Topic: acid reflux

Medicine Cabinet Makeover: Common OTC Medications That Could Make You Feel Worse

Does your medicine cabinet need a makeover? It’s surprisingly common for over the counter medication to cause a rebound effect, prolonging symptoms and making you feel worse. Even a few consecutive days taking certain cold, cough, sleep and indigestion meds can backfire, triggering the rebound and making you dependent on the medicine to feel well. When it comes to the following medicine cabinet staples, you’ll want to use caution (or the trash disposal) to make sure your otc remedies aren’t actually making you ill. More »

One More Reason Not To Eat Before Bed: Heartburn

Talk to any nutritionist or trainer and they’ll tell you to cut off the calorie intake at least a few hours before you hit the sack, especially if you want to keep the pounds off. But a new study gives you another reason to shut down your kitchen before bed: Apparently not eating at bedtime can prevent heartburn. More »

10 Most Popular Prescription Drugs In America: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

IMS Health just released their annual report of American prescription drug use, revealing what’s hiding in America’s pillbox: details that are part good, part bad..and part ugly, too. The pills themselves don’t shed light on any big secrets: Most prescriptions treat high blood pressure, bacterial infections, obesity, and acid reflux. Oh, and did we mention high blood pressure? The bad news is that five of the most-used drugs are prescribed to treat obesity-related conditions — mostly high blood pressure — something that, in many cases, could be prevented or treated by eating a healthy diet and exercising. (But then, we could argue that almost every drug on the list is used to treat a preventable condition.) So where’s the bright side? While the fact remains that many of us are hooked on prescription drugs, we’re starting to slow down our habit. The increase in drug spending and the total use by volume of oral or nasal drugs increased by far less than it has in recent years, giving hope that maybe we’ll start to wake up from our drug-induced haze. More »

7 Ways Germs Can Be Good For You (And Why You Should Think Twice Before Taking Antibiotics)

Germs, especially bacteria, have a fairly tarnished reputation among health circles, but according to Martin Blaser, chairman of the department of medicine at New York University Medical School, we might actually need more of them. The former president of the … More »