The products involved are 3 that contain zinc:

• Zicam Cold Remedy Nasal Gel (15mL, NDC 62750-003-10)
• Zicam Cold Remedy Swabs (20 swabs, NDC 67250-003-20)
• Zicam Cold Remedy Swabs, Kids Size (20 swabs, NDC 67250-003-21)

These products are sold as cold remedies and are widely sold in pharmacies, other retail stores, and on the Internet.

Although Zicam Cold Remedy Swabs, Kids Size, has already been discontinued, the FDA is concerned that consumers may still have the product in their home.

Loss of sense of smell:

Although it may not seem like a serious effect, your sense of smell helps you taste food and warns of danger (fire, for example). Some people reported this effect after only one dose.

If you’ve used the product and you do experience loss of smell, contact your doctor as soon as you can.

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Image: Newscom.com

Post from: Blisstree

FDA Warning: Zicam Intranasal Zinc Products

Here is some information that may help you learn more about pandemics, viruses, etc.

What’s the difference between a pandemic and an epidemic?

An epidemic is something that can happen anywhere, any time with just about any type of contagious situation. Last year, there were some epidemics of mumps in some universities, a few years ago, there were epidemics of meningitis. There can even be epidemics of lice or scabies. An epidemic is an outbreak of an illness that affects many people at the same time in one or more localized areas .

A pandemic, on the other hand, is the outbreak of an illness that has spread over a wide area across the world, generally affecting several continents. A pandemic isn’t only for influenza, but can be for any contagious illness, such as malaria or tuberculosis.

How long can influenza viruses stay alive?

According to the standard information we have, the virus stays alive on your hands for about five minutes. It can stay alive on your clothing for up to 12 hours and it can exist on objects for up to 48 hours.

How do infections like influenza get transmitted?

There are five ways infections can be transmitted:

1. Skin to skin contact (scabies, for example)
2. Droplet (cold viruses coughed into the air and breathed in)
3. Airborne (much tinier viruses that hang around in the air, like H1N1 virus)
4. Common (an contagious person drinks from a water bottle, you drink from it moments later)
5. Insects (malaria, for example)

How can we protect ourselves from infections like influenza?

It can’t be stressed enough: handwashing – and proper handwashing, not just rinsing your hands under the water. Here is a site that has a good video showing how to wash your hands with either soap and water or sanitizer .

Handwashing breaks the infection chain . A pathogen (virus, bacteria, fungus) needs to be able to spread. Once it’s spread, it has to have a good host (good living conditions) to flourish. If we stop it from spreading, then it can’t get any further.

What’s the point of calling a pandemic if it’s not severe?

The pandemic rating from the World Health Organization doesn’t rate the severity of an illness. It rates how far it has spread and how easily it is contracted. Whether it’s a severe influenza as what happened in 1918 or H1N1, it’s still a pandemic.

Are they doing this to scare us?

No, the World Health Organization has a mandate to survey the world for illnesses, especially new ones or old ones that are spreading more than usual. They are responsible for coordinating world response to these illnesses, to limit the spread or severity of impact. At the same time, they can’t act in secret. If they know there’s a pandemic and they don’t say anything, it could end up causing even more problems in the long run. Plus, the public deserves to know what is going on.

Why don’t they suspend travel?

The world is a big place, yet it’s also a very small one. We are now co-dependent for our economies. If world trade, travel, transport of goods were to be stopped, an already precarious economy would come to a crashing halt. If the economy were to be badly affected, then when people get sick, they won’t have the means to care for themselves as they won’t have money to get medical help or buy supplies.

Why was everyone so sure there would be a pandemic? After all, look at the SARS epidemic, it didn’t become global.

The world learned a lot from SARS, about what worked and what didn’t. As sad as the outcome was for those who died, it was an invaluable learning experience, as most emergencies tend to be.

The experts were sure that a pandemic was coming because that is the cycle of life. Every so many years, a pandemic circles the globe. It doesn’t have to be severe, but it does spread.

So, how long will this last?

A pandemic isn’t a short-term period of a few weeks. Although it can’t be pinpointed, a pandemic such as this will last as long as it takes the virus to run its course or we find a way to stop it.

Speaking of stopping it, what’s taking so long to get a vaccine?

First, the scientists had to pinpoint the genetic structure of the virus. Then, they need to work on developing the vaccine, which takes time. After that, they still need time to produce the vaccine – this is all quite time consuming.

But if I get the fall flu vaccine, I’m covered, right?

Wrong. The seasonal flu, the one that goes around every year and for which you get a new flu vaccine, isn’t the same thing as the H1N1 virus vaccine. Two separate things.

So then I don’t need to get the flu shot this fall then if I’m getting the H1N1 vaccine?

Wrong again. They’re two different things. It looks like the H1N1 may be milder than the seasonal flu, but they’re not sure yet what it will be like in the fall. At the same time, the seasonal flu still kills thousands of people across the world because of its effects. If you’ve been taking the annual flu vaccine and/or your doctor recommends you do, you would be best to continue to do so.

What about stocking up on antiviral medications – if I take them then I won’t get sick, right?

Antiviral medications, like Tamiflu, are NOT to be taken if you don’t have influenza. Antiviral medications are not to prevent illness. They only work if you actually have the virus. If you take the antiviral before you have the illness, you run the risk of contributing to viruses mutating and becoming resistant to the antivirals, you help deplete the stock, keeping it from those who really do need it.

Will it be as bad as 1918?

It’s highly unlikely we would get hit with a pandemic like the one that hit early in the last century. We’ve had two others (the Hong Kong flu and the Asian flu), which weren’t as severe either.

We have to remember that we’ve come a long way since 1918. We know more about hygiene. We know how illnesses are spread. With our communications ability, word spreads faster than the virus, alerting people of new issues. We also have better medical care and better surveillance systems.

So, with all this doom and gloom, I might as well stay home, close the blinds and protect myself.

No, you don’t have to do that. Just be careful. Follow the hygiene etiquette of sneezing or coughing into your elbow. If you’re sick, stay home from work or school (and don’t go shopping, to the bank, etc!). Wash your hands. Wash your hands. Wash your hands.

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Images: Marijke Durning, Stock.xchng, iStock, MorgueFile.com

Post from: Blisstree

Pandemic 101 – a Primer

The five types of tick-borne diseases are:

• Babesiosis
• Ehrlichiosis and Anaplasmosis
• Lyme Disease
• Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever
• Tularemia

Of course, prevention is the best medicine. If you can’t avoid areas where ticks live, there are some steps you can take to reduce the risk of being bitten:

• Avoid sitting directly on the ground or fallen logs
• Avoid sitting on stonewalls or woodpiles
• Walk in the center of trails
• Wear light-colored long pants and long sleeves
• Wear white closely knitted socks when outside and tuck your pant legs inside
• Tuck your shirt into your pants
• Wear light colored gloves
• Wear a hat

Once you’re home from your hike, it’s time for a tick check.

First, know what you’re looking for. Deer ticks are usually very tiny, approximately the size of a fleck of black pepper.

• If possible, have someone else inspect you
• Be sure to check your hairline

If you find a tick:

Don’t just grab at it with tweezers and pull, don’t put anything on it, such as Vaseline or alcohol. Instead, follow these directions:

• Use fine pointed tweezers and grasp the tick as close to the mouth parts as possible
• After removing the tick, call/see your doctor as soon as possible
• Try saving the tick in a plastic container for testing

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Images: Newscom.com and Stock.xchng

Post from: Blisstree

Hike Over? Time for Your Tick Check

According to the warning issued by Health Canada earlier today:

The use of sibutramine may cause serious side-effects, including cardiovascular reactions, such as increased blood pressure, chest pain, and stroke, in addition to dry mouth, difficulty sleeping and constipation. Sibutramine should only be used under the supervision of a healthcare practitioner.

Sibutramine should not be taken by people who have had a heart attack, coronary artery disease, heart-related chest pain, irregular heart beats, congestive heart failure, a stroke or symptoms of a stroke, in individuals with controlled or poorly controlled high blood pressure, or in patients who are depressed or have a pyschiatric illness. Sibutramine is not recommended for women who are pregnant, breastfeeding or planning to become pregnant.

You may go to the Health Canada website to read more and for contact information should you have any questions or anything to report.

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Photo: iStock

Post from: Blisstree

Canadian Warning: Slim Magic Herbal product

Imagine now, a 10-year-old girl discovering a lump in her breast tissue – a lump that turns out to be cancer. Not only that, the type of cancer she has is so rare, it only affects .15% of women who have breast cancer. That 10-year-old girl is Hannah Powell-Auslam of Fullerton, California, and she discovered she had cancer this past April.

Breast cancer in adolescents isn’t unheard of, but to have such a rare type of adult cancer is virtually unknown. Her doctors aren’t sure why Hannah developed the breast cancers, although there are a couple of theories. One is that she could be carrying the gene that makes breast cancer more common in certain families, or it could be because of all the pollutants in the air, settling in the breast tissue as the breasts begin to develop.

Hannah has had a mastectomy and is undergoing chemotherapy. If you’d like to see a clip about Hannah, click on the TV screen below. You can also visit the website Hannah’s parents put up to share Hannah’s story: Our Little Sweet Pea .

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Images: Stock.xchng, iStock

Post from: Blisstree

10-year-old Fighting Rare Breast Cancer

According to findings of a study recently published in the journal Cephalalgia,

• 12 of the 17 astronauts (71 per cent) reported 21 headache episodes during the space missions – nine during launch, nine during the stay at the space station, one during activities outside the space station and two during landing. None of the astronauts had a history of recurrent headache on earth.
• Five astronauts reported headaches during one of the time frames, six during two time frames and one during four time frames.
• Headache severity ranged from mild to severe, with 29 per cent reporting mild intensity, 65 per cent reporting moderate intensity and six per cent reporting severe intensity.
• Only two of the headaches, during launch, matched the international criteria for migraine and the remainder were tension-type or non-specific headaches.
• In 77 per cent of the episodes the astronauts described their headache as “exploding” and, or, “heavy feeling”.
• Launch headaches lasted for an average of 5.6 hours and space station headaches for an average of 1.6 hours.
• When each headache was assessed, 76 per cent demonstrated no association with the main symptoms of space motion sickness, such as nausea, vomiting or vertigo.

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Images: Stock.xchng

Post from: Blisstree

Space Headaches Affect Astronauts

If you’re in the United States, you can always check the FDA site, which has a specific section for recalled products: Recalls, Market Withdrawals, & Safety Alerts . In Canada, you can access the Health Canada website for this type of information: Advisories, Warnings, and Recalls .

Other countries:

United Kingdom: Safety Warnings and Product Recalls

Australia: Product Safety Recalls

New Zealand: Pharma Product Recalls

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Image: Newscom.com

Post from: Blisstree

Finding Recalled Products & Medications

A study, done out of the University of Montreal, had concluded that between 15 and 20% of breast cancer tests had been interpreted incorrectly and that many women may have been given the wrong type of treatment based on this erroneous test results.

It is important, however, to understand that just because the tests may have been incorrect, this does *not* mean that all those women would have received the wrong treatment.

There is also some debate as to whether the study is all that strong as it was a relatively small study in terms of research.

Not a First

Sadly, this isn’t the first time Canadian women have faced problems with their breast cancer test results. Earlier this year, women in the province of Newfoundland, Canada’s easternmost province, learned that a few hundred women had received incorrect test results.

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Images: Stock.xchng

Post from: Blisstree

Quebec Must Redo Many Breast Cancer Tests

Almost 50% of people who end up having a major stroke after a TIA have it within 24 hours of the first TIA. For this reason, researchers say you should get to the hospital as soon as possible if you have symptoms of a TIA.

A press release issued by the American Academy of Neurology says

“Our study highlights the need for someone who is experiencing the symptoms of a mini-stroke or transient ischemic attack to get to an emergency room fast,” said Peter Rothwell, MD, PhD, FRCP, FMedSci, with the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. “That’s because even after a very minor initial stroke, the immediate risk of a major stroke is very high.”

What are the symptoms of a stroke?

• Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body
• Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding
• Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes
• Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination
• Sudden, severe headache with no known cause

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Image: Stock.xchng

Post from: Blisstree

Mini-Stroke? Get To Hospital Fast

Instead of trying to explain how it works, here is a video of a pharmacist explaining what Lamictal is. Just click on the TV screen:

The newly approved extended version, Lamictal XR, limits the number of pills a person must take in a day – some people take several. The fewer medications a person has to take, the lower the chance of mistakes and the higher the chance of the person taking all medications as they should be taken.

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Image: iStock

Post from: Blisstree

FDA Approves Extended Epilepsy Medication