41
votes
Accepted
Why is thalidomide a current drug on the market?
Because leprosy and multiple myeloma are conditions for which other treatment options are limited.
All treatments have side effects, some more debilitating than others. The trick with pharmacology is ...
- 526
37
votes
Accepted
Why should I avoid milk when on antibiotics?
Products high in calcium and magnesium should not be taken at the same time as antibiotics of the tetracycline (tetracycline, doxicycline, etc.) class, and milk should also be avoided with the ...
- 9,472
20
votes
Accepted
What can you learn from the parts of the name of a drug?
Stems and affixes tell you the class of drug (and sometimes other properties). Drugs in the same class work in a very similar way, so therefore you can tell what other drugs it's related to.
This is ...
- 5,784
12
votes
Accepted
What are the best ways to increase fertility?
I will try to answer your question by using another perspective (risk factors for infertility).
MALE
Among the main causes of male infertility, "idiopathic" causes (ie not du to endocrine problems, ...
- 3,194
11
votes
Accepted
Does Benadryl (=diphenhydramine) lead to tolerance? Can I use it to help with sleep?
First generation H1-antihistamines (such as diphenhydramine = Benadryl) are well known for their sedative effects explaining their limited use in patients with allergic rhinitis. Several ...
- 3,194
9
votes
Accepted
What makes Cialis cure Erectile Dysfunction permanently?
Is the above result believable? The results show treatment of symptoms of ED, if the medication stops then the symptoms will come back. So yes the results are believable one could say, but they are ...
- 2,975
9
votes
Accepted
Has there been any medical studies as to whether drinking a 'Hot Toddy' can help to ward off or to help heal someone who has COVID-19?
To my knowledge no, nobody has specifically studied this in relation to COVID-19. I can't really prove the negative but I tried a few combinations of search terms in to PubMed and came up with nothing....
- 1,272
8
votes
How to get rid of erectile dysfunction?
Before going directly into the topic, firstly, it is necessary to comprehend the mechanism of erection, because small fault due to different factors in the mechanism gives rise to its dysfunction.
...
- 735
8
votes
Accepted
Fact or Hoax : Unconventional method of saving human life from stroke?
My Grandmother died of a ischemic stroke (TIA followed by blockage) after weaning herself off of blood thinners because she didn't "need the medicine".
Huge issue with his advice - the large majority ...
- 1,109
8
votes
Accepted
Is the drug's effectiveness directly proportional to the half life formula?
Two key serum concentrations to know about in pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics are the Minimum Effective Concentration (MEC) and Toxicity Concentration (TC).
Some medications have stronger ...
- 5,784
7
votes
Accepted
Use of antibiotics and the night gap
There are very few (but there are some) medications that need to be taken at very strict time intervals; early drugs for AIDS needed to be taken even in the middle of the night.
No one expects four ...
- 9,472
7
votes
Why is medicine used to treat symptoms which are our body's way of telling us something is wrong?
I presume you're taking the teleological view that symptoms are "good" and have a beneficial (if not fully understood) purpose, and therefore should not be messed with. That is a cognitive bias (a ...
- 9,472
7
votes
What can the variability of strength be between different brands of supposedly identical medications?
The range where the content of the active substance varies by 60% is way to wide in every country.
In most of the world's pharmacopoeias, both national and international, the allowed variability in ...
- 2,833
7
votes
Accepted
Tips to improve the sleep during the night
You should keep an eye on the sleeping environment's temperature and restrict the amount of light entering the space you sleep in. Eye masks are a cost-effective solution to reducing excessive light ...
- 86
7
votes
Accepted
Top medications to treat symptoms of Lupus?
Your question is difficult to answer (but still interesting) because lupus is a highly heterogeneous condition which can present various symptoms and organ involvement. Choice of therapy will be ...
- 3,194
7
votes
How can I learn to swallow pills without gagging?
If you are able to swallow pills but find it difficult, the following tips will help:
take a sip of water before putting the pill in your mouth, and drink more water after putting the pill in as well
...
- 3,849
7
votes
Accepted
Where does Ibuprofen inhibit COX-1, and what is its MoA?
I'm not clear why you're asking this as this information is readily available unless I missed something in your question.
As for anticoagulant activity, my recollection is that if anything Ibuprofen ...
- 13.2k
7
votes
Ritalin/Concerta/Methylphenidate is an amphetamine?
The Adderall vs. Ritalin page on Rx List gives the answer.
Both Adderall (amphetamine and dextroamphetamine) and Ritalin (methylphenidate) are central nervous system stimulants used to treat ...
- 6,164
6
votes
Accepted
Effects of ARBs on potassium levels
Drug levels rise to reach a steady state in about 4-5 doses. Moreover, occurrence of increased potassium (hyperkalemia) also depends on other factors, especially kidney function. Hyperkalemia is much ...
- 1,770
6
votes
What are side effects frequencies based on?
Side effects frequency narrative words are defined by the council of International Organizations of Medical Sciences. See slide 10 of this presentation on the subject. As shown, "Very common" means ...
- 749
6
votes
Long term use of stomach acid reducers: Omeprazole or Ranitidine?
Before we discuss safety, I wouldn't agree that these two work 'equally well'. While ranitidine (a histamine 2-receptor antagonist - H2A) is a medicine with good efficacy, studies have shown that ...
- 2,833
6
votes
Accepted
When is a stomach "empty" for the purpose of taking medication?
In my experience most anesthesiologists use 5 hours as the minimum time necessary for the stomach to be sufficiently empty to make it safe to administer anesthesia. However, their criteria is quite ...
- 9,753
6
votes
Why does caffeine make me sleep better?
Caffeine Absorption Caffeine Capsules - 200mg - 84-120 minutes
So maybe you took the caffeine, were already tired so you napped(2 hours or 120 minutes) just as it was kicking in full blown and ...
- 2,975
6
votes
Accepted
Why would it be necessary to take a brand name medication if a generic drug is available?
...the inactive ingredients, which by definition do not affect the efficacy of the drug.
They can however have an effect on other physiological aspects of a human body, that's why, as far as I know, ...
- 176
6
votes
Accepted
What are ibuprofen alternatives without the side effects
Are ibuprofen side effects something to worry about?
Short answer: maybe.
Longer answer: As with a lot of health questions, it depends on how they are being taken. If, for example, you hurt yourself ...
- 701
6
votes
Can medicines which expired a month ago be consumed safely?
No one can be entirely certain, but most studies point in the direction of "yes", for instance
The testing, conducted by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), ultimately covered more ...
- 5,968
6
votes
Accepted
How much T4 increase do you get per mcg of levothyroxine?
First of all, thyroid hormones are actively taken up into cells and accumulate there. Therefore, the apparent volume of distribution for T4 is 10 liters rather than 5 liters (1). Secondly, I would ...
- 485
6
votes
Why should I avoid milk when on antibiotics?
This is most commonly a precaution to prevent Mal-absorption. Milk has copious amounts of calcium which bond with the antibiotic in the gut. Once the tetracycline (antibiotic) bonds, it creates a ...
- 324
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