FitSugar

Buying Prescriptions Online: Is It Safe?

LearnVest — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 00:15:44 PDT

We're thrilled to present this smart LearnVest story here on Savvy!

Sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll.

There isn’t anything you can’t get on the internet anymore–and for a lot less (though we’ll take our chances on the last of the trio before the other two).

As for the drugs (doctor-approved, not the other kind), prescription medications can really add up, so it’s no wonder that online pharmacies have grown in popularity over the past ten years.

Granted, shopping at an online pharmacy sounds dodgy because it’s harder to get a sense of who’s dealing. And some suspicion is warranted: In 2010, the production and selling of counterfeit drugs was estimated to be a $75 billion industry.

But, there are also a number of safe online pharmacies that will process prescriptions and deliver medications to your door, many of which offer legitimate discounts (especially if you’re willing to buy generic).

Buying drugs online can be a great way to save money on prescriptions, as long as you do it responsibly. Here’s what you need to know.

Kiddie Wellness: Medicine You Should Avoid Giving to Your Tot

LilSugar — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 06:00:57 PST

Tis' the season for your lil one to catch a cold or the flu. Before you reach into the medicine cabinet to treat him on your own, read this list of medicines to avoid giving your child from BabyCenter. Best practice says when in doubt, contact his pediatrician, but check out the slideshow for a few tips before even picking up the phone.

Source

Check Those Expiration Dates

FitSugar — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 09:30:00 PST

Last night I made myself a salad for dinner, in my favorite ceramic bowl my best friend gave to me, I might add. Well, my mind was elsewhere as I was going up the stairs and needless to say, me and my dinner ended up splattered across the steps. My beautiful bowl cracked and I got cut in 3 places.
Poor me, right? Well, I went to get a band-aid and some Neosporin and just happened to check the date first. Exp: 2003! I couldn't believe it. Had it been THAT long since I bought a new tube?

This led me on a quest to discover what else was lurking in my bathroom, way too old for my own good. An hour later, I had filled my bathroom garbage with tons of expired stuff.

Although some would say those dates don't mean a thing, but for me, I'd rather be safe than sorry. Why take a drug if it isn't as effective as it can be. If it's past the date - it's getting trashed.

So take it from me and do yourself a favor - go through your medicine cabinet and your extensive supply of products. Get rid of expired over-the-counter medications like old bottles of Advil and Pepto Bismol.

Want to know what else? Then

Chuck all old vitamins or prescriptions like the ones you used 2 years ago when you had your wisdom teeth pulled.

Ditch anything that's questionable or that you haven't used in the past year. Check your condoms too.

Throw out any make-up that's over 3 months old. If you can't remember when you bought it, that's probably a good indication that it's too old to use.

Fit's Tips: Make a list of all the new supplies you'll need to buy, and if you know you don't use it much, try not to buy the "super-size me" bottle of it. If you run out, you can always buy more.

Hysteria Director Tanya Wexler Talks Vibrators, Faking It, and Duck Sex

Tara Block — Fri, 25 May 2012 04:00:15 PDT

Don't be shy . . . It's time to talk sex toys! And Hysteria director Tanya Wexler is writing us a prescription for pleasure. Tanya's film - what she calls "the vibrator movie you can bring your mom to" - is in limited release and stars Hugh Dancy, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Rupert Everett. When working on a romantic comedy that centers around the invention of the vibrator, you end up with some entertaining and embarrassing situations along the way, and lucky for us, Tanya spilled all the hilariously dirty details. From teaming up with the film's partner Jimmyjane for a drive-by vibrator drop-off to a certain female Oscar-winner to trying unsuccessfully to get ducks to shag on command, Tanya was bursting with great stories from working on this very unconventional film. And while Tanya isn't ashamed to discuss the sexy subject matter of her latest film with us, the mother of four and her partner of 21 years did have a tricky challenge telling her preteen kids what her movie was about. (She eventually gave them the script and let them figure it out themselves!) Check out our interview with the fun-loving director now, and we dare you not to have a girl crush on her by the end!

TrèsSugar: What were some of the challenges to getting a movie made about vibrators?
Tanya Wexler: Getting the script right was tricky because if you just make a movie about the invention of the vibrator, it's actually a really short movie: you go "bzz" and it's done. And we had a kind of light romantic comedy. I say I made the vibrator movie you can bring your mom to. But some people wanted it to be raunchy or some people wanted it to be more serious and about feminism. People project a lot onto this movie of what they want, because there isn't a lot out there about vibrators and women's pleasure, and we still don't really deal with that topic very well, or we're overly antsy around it. And as a result, people have a lot of ideas of what the movie could and should be, and you can't please everyone. [laughs]

TS: Ha, good one.
TW: It's nonstop!

TS: Do you find sex toys inherently funny or something to be seriously celebrated?
TW: Yes!

TS: Both?
TW: Yes! Yes. I think they make me laugh, and I think that the inner kind of Beavis and Butt-head in all of us goes "[laugh]." You know, that inner 13-year-old, like, "Hahaha vibrator . . . " and yet they're awesome and fun.

TS: What shocked you the most when researching the movie?
TW: That ducks are the rapists of the bird world, and you'll see when you see the movie, because there's a little bit of questionable duck behavior - or awesome duck behavior - in the movie. It's totally a sidebar, but you cannot make ducks shag on command. I'm just saying.

TS: What about the whole history of hysteria being a medical condition?
TW: When I first heard the idea, I was like, "What do you mean it was invented in Victorian times?" I knew about hysteria, but the idea that the treatment was manual [British accent] massage deparaxism - which is what they called it - and, of course, the denial. The most shocking thing is the denial, that they didn't think it was sexual.

TS: Do you think they were really in denial?
TW: No, I don't think that some people were. My college roommate was with her high school boyfriend for two years and she had never had an orgasm. I think there's all kinds of denial, especially with women's sexuality. So the fact that there are young women today who haven't had an orgasm, whether self-induced - which is insane - or with a partner, then why wouldn't we think back then that women wouldn't know what orgasms were?

They would get a massage, and the doctor's saying, "Without a penis, this isn't sex, because sex is about procreation," so what is this? The best physical therapy you've ever had. So once you don't think of it as something other than what the doctor's supposed to do to cure your uncontrollable crying or uncontrollable laughter or whatever, then it's just an awesome muscle spasm. If you don't think women have their own inherent sexuality, then you're not thinking about it like that.

Keep reading for Tanya's thoughts on Fifty Shades and more!

Savvy Tip: Take Pictures of Items You Need to Remember

Emily Co — Fri, 04 May 2012 03:05:23 PDT

If there are certain things you need to remember and you have a smartphone, perhaps you should take a quick snapshot of it and leave the picture in your phone's photo album. It reduces the clutter in your bag - you don't have have to dig around your bag for strips of paper - and it's super easy to do. All it takes is one snap and you don't have to key in any information.

Apartment Therapy suggests to take pictures of where you parked, clothing sizes of all your family members, travel confirmation numbers, prescription pill bottles, and recipes.

Before keeping sensitive information on your phone, remember to secure it properly. It's advisable not to keep the most confidential data, such as your social security number and passport number, on your phone in case you lose it.

Earning $50,000 Will Make You Happy

LearnVest — Wed, 02 May 2012 00:15:28 PDT

The magic number for happiness is apparently $50,000. LearnVest tells us more about it.

Good news! Apparently, happiness is on sale for the new, low price of $50,000.

Nope, we’re not talking about private trips to outer space, or even tuition for an Ivy League college. Apparently, all you need to be happy is $50,000 in yearly income.

That’s the finding of a recent poll by the Marist Institute for Public Opinion, which saw big differences in almost all facets of happiness between those who earn less than $50,000 and those who earn more.

Call it the happiness tipping point, if you will.

Respondents to the poll who made more than $50,000 were more satisfied with their lives concerning factors ranging from friends, to health, to how they spent their time. Unlike getting a raise from $35,000 to $40,000, or even $60,000 to $65,000, “$50,000 is the mark where you start to see significant differences,” researcher Susan McCulloch told LearnVest.

Happiness: Now 33% Off!

Depending on your own situation, $50,000 might sound like a lot. But this is actually a steep discount from what studies previously cited as the golden number: $75,000. A 2010 study from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School found that, up to $75,000, each boost in income increased participants’ happiness. But after that, bringing home more income ceased to matter in their overall life satisfaction.

Read on for more.

After Two Years Off Shelves, Prescriptives Is Back

Miriam Lacey — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 12:32:30 PST

Rejoice, Prescriptives fans: your favorite brand is back after a two-year absence from department stores. To obtain the brand's excellent concealer and even Calyx, its cult-favorite fragrance, all you now need do is brave the wilds of the Internet.

Like Shu Uemura before it, Prescriptives has gone online-only, an increasingly popular solution for companies with loyal followings but small US market sales. The most obvious drawback is that the brand's signature service, Custom Blend, is only available to those who already had their color profile done before Prescriptives left stores. If you haven't got your color profile online, though, don't lose hope. You could always buy a couple of bottles of foundation and re-create it at home.

Channing Tatum Suits Up on the Eve of His Magic Mike Dancing Debut

Katie Henry — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 03:32:52 PDT

Channing Tatum stepped out of his trailer yesterday on the NYC set of his latest film, The Bitter Pill. He shares the screen with Jude Law, Rooney Mara, and Catherine Zeta-Jones in the Steven Soderbergh directed film. The story follows Rooney, who plays Channing's wife, as she tries to control her anxiety about his upcoming release from prison through the use of prescription medication.

This isn't the first time Channing's teamed up with Soderbergh, the pair first worked together on last year's action thriller Haywire, and then again on the male-stripper flick, Magic Mike. The star-studded, shirtless, dance film has some of the hottest names in Hollywood taking off their shirts - and more! Fans will get the first glimpse of shirtless Channing, Matt Bomer, Matthew McConaughey, Joe Manganiello, and the rest of the guys when the Magic Mike trailer debuts today!

Healthy Dose Link Time: Ground-Up Bugs Are the Secret Ingredient In Starbucks Frappuccinos

Michele Foley — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 10:48:01 PDT

Why Starbucks is putting bugs in your Frappuccino - The Jane Dough
Even without formal training, more trainers taking on role of dietitian - HuffPost Healthy Living
Working out at Brick CrossFit, the same gym Bob Harper goes to - Fit Bottomed Girls
A lesson in Spring cleaning the kitchen for optimal health - Self
Jacob's Ladder and more: the new crop of cutting-edge cardio machines - Shape
Money-saving strategies on purchasing prescription drugs - Health
Another reason to go organic: cancer-causing fertilizers in food crops - Cafe Mom

6 Things That Could Make the Pill Fail

Annie Scudder — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 02:00:13 PDT

A hangover isn't the only side effect of heavy drinking. As the Huffington Post reports, binge drinking can increase the risk of pregnancy for women on the pill. It's the perfect, yet not-so-sexy, storm of heavy drinking and vomiting, followed by unprotected sex. See, if you vomit shortly after taking your pill, it's no longer in your system. Why else does the pill fail? Here are six things to look out for. And always consult your doctor if you have any questions!

Inconsistency. Taking your pill at the exact same time every day greatly reduces the risk of failure. And while obesity used to be considered a factor that could impact the effectiveness of the pill, a recent study said consistency, not weight has the greatest impact. If you forget to take more than one pill in a month, be sure to use backup birth control and call your doctor or pharmacist for specific advice.
St. John's Wort. The natural supplement can increase the breakdown of your pill's estrogen, making it less effective.
The antibiotic rifampin. According to the Mayo Clinic, the risks of antibiotics interfering with the pill are greatly overstated. Yet, the antibiotic rifampin (Rimactane) does have an impact, so check with your doctor if you are prescribed antibiotics.
Other medications. Some yeast-infection medicines, HIV treatments, or anti-seizure medication could counteract the pill. If you ever fill a new prescription, always ask if you need to use a backup form of birth control.
Temperature. Be sure to store your pack in a cool place. If it's left in the sun or in extreme heat (or cold) it could become less effective.
Vomiting or diarrhea. If you're ill within 30 minutes of taking your pill - thanks to alcohol or something else - treat it as if you missed it.

If you want to (or can't help but) forget the pill, there's always non-hormonal birth control.