• Filter By:
• Specialty
• Source
• Condition
• Cancer
• Infectious Disease
• Drug
• Training
• Management
• Procedure
• Therapy
• Vaccine
• Nutrition
• Country

FDA strengthens warning that NSAIDs increase heart attack and stroke risk
Back in 2005, the FDA warned that taking nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like ibuprofen and naproxen increased the risk of having a heart attack or stroke. Last week it took the unusual step of further strengthening this warning. This was done on the advice of an expert panel that reviewed new information about NSAIDs and their risks. Because NSAIDs are widely used, it’s important to be aware of downsides of taking an NSAID and to take steps to limit the risk. Many people take NSAIDs to relieve mild to moderate pain. These medications may be particularly effective in conditions in which pain results pri...
Source: New Harvard Health Information - July 13, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Gregory Curfman, MD Tags: Heart Health heart attack heart disease NSAIDS Stroke Source Type: news

Taking over the counter pain relievers safely
For aching joints or a throbbing head, millions of Americans turn to aspirin, ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), or other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) every day. They are generally safe, but if not used carefully NSAIDs can have a dark side, according to the September 2013 Harvard Women's Health Watch. NSAIDs are widely used because they perform double duty. “They not only relieve pain, but they reduce inflammation too,” says Dr. Lucy Chen, an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School and attending physician in the anesthesia, critical care, and pain medicine department at Massachusetts General Hos...
Source: New Harvard Health Information - August 23, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news

Hospitalization after fainting can do more harm than good
One morning not long ago, my teenage daughter started to black out. After an ambulance ride to our local hospital’s emergency department, an electrocardiogram, and some bloodwork, she was sent home with a follow-up doctor appointment. We got the good news that Alexa is perfectly healthy, but should avoid getting too hungry or thirsty so she doesn’t faint again. And I’m feeling lucky that she didn’t need to be hospitalized, because a research letter in this week’s JAMA Internal Medicine points out that hospitalization for low-risk fainting can do more harm than good. Doctors use something called th...
Source: New Harvard Health Information - April 22, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Heidi Godman Tags: Health fainting San Francisco Syncope Rule Source Type: news

New recommendations aim to improve safety of pain-relieving spinal steroid injections
More and more people are seeking injections of anti-inflammatory steroid medications for back and neck pain. In 2011, the last year for which complete information is available, doctors pushed the plunger on 2.3 million steroid injections into the spine — and that’s just among people covered by Medicare. These injections deliver drugs that mimic the effects of two hormones, cortisone and hydrocortisone, to reduce inflammation and help relieve pain. When they work — they don’t always — such injections can bring profound relief. “If you are in severe pain with a ruptured spinal disc and you get a stero...
Source: New Harvard Health Information - May 7, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Daniel Pendick Tags: Back Pain Drugs and Supplements anti-inflammatory steroid medications spinal injections spine steroid injections Source Type: news

What parents need to know about pain in newborns
Just because newborn babies can’t tell you they feel pain doesn’t mean they don’t feel pain. They do. And parents can help. We tend to think that newborns are too little to really experience pain, and that if they do experience it, they soon forget it. However, research has shown that, indeed, babies do experience pain — and that repeated painful experiences in the newborn period can lead to both short- and long-term problems with development, emotions, and responses to stress. This is particularly a problem for babies who need many medical procedures after they are born, such as premature babies, babies with certa...
Source: New Harvard Health Information - January 26, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Claire McCarthy, MD Tags: Children's Health Family Planning and Pregnancy Parenting Source Type: news

Don’t shrug off shingles
If you had chickenpox as a kid, there is a good chance you may develop shingles later in life. “In fact, one in three is predicted to get shingles during their lifetime,” says Dr. Anne Louise Oaklander, director of the Nerve Unit at Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital. The same varicella-zoster virus that causes chickenpox also causes shingles. After the telltale spots of chickenpox vanish, the virus lies dormant in your nerve cells near the spinal cord and brain. When your immunity weakens from normal aging or from illnesses or medications, the virus can re-emerge. It then travels along a nerve to trigge...
Source: New Harvard Health Information - February 18, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Matthew Solan Tags: Healthy Aging Infectious diseases Vaccines Source Type: news