If you take medication for blood pressure or heart failure, chances are you have been affected by, or at least heard of, the recent recall of over 75 different generics of valsartan, losartan, and irbesartan and their combinations. 75 different generics? But how can so many different manufacturers be affected when the FDA strictly oversees […]
HIV and the Hope of Becoming HIV-Free
Many people believe HIV started sometime in the 1980s in the United States. But this is not true. In fact, the first acquisition of HIV most likely happened in the 1920s, in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) capital, Kinshasa, as a result of an adaption of the Simian Immunodeficiency Virus (SIV) that was able […]
Recognizing the Dangers of Vaccination Misinformation
Becoming a parent is a wonderful, amazing experience. But it can also be a confusing and overwhelming one too. Firstly, there’s constant worry over whether your baby is sleeping, feeding, or pooping enough or too much. Secondly, there’s a whole range of never-heard-of-before conditions to deal with such as baby acne, colic, cradle cap, diaper […]
Is there an end to high drug costs in the U.S.?
It’s no secret that drug costs for people in the U.S are anywhere from two to six times higher than other parts of the world. But why is this, and is it possible to bring costs down, which, by the way, rose again this new year. Firstly, it is important to acknowledge that there is […]
How Would You Cope Not Being Able To See?
Most of us take our vision for granted. But just take a second and imagine what your world would be like if you couldn’t see. No more reading nor watching movies, and even worse, no more focusing on the faces of the people you love. Low vision is a term used when a person’s visual […]
Have a Little Respect For Your Heart
What would you say to somebody who asked you to do 70 push-ups a minute, every hour, for the rest of your life? We could probably guess that your answer would most likely be unprintable here, or one of disbelief. But that’s what we expect our hearts to do from the day we are born […]
Conquering the Big C
Us humans are creatures of habit and like routine. Which means changing certain aspects of our diet or lifestyle that we have enjoyed for years can be daunting. But if you knew that just a small change could help prevent cancer, would you do it? Experts estimate up to four out of ten cancers could […]
To Take or Not to Take
We are sick. We go to a doctor and are given a script for medications to take to make us better. But almost one-third of us never take that script to a pharmacy, and over 50% of us end up not taking our medication as prescribed. But why does this happen? Is it because most […]
Trying to Tame the Cluster Headache Beast
We should take our hats off to the people diagnosed with cluster headache. Not only do they experience pain so excruciating that their condition has earned a reputation as being the most painful disorder known to mankind, but the lack of effective treatments means little can be done to relieve each agonizing episode. Cluster headaches […]
No Easy Fix To The Opioid Crisis
Despite numerous law changes and restrictions on prescribing, the number of people dying from opioid-related drug overdoses continues to increase. Today, and every day after this one, 130 Americans on average will die from taking an opioid. But can anything more be done about reversing these shocking statistics? Yes, it could, but will it? Current […]