FitSugar

Do You Drug Your Kids For Airplane Travel?

Rebecca M Gruber — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 08:37:23 PST

The holiday travel season has officially begun, with many schools beginning their Winter breaks at the end of this week. The bags are packed and boarding passes are printed, but is Mama going to throw in one extra item to help ensure a smooth journey?

For some, giving lil ones a single dose of medication like Benadryl or Dimetapp is like buying trip insurance - it's a lil safeguard against a midtrip disaster. The sleep-inducing elixirs can be just the ticket to a peaceful - meltdown-free - flight across the country or to grandma's house. What do you think?

10 Items to Add to Your Back-to-School List Now!

Rebecca M Gruber — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 08:46:39 PDT

The back-to-school ads may be filled with crayons and paper, but a mom of a house filled with school-aged kids knows there's more to the list than that. Mama needs to add a few key items to that list to ensure that everything runs smoothly throughout the year. After filling your cart with scissors, glue, hand sanitizers, and everything else the teachers recommend, check out our list of must-have items every mom should add to her school-year arsenal!

Delivering High Risk Baby Dolls Could Help Save Human Lives

Heather Maddan — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 13:45:10 PST

They're a bunch of dummies! By using computerized birthing and baby dolls to simulate high-risk deliveries and everything from hemorrhage to seizures, medical staffers can practice and fine tune their responses to emergency situations without human lives being at risk. St. Peter's Hospital in Montana invested $16,000 in the birth doll set and a computer system that it uses to teach its staff. One report said:

Noelle is a training mannequin, much like Annie, the doll used for CPR classes. Noelle can simulate all types of birthing situations. She’s life-size, anatomically correct, has a heartbeat and pulse and can be hooked up to an IV. She comes with a baby - called Baby Blue - that also has life-like components.

A recent episode of Grey's Anatomy had doctors learning crisis response methods on dummies. What do you think of the practice?

How to Throw Away Prescription Medication

FitSugar — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 10:00:21 PDT

While cleaning out some cabinets, I had a dilemma: expired prescription meds - OK to just throw away? I almost tossed a pill bottle into the trash but then stopped; do old pills leach chemicals, or worse, what happens if the wrong person (or stray animal) has access to my garbage? A quick call to my doctor proved to be an invaluable lesson in dealing with expired or unwanted medication.

Whatever you do, don't flush. Even though flushing unwanted drugs down the toilet may seem like a good idea, it's not - this isn't Goodfellas, after all. And the same goes for pouring anything down the drain. Septic systems can't break down the harmful substances in meds, which can end up in groundwater, lakes, rivers, or oceans, affecting animal and plant life.
Take it back where you found it. Depending on where you live, there may be programs in place to dispose of your unwanted medicine. Call a nearby pharmacy or hospital to see if it has a take back program. Some trash and recycling providers will also accept unwanted medication.
Using care, dispose of it yourself. If you have to dispose of your meds yourself, follow certain parameters to ensure proper care. Crush or break up any pills, and mix them in with kitty litter, coffee grounds, or any other undesirable substance. Place the mixture in a sealed plastic bag or container before throwing it in a trash can so the chemicals don't leak out into the garbage. Mix liquid medications with coffee grounds, sawdust, or kitty litter.

Ginger: It's Not Just For Tummies

FitSugar — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 03:00:29 PDT

Motion sickness, tummy problems, and a sore throat: is there anything ginger can't help? Not likely. A new study says that the spicy root also soothes away sore muscles that often come after working out.

In two separate studies, researchers divided 74 healthy adults into two groups - one group of participants were given a daily ginger supplement, while the other group was given a placebo. Over the course of 11 days, all participants performed a variety of exercises that led to the kind of achy, sore muscles that a good workout is prone to do. At the end on the study, the group that was taking the ginger supplements had a reduction in pain of almost 25 percent when compared to the placebo group. Researchers believe that ginger may have anti-inflammatory properties - nature's own ibuprofen! Be sure to read up on other ways to beat post-workout pain.

A Noseful of Air Makes the Medicine Go Down

PetSugar — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 08:00:47 PDT

It's funny how dogs who would normally devour any meal seem to know when you try to sneak in some meds, even the teeny tiniest pill imaginable. True story, it happened to a friend of mine. Concerned that lil Chico wasn't ever going to budge, she tried everything from the popular peanut butter coating to pill pockets, but her pup refused and the daily battle began.

Just when it seemed that her min pin's determination won out, she called the vet, who recommended this simple trick that actually worked: after placing the pill in the dog's open mouth, hold him and lightly blow on his nose. For some reason, this prompts the pet to swallow and helps the medicine go down. It's probably for the best - a spoonful of sugar wouldn't be good for canines anyway.

Source: Flickr User Mark Watson

Know the Facts to Ward Off Warts

FitSugar — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 13:30:11 PDT

People have many misconceptions about warts that go far beyond the whole "kiss a toad" thing. Even if you understand that the toad caveat is a myth, some other facts and fictions about warts may surprise you.

Most types of warts are relatively painless and harmless, with the exception of genital warts, which are a sexually transmitted disease (read more about genital warts here). All warts (yes, even the genital kind) are caused by a virus known as the human papillomavirus (HPV), of which there are more than 100 types.

So-called common warts are most often found on the hands, while flat warts can surface on the face or backs of hands. A bit more painful and uncomfortable, plantar warts are warts found on the soles of your feet.

So what's the deal with all sorts of warts?

Prescription Drugs' Expiration Dates, Explained

FitSugar — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 13:30:24 PDT

I've always wondered what exactly an expiration date means on a drug. Does it become less effective? Could it poison me? Obviously, there's a big difference in those two things, so I was glad to see this NPR story that sheds some light on drug expiration dates.

Just because a drug is past its expiration date doesn't necessarily mean you should toss it. Many states require drug labels to carry an expiration date just one year past the date of sale, but drug manufacturers often set dates two years later, based on testing.

The FDA's Ilisa Bernstein says there are no guarantees that drugs will be effective after the expiration date but that medications stored in a cool, dry place can last much longer. Does that mean we should focus on decoding drug names and drug interactions and not worry about the expiration dates?

If the drug is used to treat something commonplace, such as headaches or heartburn, you're probably safe using it past the date. But for medications your life depends on - particularly meds for severe allergic reactions such as EpiPens - you should not use them past the expiration date.

Do You Research Doctors on Yelp?

FitSugar — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 03:47:28 PDT

The other day I was Googling my doctor's name to find her phone number, and I stumbled upon her page of Yelp reviews. I'd never considered researching a doctor on Yelp; usually I just ask friends for recommendations or pick based on proximity. But with new customer-generated reviews from sites like Yelp, as well as Zagat's guides for WellPoint, we can get opinions from multiple patients at once, which might just confuse things. Have you researched docs online?

Do Tell: Have You Ever Used Human Meds on a Pet?

PetSugar — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 10:15:54 PDT

Even though many human medications are a hazard to pets' health there are some animal experts that will recommend certain doses for furry friends.

For example, Renees3's pooch B-Bop was attacked by fire ants twice now - eeks! The first time they went to the vet, where the pooch received steroids and Benadryl. However, his trainer said she could give him 1mg for every pound so, when they were unable to get to the doc the second time, she cut the 25mg pink pills in half for the tiny pooch. While I'd never recommend medicating a pet without an expert opinion, have you ever been told to do so in the past?