Entry bubble Drug Facts Boxes

By: Colleen | February 18, 2009 | Category: Health

When it comes to dealing with medicine, things can get tricky. Can you take one type of med with another? Does name brand vs. generic medsmake a difference? What if you mix an over-the-counter drug with a prescription?

And to top it off, when you see an ad in a magazine or newspaper, it's accompanied by a full page of fine-print information about the medicine. Who has the time, or the vision, to read all that?

After a study conducted by Dartmouth was released this week, you might find it easier to get the information you need about the medicines you see advertised.

"User-friendly boxes" would replace the direct-to-consumer drug ads you currently see. These concise "drug facts boxes" are quite similar to the nutrition facts found on food items. These boxes will include facts not found in the current summaries like:

  • The year the drug got approval from the Food and Drug Administration
  • How common the side effects were in clinical trials
  • The advantages of the drug over older drugs

Would these new boxes be advantageous to you? Would it influence you to ask your doctor for a specific medicine?

| View Comments [5] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: colleen   drug_facts_boxes   food_and_drug_administration   medicine   prescription  

 

Entry bubble Proper Prescription Drug Disposal

By: Sommer | April 04, 2008 | Category: Health

A recent study announced that pharmaceuticals like sex hormones, mood stabilizers, and acetaminophen were found in the U.S. drinkingblue pills spilling out of a pill bottle water supply. YIKES! When I read the article, it didn’t really strike close to home, until…

A couple weeks ago when my nesting instinct took me on a trip to the top shelf of my linen closet to a basket full of expired medications and first aid supplies.

So, this was my dilemma; do I contribute further to the problem by just cavalierly tossing the stuff in the trash like I had originally planned? Not if I can help it! But, what do I do? I’ve heard of some prescription drug take back programs but in my search I couldn’t find one in my local area. (I wish I lived in the Great Lakes Region – they’re collecting old pharmaceuticals to commemorate Earth Day – how cool!)

While there's lots of advice on taking meds, from what I could find, there's a lack of clear info about what to do if you no longer need the medicine and have to dispose of it. And, I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m a little confused by the guidance on proper disposal – I’ve read, “Crush Don’t Flush” from the SmaRxt Disposal campaign but the ONDCP says that flushing is appropriate in certain circumstances.

I don’t feel fully comfortable that the instructions I found will completely protect the environment, but I guess it’s better than doing nothing. Here’s how I’ll dispose of my pills:

  1. Remove them from their original containers
  2. Crush the pills and put them in a sealable container – probably a plastic zipper bag
  3. I’ll add coffee grounds to the bag (they recommend mixing the crushed pills with an “undesirable substance”)
  4. Then I’ll throw the bag in the trash.

I’ll also be sure to remove any identifying information from prescription drug containers before I recycle them (if they’re recyclable, of course).

Here are some other resources I found:

| View Comments [6] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: disposal   drug   environment   medication   medicine   prescription   sommer   waste