Dec. 20, 2006 - 20:18 MST

WORDS OF WISDOM

Often all the news we get is bad news which is sometimes slanted to right - left or straight up the middle but a bit too far up. Finally the FDA is doing something right. An article in today's The Rocky Mountain News by Andrew Bridges of The Associated Press tells of the releasing of the information we all should know. Quoted here in full:

FDA TO MAKE PAIN-PILL LABELS POP

WASHINGTON -- "Federal health officials cautioned Tuesday the tens of millions of Americans who take popular over-the-counter pain pills of potentially serious side effects and released planned label changes intended to warn of sometimes deadly risks."

Aspirin, ibuprofen, acetaminophen and the other related over-the-counter drugs remain safe and effective when used as directed, the Food and Drug Administration said."

"However, overdoses of acetaminophen can cause serious liver damage, even death, the FDA said. For aspirin, ibuprofen and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, there is a risk of gastrointestinal bleeding and kidney injury ever when patients take the correct dose. Those risks to are linked to deaths, in this case thousands each year. The FDA cautioned the risk is rare when compared to the number of patients who take the drugs."

"Experts called the stepped-up warnings long overdue. Federal advisers had called for similar label changes in 2002. An FDA official chalked it up to the time required to write new regulations."

"The drugs are found in hundreds of medicines sold to treat pain, headache and fever. Health offcials worry that the wide availability of those combination products can lead to patients unintentionally overdosing. Doctors report cases of patients taking two or more medicines -- say, one for pain and another for flu symptoms -- without knowing they both contain acetaminophen."

"The FDA has updated the labels on the drugs multiple times in the past to warn patients of their risks. The latest changes largely would beef up and highlight those warnings on the labels of the drugs. They also would reuqire the more prominent disclosure, using flouescent or bold-faced type."

"The labels also would warn patients not to take multiple medicines that contain acetaminophen. In any given week, an estimated 48 million AMericans take an acetaminophen product."

"People swallow these things like candy and they don't pay attention to the number of pills they're taking -- even when you question them about it," said Dr. James Boyer, chairman of the board of the American Liver Foundation."

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For many years I took aspirin heavily, when my teeth were so bad I took them by the handfuls, not knowing that they were a digestive tract irritant. Then as my back worsened I began to take prescribed pain killers. For years I was on the maximum dosage of Motrin (ibuprofen), switching to things such as ibuprofen as the Motrin became ineffective. I was very fortunate that my gastro-intestinal tract rebelled -- taking me to hospital. After the appropriate tests and all I was gently told by the doctor that I would no longer be able to ever take another NSAID (Non Steroidal Anti Inflammatory Drug) again. Finally my cardiologist put me on 81 mg aspirin after he took me off coumadin and so far I can tolerate that. So then I went on acetaminophen, but by then I had learned quite a bit about pain medication and have been careful to not exceed recommended dosage of that. Pain management for me thereafter has been learing how to grit my teeth until it gets bad enough to take a Tylenol

One solution to the problem would be for very young people going to school to be taught the dangers of medication, combination over-the-counter medication and the disastrous side effects that could come from the use of them.

But for the average adult, who stops by the drug store and looks for a medication that will ease them in some way or another, there is no hope of teaching them to read labels, I fear. They read the big blurbs about how this will let you sleep, pain free, clear your sinuses, hold fever down and cure athlete's foot all in one dose, (but doesn't warn you against taking other medications that often have the same ingredients) but don't bother to calculate how much aspirin each medication contains or how much acetaminophen. So many over-the-counter medications coming out now are shotgun methods of symptomatic relief and don't warn against taking them along with other medications.

Maybe flourescent type and bold face type will catch their attention. At least it will be an attempt to pass on WORDS OF WISDOM . . . . . . . . . .

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