Back pain medications have little benefit and may cause harm – research

Widely used anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen have little more benefit than a placebo when it comes to treating back pain, a comprehensive review has found.

Researchers analysed 35 peer-reviewed trials on the use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs [NSAIDs] such as ibuprofen for back pain, reviewing data from 6,065 patients.

They found that none of the analgesics offered anything more than a mild relief for back-pain sufferers, and the effect was too small to be considered clinically important.

The comprehensive review, published in the journal Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, found while the drugs offered little to no benefit, patients taking them were 2.5 times more likely to suffer from gastrointestinal problems such a stomach ulcers and bleeding.

Lead author of the paper, Associate Professor Manuela Ferreira from the George Institute for Global Health in Australia, said back pain was the leading cause of disability worldwide and was commonly managed by prescribing anti-inflammatories.

But guidelines should be updated to reflect the drugs had little benefit, she said.

“These drugs are effective for other conditions but for people with back pain, we believe there is a bigger role for other treatments,” she said.

“We are not arguing that no pain relief should be used, but people using these types should be aware the benefits are small and that their side effects can be harmful, and that discussing with their doctors the benefit of other treatments including exercise may be worthwhile.”

Professor Chris Del Mar, an evidence-based medicine specialist and professor of public health at Bond University in Queensland, Australia, said both doctors and patients tended to believe medicines for back pain were more effective than the evidence shows.

“It’s hard for doctors to say to people, ‘I don’t have anything that will make much of a difference to your back pain, so grit your teeth and bear it’,” he said.

“People want to hear, ‘I’ll give you some pills and we’ll make you feel better’, so it’s a cognitive bias. The traditional view has been ‘don’t just stand there, do something’,’ but what I teach medical students is that sometimes the correct response is ‘don’t just do something, stand there’.”

He said 99.9% of acute back pain resolved itself. But he sympathised that when people were in acute pain that affected their life they just wanted something to fix it.

“That’s one of the reasons we tend to use treatments, even when they’re not effective,” he said.

Back pain medications have little benefit and may cause harm – research

Flea Treatments are Killing Our Cats: The Truth About Cat Flea Medications

When you see your cat suffering from a serious case of painful flea bites, you want to ease their discomfort as soon as possible. Running to the nearest store and picking up a topical cat flea treatment seems likes the quickest and easiest solution, but it might just be tossing your cat out of the frying pan and straight into the fire.

The fact of the matter is that the simple, easy-to-buy flea medications lining the shelves of most pet and grocery stores are not as benign as they appear. These pesticides have been linked to thousands of pet deaths and little has been done to make these products safer. The packaging is seemingly harmless. The directions are simple and straightforward. Just squeeze out a few drops onto your cat’s neck and eliminate those pesky fleas. Unfortunately, there’s more to the story.

What the packaging fails to mention is that, in far too many cases, the treatment doesn’t just poison fleas. It could poison your cat, too.

There’s no way around it. When you treat your cat with a topical pesticide, you are exposing them to chemicals formulated to kill. The low doses our cats are exposed to can lead to a variety of complications: damage to the nervous system, skin rashes, sores, and seizures. In 2008, the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), received approximately 43,000 reports of pets who were negatively affected by topical flea products. The reports included a number of different brands of products, including various pesticides and ingredients. The same year, it was determined that about 1.4% of those incidents resulted in death.

Reactions to these flea medications vary. Risk factors include allergies, age, pregnancy, and previous drug use. In some cases, the reaction happens when the product is used improperly. In others, the product was used correctly and the reaction occurs anyway. Some cats just experience itching and skin irritation, while a severe reaction could end in death. The symptoms of an adverse reaction vary, but tend to include excess salivation, pupil dilation, muscle tremors, vomiting, shivering, skin irritation, and behavioral changes.

If you’re willing to take the risk and use an over-the-counter flea medication, please take the necessary precautions. Be certain that you are using a flea treatment designed specifically for cats. If you have a multiple cat home, don’t allow the cats around one another for at least a day after being treated. It’s possible that your cats will groom one another. The pesticides in topical flea treatments, if ingested, are very dangerous.

Remember, dosing according to the instructions is not a guarantee that your cat will not have a negative reaction to the poison. Some cats are more sensitive than others, especially kittens and older cats.

In 2008, the EPA received approximately 43,000 reports of pets who had experienced a negative reaction to a topical flea product. The reports included a number of different brands of products, including various pesticides and ingredients.

There is no single pesticide that you can avoid to ensure your cat’s safety. All pesticides could potentially harm your cat.

The large number of reports caused the EPA to review the state of the topical pet insecticide industry. This evaluation concluded that most reporting their cat’s illness or death caused by spot-on flea treatments were using the products incorrectly – treating their cats with a solution made for dogs. Dog flea treatments contain stronger pesticides that cats simply cannot handle, even in miniscule doses. This prompted some reforms. By 2010, they were urging manufacturers to improve labeling and possibly increase testing before releasing these products to the public.

The state of cat flea medication has improved since then thanks to these investigations and packaging reform.

But they didn’t solve the problem. Reports of cats suffering from the side effects of topical flea treatments are still popping up. These reports aren’t only coming from people who can’t read the packaging. They’re also coming from people who used the chemical flea treatments properly. Even if you use them as directed, these treatments for cats are still not 100% safe.

First of all, stay calm! Not all cats react negatively to these medications. In fact, it’s more than likely that your cat will be fine.

Watch your cat closely. If you do notice any effects after the application of a topical flea treatment, immediately wash your cat with a gentle dish soap, like Dawn. Continue to monitor your cat and consider contacting a veterinarian if they start to show symptoms of a serious reaction.

However, if your cat has ingested the flea medication, this will not help. You will need to get your cat to a veterinarian for treatment as soon as possible.

A perfectly natural, easy to use, and effective flea treatment is food-grade diatomaceous earth. This natural powder is comprised of the fossilized shells of ancient sea creatures. When observed under a microscope, diatomaceous earth particles resemble shards of glass. These sharp edges are the secret to diatomaceous earth’s power. The particles penetrate bug skeletons, then cuts up or dehydrates them to death. It is simple, mechanical, and it really works. Plus, if you use food grade diatomaceous earth, it’s completely safe for your cat.

While some people choose to use it topically, it can dry out your cat’s skin when used that way. We recommend sprinkling it in your cat’s favorite areas. Diatomaceous earth does a great job of getting rid of pests in your home before they can get to your cat.

And best of all: unlike OTC flea and tick medication, there’s no chance that it will leave patches of raw skin or cause damage to their nervous system.

The WildernessCatLady is crazy about happy, healthy cats fueled by nature. Start changing your cat’s life today with natural health solutions for adventurous cats at Wildernesscat.com. And while you’re here, go ahead and download our free PDF: 5 Natural Home Remedies for Cats.

Flea Treatments are Killing Our Cats: The Truth About Cat Flea Medications

The Dangers of Statins – The Flipside of Cholesterol-Lowering Medications

Statistics show that about a quarter of Americans from age 45 and above are taking statin drugs. This is also the estimated number of Americans who should start asking themselves whether it is still worth it to continue taking the drugs or not.

Muscle Pain and Heart Failure

Muscle pain, along with feeling weak, is the most common side effect associated with statins. In fact, reports state that about 75% of patients using statins suffer from muscle pain. Particularly those who are physically active. Experts assume that this may be due to the decreased energy production in muscles caused by the deteriorating levels of Q10 proteins.

Heart failure also has a direct link to muscle pain. The incidence of heart failure has increased in the past few years. The increase has been related to the affected production of Co-Q₁₀ caused by statin drugs.

The lack of Co-Q₁₀ inhibits the cell’s mitochondria to produce energy, which in turn leads to muscle pain and weakness. Hence, these also make the heart more susceptible to illnesses due to the level of energy it uses to function.

Neuropathy

Statin patients are at risk of nerve damage after taking the drugs for a long time. In most cases, the damage is often irreversible even after the patient stopped taking the drugs.

Polyneuropathy is another neurological problem that patients often complain about. People who develop polyneuropathy experience tingling as well as pain in the hands and feet, weakness, and difficulty walking.

The worst part is that the likelihood of the illness getting worse increases to 9% after a year of using the drug and up to 15% following a two-year intake.

Cancer

A significant number of studies with statins and rodents always resulted in cancer. The problem is, such possibility was not linked to humans because statin trials only go on for up to three years. Even with the fact that cancer takes some time to develop.

However, manufacturers do recognize that statin drugs weaken the immune system, which unfortunately may result in infectious disease and cancer. Still, they recommend its use for transplant patients to act as an immune suppressor, and for inflammatory arthritis.

Type II Diabetes

Statins were made and introduced as an attempt to help protect and improve heart health. However, case studies show that the only thing these drugs do is worsen the patient’s condition.

One good example of that is obesity, which users tend to develop after they begin a statin treatment due to the drugs’ gluttony effect.

Second to that, statin users become highly at risk of developing Type II diabetes. Studies showed that statin users become prone to developing long-term complications related to Type II diabetes. Some of which are eye disease, peripheral nerve disease, and kidney disease.

All these dangers of statins only prove that these drugs may help patients at some point, but it does not take long before something goes wrong.

Science has long explained that cholesterol is not the reason behind the development of heart disease. In fact, cholesterol is essential to human health while lack of exercise, poor eating habits, and obesity are more likely the direct causes of such illness.

To conclude, intake of cholesterol-lowering drugs will not help if you do not support it with lifestyle and dietary changes. If you want to regulate your cholesterol and keep your heart in the best condition, you only need to include a few simple things in your lifestyle.

Perform brisk walking or aerobic exercise at least 30 minutes a day five times a week. Add lecithin-rich foods and herbs in your diet, and eat plenty of heart-healthy foods, like omega-3 fats.

Remember, you can always consult with a healthcare practitioner to improve your heart health naturally if you want to avoid the dangers of statins.

Sources: Dr Hyman, Care2, The Alternative Daily, and The Weston A Price Foundation.

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The Dangers of Statins – The Flipside of Cholesterol-Lowering Medications

Does Misuse Of ADHD Medications By Students Constitute Cheating?

College students who are in high stress academic environments usually appear to techniques to help maximize their time for learning and completing school perform. As students really feel much more strain to be successful academically, the notion of gaining an benefit to full numerous tasks and study for exams may possibly appeal to some college students. Aside from the health care risks from using this kind of stimulants for those with no ADHD, the wish to compete and perform has some students taking probabilities in purchase to enhance their academic performance.

So, does casual use of ADHD meds by university college students who study for exams and compose papers constitute cheating?

According to a review presented May three at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) yearly meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, near to 20 percent of college students at an Ivy League university reported misusing a prescription stimulant while studying, and one-third of students did not view this kind of misuse as cheating.

Stimulants this kind of as Adderrall, Straterra and Ritalin are typically prescribed to treat focus-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, recent research signifies that college students not diagnosed with ADHD are misusing these medicines in buy to sharpen their concentrate and psychological stamina and enhance their academic performance.

The present study evaluated the prevalence of medicine misuse at a properly regarded ivy league college and no matter whether college students felt that misuse of ADHD prescription drugs constituted cheating.

Investigators evaluated responses from an anonymous online questionnaire in December 2012 from from 616 sophomores, juniors and seniors without ADHD.

Final results indicated that 18 % admitted to misusing a prescription stimulant for an academic reason at least one particular time for the duration of college, and 24 % of these college students utilised these drugs on at least eight occasions. School juniors reported the highest charge of stimulant misuse (24 %).
In accordance to the benefits, 69 % of people who misused stimulants utilised them to publish a paper, 66 % to study for an exam and 27 % to consider an examination.

It turns out that a higher amount who played a varsity sport and were portion of the Greek program reported stimulant misuse compared to college students affiliated with only a single or neither. In addition, a third of college students did not believe that misusing stimulants for academic functions constituted cheating. 41 % thought it was cheating and 25 % were unsure.

“While many colleges tackle alcohol and illicit drug abuse in their wellness and wellness campaigns, most have not addressed prescription stimulant misuse for academic purposes,” said senior investigator Andrew Adesman, MD, FAAP, chief of developmental and behavioral pediatrics at Steven &amp Alexandra Cohen Children’s Healthcare Center of New York. “Because several students are misusing prescription stimulants for academic, not recreational functions, colleges should develop certain plans to tackle this concern.”

Stimulant misuse can also lead to health-related problems which includes resulting nervousness and withdrawal in these who do not have ADHD right after they stop utilizing the medicines, but could also set off cardiac arrhythmias this kind of as SVT, atrial fibrillation or atrial tachyarrhythmias in those at risk– as effectively as trigger harmful complications in those with congenital unknown underlying arrhythmias such as Wolf-Parkinson-White syndrome (WPW). Pediatricians want to be mindful of these underlying risks, discussing this with parents and assessing ADHD sufferers who might match a profile for stimulant abuse.

“To the extent that some substantial school and university college students have reported feigning ADHD symptoms to acquire stimulant medicine, must doctors turn out to be far more cautious or conservative when newly diagnosing ADHD in teenagers? In addition, ought to pediatricians do much more to educate their ADHD patients about the wellness consequences of misuse and the legal consequences that could arise if they promote or give away their stimulant medication?”, explained Adesman.

In accordance to Natalie Colaneri, principal investigator for the research, and study assistant at Cohen Children’s Medical Center, it is crucial to comprehend the moral as well as ethical implications of stimulant misuse not only in university, but also in higher college in which this trend may have its roots.

“It is our hope that this review will improve greater awareness and prompt broader discussion about misuse of medicines like Ritalin or Adderall for academic purposes,” explained Colaneri. “It is crucial that this concern be approached from an interdisciplinary point of view: as an concern relevant to the practice of medication, to larger schooling and to ethics in present day-day society.”

Does Misuse Of ADHD Medications By Students Constitute Cheating?