Category: Health & Pharma

What Do You Need in Your Medicine Cabinet?

by Susan Gregory, posted in Health & Pharma, Lifestyle

No one in the family needs to be sick for you to have a medicine cabinet at home. Whether it’s a proper cabinet or a simple box, this emergency go-to kit will allow you to be more prepared when sickness suddenly strikes and you don’t have access to immediate medical help. But what exactly should you store in your medicine cabinet?

 

  • Decongestants

Colds are very common in Australia. Adults experience colds at least twice each year while children experience at least five. This is mostly because of sudden weather changes, which happens very often in the country. Since a cold can be so uncomfortable, you need to have decongestants for both adults and children at home so you can treat anyone who’s under the weather in your house. It’s also very important to treat colds right away since this viral infection could easily spread throughout your household.

 

  • Anti-diarrhoeal

Nothing is more embarrassing than a sudden bout of diarrhoea. Unfortunately, 4 in 10 Australians in a survey experienced diarrhoea in the last 12 months, making it one of the most common ailments among Australian households. This is why learning how to stop diarrhoea with the right antidiarrheal medication is a must since moving your bowels too frequently could easily lead to dehydration. Taking the right medication along with rehydration will allow you to recover quickly and get back to your daily routine without any interruptions.

 

  • Anti-allergies

Your medicine cabinet would never be complete with some antihistamines, eye drops, and creams that will help treat common allergies. You’ll never know when an allergy could strike. It could be those insect bites that lead to rashes or a guest mistakenly eating seafood that they are allergic to. You could really use a medicine cabinet that’s well-stocked with anti-allergy medications if these things happen.

 

  • Pain reliever

Pain is such a common ailment for family members that you need to have pain relievers in stock all the time. When choosing which pain medications to keep in your medicine cabinet, it’s best to evaluate the needs of your family first. For instance, you have to choose between 12-hour or 4-hour pain reliever medications depending on what your household needs most. You also need to keep children’s pain reliever medications on hand if you have little ones at home.

 

  • Antibacterial creams

Whether it’s a simple insect bite, an abrasion or a wound, you can definitely use an anti-bacterial cream in your medicine cabinet to treat and prevent skin infections. It’s best to have different types of antibacterial creams at home for both adults and children since you’ll never know when these accidents could happen.

 

You don’t need a proper medicine cabinet to start stocking these essentials at home. Even if you’re just starting to build a medicine cabinet or re-stocking an existing one, don’t forget to include these medications in your list so you’re always prepared whenever things suddenly come up at home. Who knows, you can also help neighbours who experience problems and don’t have these medications in stock in their own homes.

The Common Flu: Everything You Need to Know

by Susan Gregory, posted in Health & Pharma

These days, a simple fever and cold can already send you into a frenzy because of fear that you might have COVID-19. But the common flu is caused by the influenza virus, while COVID-19 is caused by a new strain of coronavirus called SARS-CoV-2. So, how can you tell if you’ve been hit by the seasonal flu? Here’s everything you need to know:

 

The signs and symptoms

  • Fever of more than 100 degrees Fahrenheit or 37.7 degrees Celsius
  • Feeling feverish or chills
  • Severe pain in the joints and muscles
  • A feeling of weakness or severe fatigue
  • Red, watery eyes
  • Warm, flushed skin
  • Sore throat and runny nose
  • Dry cough
  • Vomiting and diarrhea (common in children)

 

The risk factors

Although most people only experience mild to moderate symptoms of flu, other people are at a higher risk for developing it or suffering from more serious complications.

  • Age. Children 6 months to 5 years old and adults 65 years and older are more likely to contract the flu than other age groups.
  • Pre-existing medical conditions. Patients with chronic medical conditions, such as asthma, heart disease, lung disease, metabolic disorders, kidney disease, and nervous system disease, are at a higher risk of suffering from the complications of flu.
  • Living or working conditions. People who work in highly populated areas like hospitals, nursing homes and military facilities are at a higher risk for contracting the flu from other people in the area. This is also the same for people living in highly congested areas.
  • Obesity. People who are overweight, especially those with a body mass index (BMI) of 40 or more are at a higher risk for developing flu complications than those within their ideal body weight.
  • Immunodeficiency. People undergoing cancer treatments, long-term use of steroids and anti-rejection drugs are at a higher risk for developing the flu as well as those who have undergone an organ transplant. 
  • Pregnancy. Pregnant women in their second and third trimester are more likely to suffer from the complications of flu for up to two weeks after delivery.

 

The complications of cold and flu

  • Bronchitis
  • Heart problems
  • Pneumonia
  • Sinus infection
  • Encephalitis
  • Asthma flare-ups

 

The treatment for cold and flu

Since you or any member of the family can contract the flu, especially during flu season, it’s best to stock up on common treatments and remedies at home, including cold and flu tablets that will surely come in handy any time. You should also practice washing your hands regularly and covering your nose and mouth when you cough or sneeze to prevent spreading the virus. Most importantly, it would benefit you and your family to get vaccinated from the flu, so you are protected whenever it is flu season and so you don’t need to worry about suffering from the serious complications of this viral infection. 

At the end of the day, it’s all about keeping yourself healthy and practising proper habits at home and in the workplace to make sure that you don’t contract or spread the influenza virus.

What’s the Point of Paracetamol?

What’s the Point of Paracetamol?

by Susan Gregory, posted in Health & Pharma

Paracetamol is a well-known medication that is generally used to relieve pain and lower fever. The World Health Organization (WHO) considers paracetamol to be an essential medicine in a basic health system. Paracetamol is known by a wide variety of brands and is used in a variety of pain and cough/cold formulations designed for children and adults.

Paracetamol Product Names

Paracetamol is made by several different pharmaceutical manufacturers, and each one gives your product a different brand. Paracetamol is known as acetaminophen in some countries. The packaging must indicate if the product contains paracetamol or not, and how much. This will usually be in milligrams (mg), such as 200/500 mg of paracetamol.

Paracetamol with Other Medications

Paracetamol is combined with other ingredients in several products. It can be combined with a decongestant – a type of medication that provides short-term relief for a stuffy nose and sold as a cold as well as a flu remedy. Paracetamol can also be combined with other pain relievers in medications, such as Ixprim (paracetamol and tramadol) or Solpadeine, Tylex (paracetamol and codeine). Check out more about great tasting of paracetamol on https://www.dymadon.com.au

Consideration

Do not exceed the maximum dose indicated on the packet or patient information leaflet when taking paracetamol and do not take paracetamol with other medications that contain paracetamol. Paracetamol should be used with caution in people who have kidney problems, liver problems, and alcohol dependence.

What’s the Point of Paracetamol?

Pregnancy

Paracetamol has been regularly used at all stages of pregnancy to reduce a high temperature (fever) and relieve pain. Paracetamol should be taken at the lowest effective dose for the shortest possible time as with any medication used during pregnancy.

Breastfeeding

Paracetamol is considered the best option to relieve pain when breastfeeding. The amount of paracetamol that is probable to pass into breast milk is too small to be harmful to the baby. Click here for more about paracetamol for mild to moderate pain.

Side Effects of Paracetamol

Side effects of paracetamol are rare, but may include:

  • an eruption
  • blood disorders like leukopenia (low number of white blood cells) and thrombocytopenia (low platelet count)
  • hypotension (low blood pressure) when administered in the hospital for infusion
  • liver and kidney damage, when taken in doses higher than recommended

It is not known that paracetamol, taken at the recommended doses, causes any adverse effects that may interfere with your ability to drive securely.

Interaction with Other Medications

When two or more medications are taken at the same time, the other can alter the effects of one of them. This is known as pharmacological interaction. Paracetamol may interact with the following medications:

  1. Carbamazepine: treats a number of conditions, including epilepsy and some types of hard pain.
  2. Cholestyramine: treats a number of conditions, including itching caused by primary biliary cirrhosis.
  3. Imatinib & Busulfan: treat some types of cancer.
  4. Coumarins: they are present in oral anticoagulant medications, such as warfarin.
  5. Domperidone & Metoclopramide: relieve diseases and treats a number of conditions, including indigestion.

Use in Children

Babies and children can take paracetamol for three months. Occasionally, your doctor may advise that your baby can take paracetamol when they are less than three months old. For instance, a dose of paracetamol for children can be given to children two to three months of age if they have a high temperature after vaccines. This dose can be repeated once after four to six hours. However, any other dose should be on the advice of your doctor.

How safe is paracetamol for children

How safe is paracetamol for children

by Susan Gregory, posted in Health & Pharma, Paracetamol for Children

Paracetamol (also known as APAP) is a useful medication for the relief of symptomatic pain is known very painful situations, such as pain after an operation or an injury, migraine headaches in children or to reduce the discomfort that may be associated with fever.

Paracetamol has a role when there is a combination of respiratory distress and fever-like croup, pneumonia or bronchiolitis. Fever develops the metabolic rate and oxygen supplies in these critical situations. But the continued use of paracetamol for fever or pain of unknown causes is unsuitable and can cause delays in the diagnosis of the conditions, which would help from earlier treatment.

Key points to keep in mind about the safe use of paracetamol in children

  • Paracetamol is a medicine to help reduce pain.
  • Your child does not require it only for fever: if your child is sad due to fever, you can give paracetamol to make him feel more comfortable.
  • Keep all medications out of the reach of children.
  • Too much paracetamol can be dangerous.
  • Before each dose, check if your child still needs a dose.
  • Know the correct dose to administer and control the concentration.
  • Give no more than 4 times a day.
  • If somebody else has been taking care of your child, ask if he was given paracetamol, how much and when.
  • Check other medications your child is taking; may contain paracetamol.

How safe is paracetamol for children

Correct doses of paracetamol for children of average or normal body constitution

The dose of paracetamol is just based on lean body weight (LBW). However, the full body weight of an obese, malnourished or anorexic child isn’t their lean body weight. The correct doses of paracetamol for children of the average or normal constitution are 15 mg/kg 4-5 per hour, up to a maximum regular dose of 60 mg/kg/day. Learn more about ideal body weight.

If it is hard for doctors to calculate these paracetamol doses, it is usually much more difficult for parents. Careful attention to labeling advice is always required. For children older than one month with acute pain, this can be improved to a daily maximum of 90 mg/kg/day for a maximum of 2-3 days, but this is generally only in the hospital setting.

Paracetamol dose calculation for obese children

Doctors will use a general rule and will err with caution in most situations, the identification that the dose is based on lean bodyweight, not actual weight. Click here for safe and appropriate use of paracetamol.

The dose of paracetamol should consider paracetamol as an ingredient of other medications that are taken simultaneously.

Paracetamol is an unforeseen ingredient in several over-the-counter medications and should be taken into account when you calculate doses of paracetamol. Paracetamol is present, for example, in preparations of:

  • Codral
  • Lemsip
  • Sinutab
  • Coldrex
  • Orthoxicol
  • Sudafed
  • Dimetapp

Ibuprofen isn’t a safer alternative for children

In short-term use, Ibuprofen seems to be as safe as paracetamol. But we still do not have the same experience with the use of ibuprofen as with paracetamol. The well-known risks of using NSAIDs are at least as great in children as in adults. There is no evidence of the safety or efficiency of combining or alternating the use of paracetamol for children.

Paracetamol: A Medicine to Relieve Pain and Reduce Fever

Paracetamol: A Medicine to Relieve Pain and Reduce Fever

by Susan Gregory, posted in Health & Pharma, Paracetamol Work

Paracetamol is one of the most generally used medications for a variety of diseases and discomforts. Paracetamol is sold worldwide under several different brands available for over-the-counter and partly prescription drugs and is celebrated as a mainly effective and versatile drug.

However, simple paracetamol that is sold so widely is not essentially harmless, and an overdose can have severe consequences. In this article, we will analyze the use of paracetamol, why it works as it does and in fact why it can be so harmful to internal organs. You can get about what’s the Point of Paracetamol on https://www.thecarryingkind.com/whats-the-point-of-paracetamol/

What Is Paracetamol Used For?

Paracetamol is generally used for relieving mild to moderate pain, such as migraine, headache, nervous pain, teething, toothache, sore throat, earache, menstrual pain, and rheumatic and muscular pain. It is also used for lowering a high temperature (fever) and relieving pain, discomfort, fever, and discomfort associated with colds and also flu or after childhood vaccinations.

How Does Paracetamol Work?

Paracetamol can be used to treat fever as well as mild pain and is moderately effective in giving a degree of relief. Although the medication has been used as a treatment for almost a century, many of its mechanism is still not completely clear and its properties are still unknown. Studies have shown that paracetamol works by indirectly hampering the production and activity of cells known as prostaglandins in the brain that are involved in making pain and discomfort. But it remains somewhat vague as to how precisely the medication works inside the body.

Paracetamol: A Medicine to Relieve Pain and Reduce Fever

On the other hand paracetamol works, it is known to certainly have the effect of decreasing painful sensations as well as cooling fevers. Therefore, it has become one of the most used drugs in the world and is used in the treatment of a variety of different ailments.

Paracetamol is a Medicine to Relieve Pain

Paracetamol, in addition to being particularly effective in relieving pain and cold and flu symptoms, is also potentially toxic and very harmful to vital organs. Actually the toxic dose of paracetamol is not much higher than the medicinal dose. Thus, it is essential to severely maintain tolerances within the specified period of time. Click here for more about pain relievers.

In addition, an overdose of paracetamol can irreparably damage the liver without effective treatment and even cause liver failure and even death. It must be remembered at all times that although it is useful, paracetamol is also a very dangerous medicine and necessitates very little to achieve an overdose.

Summary

Paracetamol is a medicine that has been around for almost 50 years and continues to this day to relieve minor aches and pains as well as flu-like symptoms. On top of that, it is the subject of ongoing research work to discover precisely how it works in the fight against pain. It should always be considered that, while it is an effective form of pain relief, paracetamol can also be fatal and therefore it is necessary to follow the instructions or guidelines provided with the medication for safe consumption.