Category: Drugs & Medicines
A dietary supplement marketed under the name STEAM is being recalled after it was found to contain a chemical similar to the drug found in the erectile dysfunction drug Viagra, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced today. The chemical, sulfoaildenafil, is an analog of sildenafil, the active ingredient in Viagra, the FDA said, [...]
Consumers should stop using any body building products that are sold with claims they contain steroids or steroid-like substances, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said today. Many of these products are marketed as dietary supplements but, in fact, contain synthetic substances that can cause serious liver injury, kidney failure, blood clots in the [...]
More than half of drug-related deaths in King County last year involved the use of prescription opiate drugs that are most often prescribed for pain control, according to a new report. Often the drugs are obtained without a prescription. The annual report was put together by the Community Epidemiology Work Group. a collaboration of public [...]
Continuous chemotherapy for some cancers? New York Times reporter Andrew Pollack writes that some doctors and pharmaceutical companies are advocating treating patients with cancer continuously. “That would be a departure from the common practice of stopping treatment when the cancer is under control and resuming it only if the cancer worsens,” Pollack writes. Some doctors [...]
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is urging doctors and consumers to use Darvon, Darvocet and other pain medicines containing the drug propoxyphene with caution because of the danger of overdose. The consumer advocacy group Public Citizen had called on the FDA to ban the propoxyphene, citing evidence that the drug had been responsible [...]
Medtronic, Inc. is recalling some of its Paradigm Quick-set infusion sets used with its MiniMed Paradigm insulin pumps. In a press release announcing the recall, the company said it recently discovered that approximately 2 percent of “Lot 8” Quick-set infusion sets may not work properly. “The affected infusion sets may not allow the insulin pump to [...]
Earlier this week an advisory panel for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) called on the agency to impose tighter restrictions on the widely use reliever acetaminophen, used in both prescription and non-prescription medications. Below is a Q & A produced by the FDA, which LocalHealthGuide published earlier this month. Acetaminophen is the generic [...]
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the first generic version of the “morning after” emergency contraceptive pill. Previously the only version of the pill on the market was Plan B, which was available without a prescription for women 18 and older and with a prescription for those 17 and under. The new [...]
Consumers should stop using and discard three zinc-containing cold remedies marketed by Zicam, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned today. The agency issued the warning after receiving more than 130 reports of people losing their sense of smell after using the products. Zicam intranasal zinc products are widely sold in pharmacies, other retail [...]
Stolen vials of the long-acting insulin Levemir made by Novo Nordisk have reappeared and are now being sold in the U.S.. the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has learned. The insulin may be dangerous because the vials may not have been stored and handled properly, the FDA warns. Three lots or a total of 129,000 [...]
Do not use any skin products made by Clarcon, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warns. Some skin sanitizers and skin protectants produced by Clarcon Biologial Chemistry Laboratory, Inc. of Roy, Utah have been found to contain “high levels of disease-causing bacteria”, the FDA said. “Some of these bacteria can cause opportunistic infections of [...]
How can you find out if a medication has been tested for safety in children? What’s the right dose? Are over-the-counter medicines safe? In this Q & A, Dr. Dianne Murphy, director of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Pediatric Therapeutics, answers those and other questions you might have about giving a medication to [...]
LocalHealthGuide is a health news and information web service for Seattle and the Puget Sound Region. We are independent and unaffiliated with any hospital, medical association or insurer. If you have questions or if your group has an upcoming event that you would like us to cover, please let us know by going to our "Contact Us" page and dropping us a note. -- Michael McCarthy, Editor
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Lost in translation: Lack of trained interpreters can lead to medical errors
Interpreter services at hospitals and other medical settings are often inadequate, forcing family members, including children, to step in, or the task falls to medical staff members who may not speak the language well.
Some insurers deny ER coverage to people who have been drinking
Laws in more than half the states permit insurers to deny payment for medical services related to alcohol or drug use. Faced with the prospect of not getting paid for care, some ER personnel sidestep the problem by simply not testing patients’ blood or urine for alcohol.
Travel insurance can protect your wallet — and your health on vacation
Think your regular health insurance policy will cover you if you get into medical trouble overseas?
Don’t bet on it.
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