I consider myself a healthy 62-year-old man. But I’ve just been diagnosed with high blood pressure. I occasionally use Sudafed when my nose gets stuffed up from a cold or allergies. Can I still take it?
The top of my tongue has taken on a dark brown color and a fuzzy look. Certain foods taste different, but otherwise I feel fine. What might cause this?
More than 40 medical and consumer groups are seeking to revoke the recent approval of a new narcotic pill. The drug is Zohydro, a long-acting version of the narcotic hydrocodone. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the drug in October. The decision went against the advice of the FDA’s own advisory committee. These experts had voted 11-2 against allowing sale of Zohydro. The FDA usually follows the advice of its advisory panels. The groups that filed the petition with the FDA said this new painkiller is too dangerous. The dose is high, and so is the potential for abuse, they said. The petition also said there’s no need for another high-dose prescription narcotic. Public Citizen, one of the groups, said in a news release that a single dose of Zohydro could kill a child. The petitioners also include addiction treatment and other consumer watchdog groups.
The risk of a heart attack or stroke doubles for older adults in the month after they lose a spouse or partner, a new study suggests. The study looked at the medical histories of 2 groups of adults, ages 60 through 89. One group included 30,500 men and women who had lost a spouse or partner between 2005 and 2012. The other group included 83,600 people in the same age group who had not lost a partner. In the month after the partner died, the bereaved person was twice as likely to have a fatal or nonfatal heart attack or stroke as someone who did not have such a loss. But the number of these events was small. And after 90 days the heart attack and stroke rates were about the same in both groups. The journal JAMA Internal Medicine published the study. HealthDay News wrote about it February 24.
I am a 60-year-old male with well controlled high blood pressure. Otherwise I consider myself healthy for my age. Are there risks to soaking in a hot tub?
My doctor prescribed lisinopril for me because I have diabetes, even though my blood pressure has always been normal. My blood sugar came down to normal on pills. Do I really need another medicine?
Taking vitamin E or selenium pills could double some men’s risk of aggressive prostate cancer, a new study finds. This study took a closer look at some data from a large study that was stopped early, in 2008. Researchers stopped that study because men taking vitamin E pills showed an increased risk of prostate cancer. Selenium pills did not appear to affect prostate cancer risk in that study. The new study focused on 1,739 men from the earlier study who were diagnosed with prostate cancer. They were compared with 3,117 men without prostate cancer. This second group was matched to the first group by age and race. Researchers looked at men’s natural selenium levels, before they took any supplements. For men with high selenium levels, taking selenium pills in the study almost doubled their risk of aggressive prostate cancer.
What kind of radiation causes thyroid cancer? What about microwave ovens and dental x-rays?