MY TURN: Combating the opioid crisis in Idaho

Opioids have been part of the medical culture for thousands of years, with ancient cultures using them for various medical and religious purposes. Morphine, for example, was discovered in the early 19th century to ease pain, shorten coughs and treat battlefield wounds.

Home blood sugar monitoring

There is no question that diabetics who carefully monitor their blood sugar levels stand the best chance of avoiding complications commonly associated with the disease. To this end, it helps greatly for diabetics to utilize home blood sugar monitoring kits that enable them to analyze their blood sugar levels by testing a drop of blood from a pricked finger on a test strip that is placed in a meter.

Five deaths connected to overdoses

Police issue another warning about fentanyl

5 deaths connected to overdoses

On the record about off-label drugs

A medication is said to be used "off-label" when it is prescribed to treat a condition which has yet to be approved by the FDA. An example of off-label drug use may be an anti-depressant that is prescribed to treat insomnia or a pain condition. Anti-seizure drugs are also sometimes prescribed off-label to treat neuropathic pain.

Hacking away at pneumonia

Angiotensin-converting-enzyme (ACE) inhibitor drugs prescribed to treat hypertension are known to produce a dry, hacking cough as a side effect in some cases, which leads many to switch to another medication. As it turns out, however, this drug-induced, persistent cough may provide a benefit that may have some patients thinking twice about switching to other blood-pressure-lowering medications.

Cholesterol screening for children?

High cholesterol may be a problem largely associated with middle-age and beyond, but it may warrant attention much sooner. An expert panel has therefore recently issued a recommendation endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics that urges that all children undergo cholesterol screening at least once between the ages of 9 and 11, and again between 17 and 21, regardless of family history.

Calling attention to medical orphans

Aside from being associated with Mother's Day and Memorial Day, the month of May has also increasingly come to be known as Awareness of Medical Orphans Month.

At your disposal

If you have expired or unwanted medications lingering inside the medicine cabinet, do not automatically throw them down the toilet. Instead, get in touch with a local drug disposal program to keep drugs safely out of the environment. If there is no disposal program, you are urged to throw unwanted drugs in the trash after mixing them with coffee grounds and sealing them in a plastic bag. Doing so will render the medications unpalatable to anyone who may later somehow come into their possession. The FDA does recommend that powerful painkillers, controlled substances and other potentially dangerous drugs be flushed because they can be harmful to children, pets and others for whom they are not intended.

First-line diabetes medications

Those diagnosed with prediabetes or type 2 diabetes are likely to be prescribed at least one medication to get their blood glucose levels under control. Classes of drugs such as meglitinides and sulfonylureas stimulate the pancreas to produce more insulin (the hormone that moves glucose from the blood into the cells). Another class of drugs, biguanides, works to inhibit the production and release of glucose by the liver, thereby reducing the amount of glucose that enters the blood. Metformin (Glucophage, Riomet) is in this latter category and also works to make cells more sensitive to the effects of insulin, which encourages more glucose to leave the blood and enter the cells. Metformin is effective and inexpensive, and it poses few side effects.

Will a common drug lower Parkinson's risk?

Parkinson's disease is a progressive nervous system disorder that causes noticeable shaking and slowing of movement. While there is no cure, the condition may be managed with drugs such as levodopa, dopamine agonists, MAO B inhibitors, and others.

Cholesterol-lowering drugs are working

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), cholesterol levels among U.S. adults have been decreasing since the late 1980s. While some of the improvement can be attributed to dietary improvements such as switching from unhealthy trans fats to vegetable oils, cholesterol-lowering medications are also thought to play an important role.

How do you take your medication?

While most medications are taken in tablet or caplet (oblong tablet) form, both are composed of compressed powder that needs to dissolve in the stomach before the active ingredient is released. For faster relief, chewable tablets are absorbed as soon as they reach the stomach, and dissolvable tablets act like ground-up chewables once dissolved in the mouth. Liquid medications are absorbed as soon as they reach the digestive system. Gel caps contain liquid medication encased in a gelatin exterior. Once the stomach dissolves the outer coating, the medication is quickly absorbed. There are also tongue strips, which melt before they are absorbed in the stomach, which is just about as quick as dissolvable tablets.

FDA cracks down on illegal diabetes remedies

Take Aspirin at first signs of heart attack

Those in the early grips of a heart attack may find that chewing an aspirin tablet will help save their lives. Heart attacks are often the result of a blood clot in the coronary artery that blocks blood flow. Aspirin may help overcome these heart events by inhibiting the formation of the blood clots. The most effective way to help restore blood flow in the event of a heart attack is to chew and swallow a regular adult-strength, 325-milligram tablet. Neither a baby-strength (81-milligram) aspirin tablet, which many heart patients take on a daily basis, nor a coated aspirin tablet, which is designed to be absorbed slowly, will suffice in the event of a heart attack.

Making a needed switch

While anti-depressant medications are quite effective, not all work on everyone equally well. When a medication is not working, patients should consult with their prescribing physician about either raising the dose or switching to a new medication. Research shows that if a switch in medications is needed, switching relatively early on does not worsen symptoms and may lead to slightly better results in the long run. According to one study, 70 percent of those prescribed escitalopram (Lexapro) did not respond to the drug after a month. Some non-responders were directed to continue taking the drug, while others switched to duloxetine (Cymbalta). All experienced results within four months, but the early switchers were slightly more likely to have their depression lift completely.

Pfizer maneuvers to protect Lipitor from generics

TRENTON, N.J. - Lipitor is so valuable that Pfizer is practically paying people to keep taking its blockbuster cholesterol medicine after generic competition hits the U.S. market this week.

Hacking away at pneumonia

Angiotensin-converting-enzyme (ACE) inhibitor drugs prescribed to treat hypertension are known to produce a dry, hacking cough as a side effect in some cases, which leads many to switch to another medication. As it turns out, however, this drug-induced, persistent cough may provide a benefit that may have some patients thinking twice about switching to other medications that lower blood pressure. According to an analysis of 37 studies, researchers found that patients taking ACE inhibitors were 34 percent less likely to develop pneumonia, which is a significant cause of hospitalization and death among seniors who typically take ACE inhibitors. Older patients who take ACE inhibitors should consult with their physicians before deciding to switch to an alternative.

Osteoporosis drugs help men, too

While the bone-thinning disease known as osteoporosis is often thought to be a woman's health problem, it also poses a significant fracture risk for men. Women's lifetime risk of suffering an osteoporotic fracture is about 50 percent; for men, the risk is estimated to be about 25 percent. Fortunately, men can avail themselves of the same class of drugs (bisphosphonates) that women use to prevent the loss of bone mass and derive equal benefit. According to recent research, use of the drug zoledronic acid (Reclast) helped men with osteoporosis significantly reduce their risk of fractures of the spine. The first step toward realizing this benefit requires men to have their bone density tested and evaluated.

Potential Z-Pak concern

Azithromycin, which is often sold in a five-day dose known as a Z-Pak, is an antibiotic commonly used to kill bacteria that cause middle-ear infections, strep throat, sinusitis and pneumonia. It is therefore newsworthy that a recent study linked azithromycin with an increased risk of irregular heart rhythms in some patients. Azithromycin is part of the macrolide class of antibiotics, which includes erythromycin and other antibiotics that pose similar risks for those with heart disease risk factors. At the same time, the study found no similar risks associated with other antibiotics that treat many conditions as well as azithromycin, most notably, amoxicillin and ciprofloxacin. It may make sense to discuss these alternatives to azithromycin if you have a heart condition.

Taking medications via microchip

If you aren't a fan of needle injections, you may be interested to learn that drugs may now be delivered by microchip. This new way of delivering medication has already been tested among osteoporosis patients. It involves the use of an implanted microchip that has a wireless receiver, which signals the microchip to release the drug. This method of drug delivery is different from most current drug-delivery systems that slowly release small amounts of the drug. Instead, the microchip releases all the medication at once, much like a needle injection. While there are still some issues to work out, the system holds great future promise for delivering medication to patients who have trouble taking their medications regularly.