Medications

Last November, the US Preventive Task Force concluded that for adults over 75, with no history of heart attack or stroke, there was insufficient evidence to assess the risks versus the benefits of taking a statin as a way to lower cholesterol and prevent a cardiovascular episode. Whenever someone considers taking…

Coming down with pneumonia can be a serious concern for anyone but it’s especially worrisome for seniors, for whom pneumonia is the 4th leading cause of death. And now a new research study finds that about 25% of adults with community-acquired pneumonia strike out on the first round of antibiotics…

Some of us are lucky that we have few, if any, medications to take on a regular basis. But for others of us, it’s a sea of prescription bottles on our counters. Many older people take multiple medications, often with different dosage and schedule instructions. Keeping track can be a…

As we live longer, with more chronic illness, it’s not uncommon for seniors to take a variety of medications on a daily basis. And with every benefit that these drugs bring, there is the risk of an adverse reaction, especially given the multiple medications that are taken. In fact, data from…

Have you ever wondered how long that bottle of pills has been sitting in your medicine cabinet, and whether the meds are still usable? What’s the real deal with expiration dates on medication bottles? Well, according to a new story on National Public Radio, there are legitimate reasons for the…

When a headache strikes or your back hurts, you probably don’t think twice about reaching for ibuprofen (such as Advil) or acetaminophen (such as Tylenol). But listen to this: Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston have found a connection between long term use of these over-the-counter pain meds…