to differentiate what illness a patient may have.

Case 1: The symptoms are headaches, ringing ears, backaches, neck pain, and toothaches. Most commonly this is diagnosed as a migraine or ear disorder, but in reality is probably TMJ. Temporomandibular joint syndrome is when the joint keeping your skull and jaw together becomes inflamed. A dentist is the best person to get to treat this! If it doesn’t go away you should visit the dentist as they have more knowledge in this area.

Case 2: The symptoms are numbness on the side, dizziness, headaches, loss of balance, impaired vision and speech. This is most commonly misdiagnosed as vertigo, migraines, or an inner ear disorder. It is probably a stroke. Numbness on one side is practically enough for you to go to the hospital already! Especially when accompanied with pain or any other symptoms. 14 percent of people under the age of 45 are misdiagnosed in this area. You should get this treated immediately. If a stroke is left untreated it could lead to a worse stroke and can progress to brain damage.

Case 3: The symptoms are difficulty breathing, chest pain, fatigue, and an abnormal heartbeat. Normally this is diagnosed as a panic attack or a lot of stress, but is often actually a heart attack or cardiovascular disease. Women are more commonly misdiagnosed in this case. You should try to make an appointment with a cardiologist.

Case 4: Sadness, tiredness, weight gain, muscle aches, stiffness, and difficulty sleeping. This is most commonly diagnosed as depression. Hypothyroidism has the same symptoms as this. When it doesn’t make enough hormones it can affect your emotions and add deserted and alone feelings. Hypothyroidism is dangerous and can lead to other life threatening conditions, such as heart disease, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. Ironically, hypothyroidism can also lead to depression.

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August 12, 2010

Treating Bee Stings

Filed under: allergy — Tags: allergies, anaphylactic reaction, antihistimines, bee stings, epipen, hornets, wasp stings, yellow jackets — Candace @ 4:28 pm

Although summer brings beautiful weather allowing beach tanning, swimming, and other enjoyable activities, it also brings annoying pests, including bees and wasps. Bee stings are painful and can be lethal if the sufferer has allergies to bee stings.

After being stung, the first thing you should do is to get away from the bee. Bees emit a smell attracting other bees when they are in danger. Next you should remove the stinger. Do not scrape it off, but rather try to pull it out. The faster you remove the stinger, the less severe the reaction will be.

If the sufferer does have allergies to bees, search them for an EpiPen. If he/she is supposed to have an EpiPen, but does not, call 911 and watch for itching, redness, hives, and shortness of breath. If the sufferer does not have allergies to bees the pain should be gone quickly and swelling will only last a day or two. You may use an ice pack to reduce swelling. If there is any itching antihistamines and lotion can help soothe it.

For cases of multiple bee stings (I had a cousin who stepped on a bee hive and suffered from 18 bee stings) if there are over 10 stings or there are stings in the nose, mouth, or throat, the victim should be taken to the hospital immediately, even if he/she is not allergic to bees.

Just a reminder that only honey bees leave a stinger behind. Wasps and hornets do not leave a stinger (so don’t be looking to pull one out), but they can still cause an anaphylactic reaction.

You can use a few tricks to avoid bee altogether. For example if you avoid fragrances like body spray, scented soaps, and hair sprays, and if you avoid bright clothing, especially with a floral design you can outsmart some bees. As well you should be cautious when drinking from a soda can. Bees can climb in and give you a shocking and painful surprise when you take a drink.

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