Inspectors arrest 15 in prescription drug case

Opiates originated from Tijuana pharmacies

SAN DIEGO - U.S. border inspectors are not only seizing drugs coming into the country from Mexico - they're making arrests for drug smuggling that's going the other way.

PILLS: Drug companies questioned

I would like to sound off about our pharmaceutical companies and our pharmacies. In the last four months my prescriptions have changed makers four times. With each change, my pills have gotten weaker and weaker. The pharmacies are buying from the cheapest pharmaceutical companies, not caring that they are being made in China. They both only care about the money. No one is thinking about the person taking the medicine.

FDA allows over-the-counter morning-after pill, lifts age limit

Safe to take after expiration date?

The expiration date on bottles of over-the-counter and prescription medications tells consumers how long the drug contained within will maintain full potency and safety under ideal storage conditions.

No over-the-counter for Plan B pill

Election-year politics seen in move by Obama administration

WASHINGTON (AP) - In a surprise move with election-year implications, the Obama administration's top health official overruled her own drug regulators and stopped the Plan B morning-after pill from moving onto drugstore shelves next to the condoms.

Over-the-counter birth control? Drugmaker seeks FDA approval

Many conservative groups stress they are only interested in curtailing abortion

Express Scripts cuts payments for customized drugs

Even a little too much

Much has been made recently of the potential risk posed by taking too much acetaminophen (Tylenol). As a result, the FDA has set the maximum dose of acetaminophen at 4,000 milligrams over a 24-hour period. In addition to the attention being paid to single overdoses (when a person takes too many pills at once), new evidence has emerged that reveals the dangers of so-called "staggered overdoses." This term refers to taking even slightly too much acetaminophen over a period of several days.

Morning after pill OK for ages 15 and up

Do you take OTC medications seriously?

According to one survey, nearly one-third of consumers polled said that they did not consider over-the-counter (OTC) medications to be as "serious" as prescribed medications. Are you among those who think this way?

Is it safe to buy pet meds online?

Dear PropellerHeads: I'm hoping to save a little money. Is it safe to buy my pet medicines from an online pet pharmacy?

Dangers of overprescribing kids' antibiotics

Parents must carefully consult with their children's pediatricians before deciding to treat their kids with antibiotics. It is important for parents to understand that prescribing antibiotics to children unnecessarily raises the risk of developing antibiotic-resistant infections in both the child and society as a whole. For this reason, health experts have been warning of the dangers of antibiotic over-prescription for years. Yet, a recent study involving nearly 65,000 outpatient visits by children under the age of 18 shows that pediatricians write more than 10 million unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions annually, mostly for respiratory conditions. About one-quarter of antibiotic prescriptions are given to children with respiratory conditions that will not respond to antibiotics, such as asthma, bronchitis, influenza and allergies.

Are online pharmacies legitimate?

If you think that you'll get a bargain from an online pharmacy, think again. According to a 2012 analysis of nearly 1,000 online pharmacies by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP), which accredits online pharmacies and represents state pharmacy boards all over the United States, only around 3 percent appear to be legitimate. The NABP found that 85 percent of the online drugstores it looked into do not require a valid prescription from the consumer's physician, and nearly half provided foreign drugs or medications not approved by the FDA. While there are Canadian online pharmacies that are legitimately regulated, many websites that purport to be Canadian are not. Worse yet, you may not even get the drug you ordered.

Udall swipes at opponent's birth-control plan

WHEAT RIDGE, Colo. - Democratic Sen. Mark Udall went after his opponent's proposal for over-the-counter birth control Friday, bringing big names to a suburban Denver battleground to argue that Rep. Cory Gardner's plan doesn't make him the "new kind of Republican" he has been claiming to be in ads.

Treating sinus inflammation

When sinus inflammation (sinusitis) strikes, most people probably think that the best thing to do is get a prescription for antibiotics from their doctors. However, antibiotics are ineffective in 90 percent to 98 percent of all sinusitis case because nearly all sinus infections are viral in nature, and antibiotics don't kill viruses. Currently, one in every five antibiotic prescriptions written for U.S. adults is written for sinusitis. Keeping in mind that unnecessary and unneeded antibiotic use leads to more virulent strains of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The Infectious Diseases Society of America recommends that doctors only suspect a bacterial infection when sinusitis symptoms last ten days or more and do not improve. After that, a five to seven day course of amoxicillin is often recommended.

More poisonings than auto deaths

According to the National Center for Health Statistics, more Americans died of poisonings than in automobile crashes during the most recent year for which there are available statistics. That means that poisoning is now the leading cause of injury death in this country.

Poll: Majority of Americans want government to curb prescription costs

WASHINGTON - Move over, "Obamacare." A new poll finds Americans worried about medication costs and broadly supporting government action to curb drug prescription prices.

Treating sinus inflammation

When sinus inflammation (sinusitis) strikes, most people probably think that the best thing to do is get a prescription for antibiotics from their doctors. However, antibiotics are ineffective in 90 percent to 98 percent of all sinusitis case because nearly all sinus infections are viral in nature, and antibiotics don't kill viruses.

Generic-drug tsunami warning!

Patients currently taking prescription drugs should know that, over the coming months, an unprecedented number of expiring drug patents will unleash a virtual tsunami of generic drugs.

Medications only work if you take them

One of the more worrisome aspects of keeping patients healthy is the fact that many do not take their medications. At the very worst, this compliance problem begins when patients with chronic conditions do not even pick up their newly prescribed drugs. This failure to comply with their prescribing physicians' recommendations places patients with high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol levels and other potentially life-threatening conditions at particular risk.