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Your primary care provider is usually an internal medicine physician whose task is to assist you in preventing disease and maintaining your health. An internist is by definition a diagnostician, a person who attempts to identify the cause of your symptoms.
Flu can affect 10 to 30 percent of the U.S. population each winter. The flu virus can linger in the air for as long as three hours. In close quarters, conditions are ripe for the spread of the virus.
Extremely cold temperatures often accompany a winter storm, so you may have to cope with power failures and icy roads. Although staying indoors as much as possible can help reduce the risk of car crashes and falls on the ice, you may also face indoor hazards.
Tips and Warnings for Consumers. With hundreds of drug-dispensing Websites in business, how can consumers tell which sites are legitimate ones, especially when it is very easy to set up a site that is very professional looking and promises deep discounts or a minimum of hassles?
A minimally invasive procedure to clear plaque-filled neck arteries is as effective as traditional surgery in patients at high risk for open surgery, according to new Cleveland Clinic-led research. The minimally invasive treatment uses a stent in combination with a special filter to catch any emboli, or bits of plaque, that break free during the procedure.\n
When it comes to buying prescription drugs online, Canada is dealing with some of the same regulatory challenges that occur in the United States. In May, the Ontario College of Pharmacists announced that it laid charges against The Canadian Drug Store Inc. for operating an illegal Internet pharmacy based in Toronto. The store, which was filling prescriptions written by U.S. doctors for U.S. residents, was charged along with one of its directors with unlawfully operating an unaccredited pharmacy without registered pharmacists.
Greg Thompson, Pharm.D, a pharmacy professor at the University of Southern California, agrees. "Getting drugs from Canada under the doctor's orders is different than getting drugs from Mexico on your own," he says. "Regulations in Mexico aren't as strict." But even if you obtain drugs from a place or in a manner that you consider to be safe, according to the FDA, you are almost always obtaining unapproved drugs.\n
Although importing unapproved prescription drugs is illegal, the FDA's guidance on importing prescription drugs for personal use recognizes that there may be circumstances in which the FDA can exercise discretion to not take action against the illegal importation.
The FD&C Act also states that prescription drugs made in the United States and exported to a foreign country can only be re-imported by the drug's original manufacturer. Even when original manufacturers re-import drugs, the drugs must be real, properly handled, and relabeled for sale in the United States if necessary.
Under the FD&C Act, the interstate shipment of any prescription drug that lacks required FDA approval is illegal. Interstate shipment includes importation--bringing drugs from a foreign country into the United States. Drugs sold in the United States also must have proper labeling that conforms with the FDA's requirements, and must be made in accordance with good manufacturing practices.\n
Whether you're searching for a cheaper price or dodging the doctor's office, the FDA warns against using unapproved drugs. And just because a drug is approved in a foreign country, that doesn't mean it's approved in the United States. Drug standards and regulations vary from country to country and the FDA is responsible only for those marketed and sold inside the United States.
Quality assurance concerns. Medications that have not been approved for sale in the United States may not have been manufactured under quality assurance procedures designed to produce a safe and effective product.
The existing flu vaccine supplies should be given to protect people who are at greatest risk from serious complications from influenza disease. Everyone in this group should seek vaccination\n
FDA does not recommend the use of any vaccine beyond the labeled expiration date. The primary purpose of the expiration date is to ensure that vaccines used in clinical practice meet their release specifications, which ensures that they continue to be safe and efficacious. Release specifications include potency (strength), content of excipients, and sterility.
Influenza, also known as the flu, is a contagious disease that is caused by influenza viruses. Influenza viruses infect the respiratory tract (nose, throat, and lungs) in humans. The flu is different from a cold, mainly because the symptoms and complications are more severe. Influenza usually comes on suddenly and may include these symptoms: fever, headache, malaise (a feeling of being ill and without energy that can be extreme), cough, sore throat, nasal congestion and body aches.
Asthma can be a serous and often frightening condition that is typified by a tightening of the chest, wheezing and difficulty breathing. Asthma is made up of two underlying components: inflammation and constriction. During normal breathing, the bands of muscles that surround the airways are relaxed, and air moves freely.
What causes migraines is still somewhat of a mystery. Doctors believe that it has to do with the blood vessels in the head contracting and then expanding. This happens from time to time to most people, but with migraineurs this tends to be more intense and painful. The exact cycle of events taking place in our brains during a migraine attack is still not fully understood.
Pelvic pain is a widespread chronic pain condition that affects the lives of men and women all across the world. But most people don't realize how big the problem is because those who suffer don't talk about it.
If you have been diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), you will know how difficult it is to treat.
Migraine: some of the most common triggers of migraines are stress, food allergies, caffeine withdrawal, medications, lack of sleep, extreme weather conditions, blood sugar fluctuations, and hormone imbalances. Many migraine sufferers find little or no relief in either over-the-counter or prescription medications.
We have all suffered from an occasional case of bad breath. It's estimated that 50 to 65 percent of the population suffer from bad breath. A few unfortunate people suffer from chronic bad breath, seeming never to get rid of the foul odor that escapes every time they open their mouth. But what is the main cause of bad breath?
Allergy Relief: Immunoglobulin E is an antibody, which is secreted from the white blood cell as a defense agent in our body. It helps us defending bacteria, viruses and other microorganisms, which attack our body.
If you have any of the following symptoms, seek medical help. These may be early symptoms of West Nile virus illness, or of many other illnesses, so seek medical attention to find out the cause.
Constipation can come on slowly, building over several weeks. There is no right number of daily or weekly bowel movements. You may be becoming constipated if you are going to the bathroom less frequently than normal.
Do you ever stop and think what an amazing thing our breath is? \nProbably not. Most of us never give it a thought. It is something we\ntake for granted. Rarely do we stop and think about how it is our\nlife force and without it we would not be alive.
Balance in all things is critical to maintaining health, not only physical health, but emotional and spiritual health as well. In the hectic drive of today's world, many women forget to take care of their most important asset, themselves. In an effort to help people of all ages learn to take care of and nurture themselves, here are 6 easy ideas you can use to bring balance and harmony into your life.
When someone is injured or suddenly becomes ill, there is usually a critical period before you can get medical treatment and it is this period that is of the utmost importance to the victim. What you do, or what you don't do, in that interval can mean the difference between life and death. Do you have a first aid kit? You owe it to yourself, your family and your neighbors to know and to understand procedures that you can apply quickly and intelligently in an emergency.
Make every day Earth Day! Protect the environment and your health by making the following changes in your lifestyle.
The American Association of Poison Control Centers (AAPCC) has recorded many exposures to household cleaning substances that were serious enough to require treatment in a health care facility. Incredibly, according to the AAPCC the largest number of occurrences of poisoning in 1993 were due to cleaning products - drain cleaners, toilet bowl cleaners, bleach, soaps and detergents.
Spring blooms are all around us in the western hemisphere\nalong with runny noses, eyes, coughing, sneezing and low\ngrade fevers. These symptoms are not from summer colds\nbut from allergies to pollens, grass and a host of other\nenvironmental air factors. Does spring have to be so\nmiserable?\n
