September 17, 2007

12:10: The Health Roundup with Jay, Jamie and Jimmy.

12:20: St. Joseph’’s HealthCare Hamilton is having its 2nd annual prostate cancer event this Thursday Sept. 20th. This week also marks Prostate Cancer Awareness Week. Let’’s talk about that, and the event itself.
Guest: Dr. Paul Whelan, Urologist over at St. Joseph's and the Braley-Gordon Chair of Urology at McMaster University

12:35: As of today, Halton is beginning to offer girls in grade 8 a free vaccine aimed at preventing Human Pappiloma Virus (HPV).
Guest: Mary-Anne Carson, Director of Health Protection Services, Halton Region Health Department.

12:45: DayNight Pharmacy segment.
Guest: Irene.

Irene talked about a new study re: Adverse side-effects linked to drugs

The number of deaths and serious side-effects related to prescription drugs have more than doubled between the years 1997 & 2005, according to a new study published Monday of Internal Medicine. 89,842 adverse side-effects were reported in 2005 up from 34,966 in 1998. The overall relative increase was four times faster in growth than the total of U.S. outpatient prescriptions which also has grown in the same period from 2.7 billion to 3.8 billion. The study suggests the increase may in part be linked to population increases as well as a greater reliance on intensive drug treatments. The number of deaths related to adverse dug-effects increased from 5,519 in 1998 to 15,107 in 2005. Pain medications and drugs that alter the immune system were the drugs most commonly linked to deaths, according to the study. In 2006 Health Canada received reports of 10,518 domestic cases suspected of adverse reactions to health products, up 108 cases from 2005. Unwanted side effects or adverse reactions can be caused by all kinds of medicine, including prescriptions and over-the-counter medicines, herbal preparations, vitamins and some products dispensed by naturopaths and other practitioners of complementary medicine. It is in every ones best interest to manage medicines wisely. Always check with your doctor or your pharmacist. Always inform your pharmacist of what medications you may also be taking. Your pharmacist is there to help you, through safely issues and prescription medicines explained. An increase in collaboration between your physician and your pharmacist including follow- ups and clinical testing and results hopefully will be in the near future.
Suggestions on reducing the risk of adverse reactions:
1/ Take all medicines strictly as prescribed
2/ Don't take someone else's medication
3/Be sure to understand the information hand-outs, with all your new prescriptions
4/ Avoid self-treating your ailments with over the counter-the-counter medications
5/ Ask for a consultation with your pharmacist on any of your medications
6/Talk to your pharmacist about dosage aids, it will reduce your risk of making mistakes.
7/ Talk to you practitioner about lifestyle changes, sometimes dietary modifications and exercise will greatly help.