Sitting at a computer all day can cause neck and back pain…that searing pain that goes down the middle of your back between your shoulder blades? Yup.  All caused by posture, stress, and how you crane your neck to view your computer screen.  Desktops are a problem, but laptops cause even MORE of an issue, because people tend to scrunch up their bodies and hold their heads forward when viewing the screen.  Funny story, while I was getting my Masters Degree, I didn’t understand why my left shoulder hurt so much and I had such back pain on that side, until one day a friend took a picture of me, with my 6lb dog sitting on my shoulder (like a parrot) and I realized that he did that EVERY time I sat down to write a paper…DUH!  Your body posture becomes habit, just like anything else!

What can we do?
A recent study from the American College of Sports Medicine actually studied this exact issue, and ways to prevent the pain and discomfort. In 10 weeks, people who worked primarily in offices at computers for the majority of the day, in just doing 2 minutes of exercising a day, significantly decreased their neck and shoulder discomfort.
There were 198 people studied, that had no other medical problems other than the neck/shoulder pain that was job related. They were asked to do 2 to 12 minutes of stretching using resistance tubing and doing what is known as a lateral raise.  A lateral raise is when you lift your arms up from a side position until your upper arms are horizontal:

Lateral Raise

After just ten weeks of these exercises before work, when they would be without much exercise for a long period of time, they reported a decrease in shoulder and neck pain.  The people who performed the 12 minutes of exercises reported a bigger decrease in pain BUT it wasn’t totally correlated; like 2 minutes meant 10% less pain and 12 minutes meant 60% less pain…they just reported less discomfort than those who performed only 2 minutes.

What works best?
The researchers found that it wasn’t the length of time the exercises were performed that made people more comfortable, but the frequency with which they did the exercises.  So maybe doing two minutes of lateral raises a few times a day might ease your neck and shoulder pain more than performing 10-12 minutes straight at one time.

What does this mean for me?
Be aware of how you hold your posture when you are sitting in front of a computer at work; shoulders back, head straight, and try not to lean it forward.  If you use a laptop, raise it up on a thick book so that you aren’t craning over to look at it, your head staying in a neutral position will prevent pain later.  Also, make time to stretch and perform lateral raises a few times a day to warm your muscles and allow them to get worked out, so there will be less pain from holding your head and neck in one position.  Also, make sure that your chair that fits your body; is it at the right height? tilt? Do you feel like you are straining to reach your desk from a sitting position? If so, see if there is an alternative chair for you to use, or ask your boss for another chair, desk, etc. in the long run, some new office equipment is cheaper than you being out on workers comp from injuries sustained at work!

So, keep your head up, literally, and do some lateral raises….you can totally be a “lat” guy/gal!  Your neck and shoulders will thank you 🙂

Yours in Good Health
B

There are roughly 4.3 million calls to the poison control center every single year, and approximately half of those are due to children ingesting pills by accident.  There are some things that are completely benign for adults and actually helpful in treating many medical issues, many are even over the counter (OTC) treatments, but they can be deadly for children, even with one lick, never mind actually ingesting the pill.

What are common meds that are deadly to kids?
Salicylate: a compound found in Pepto-Bismol, Alka seltzer, Icy Hot, and Maalox. Depending on the child and the amount of medication ingested, it can cause swelling in the brain, fluid in the lungs, and can lead to seizures and death.
Camphor: found in Vicks Vaporub, mothballs, and Tiger Balm.  Initially it can cause nausea and vomiting, but lead to delirium, hallucinations, seizure, and death.
Buprenorphine: Suboxone or Subutex which is used to help prevent opioid addicts from taking their drug of choice by making them very ill, and one lick of this drug can cause respiatory distress to the point that a child can die.
Loperamide: the active medicine in Immodium that prevents diarrhea. Ingestion by children can cause a decreased mental status and respiratory depression.
Oxycodone: or drugs containing oxycodone such as percocet, vicodin, oxycontin, etc can cause severe respiratory depression and quickly lead to death without quick treatment.
Antidepressants: can cause heart arrythmias and seizures, leading to brain damage, cardiac damage, and death without treatment.
Beta Blockers: medications commonly prescribed to adults to maintain appropriate heart rate and prevent arrythmias can cause a child’s heart rate to become too slow and can be difficult to treat.

What can I do?
-Keep medications out of a child’s reach, high up.
-Always keep an idea of how many pills you have in each bottle- that way you know if your child got into the bottle, you can have a rough estimate to tell your HCP how much they ingested.
-Know the risks of medications you have in the house on your kids
-Inform babysitters and others that care for your kids of the risks and when they should call poison control.

Accidental ingestion of medication is obviously an accident, but we need to make sure that we do everything to prevent it, and know the risks of the medications that we have in our cabinets.  Accidents happen, but know the number to poison control, in the US the number is 1-800-222-1222 make sure it is readily available for everyone taking care of your kids, and  if they do ingest something, get them emergency medical care ASAP!  And, if you aren’t sure about the effects of what they ate, call poison control and ensure that you are treating them appropriately.

Yours in Good Health
B

As a nurse that worked the night shift basically permanently for 6 years, this new research based upon Norwegian nurses, makes me pretty nervous.  There has been speculation for ages that working nights is not good for your health, and clearly being sleep deprived lowers your immune resistance, but for the last ten years there  has been loads and loads of research showing that working night shifts can increase your cortisol levels (which increase with a stress response) and insulin levels, leading to an increased risk of diabetes, obesity, and heart disease.  None of this is good, especially because healthcare is a 24 hour field, just like many other fields, such as police work, and other emergency services, pilots, etc.

What was the newest research?
Unfortunately, ladies, this one hits close to home for us.  Around 50,000 female nurses were studied, over a course of 17 years, looks for rates of breast cancer directly associated with night work. The findings were pretty scary, considering how many night shifts the average RN works! Nurses that worked around less than 4 night shifts a month had a minimal increased risk of breast cancer, and even nurses with 30 years working in hospitals (where we are exposed to radiation and chemotherapy agents) were at a minimal risk.  Nurses that worked five or more years with 4 consecutive night shifts had a much higher rate of breast cancer, and the highest group is nurses with 5 or more years of working with 6 consecutive nights of working.

What does this mean?
I’ll be honest with you, 6 night shifts in a row would make anyone feel completely gross, and more than a little off your game.  But it appears that the number of consecutive night shifts worked, is what has the biggest effect on you, which makes sense, right?  Most people do not sleep normally during the daytime, because we aren’t supposed to, so people medicate themselves to sleep, watch TV, or are just like me and just power through on only 3 hours of sleep.  Not only is this totally not a normal way to go through life, but it really isn’t healthy. Just like when people who work during the day (in any job) have to work long hours for a few weeks, or have added stress at work (or at home), when it is over, you “crash” and catch up on sleep.  People who work nights a lot mess with their bodies normal rhythm and it has obviously huge effects on our ability to sleep normally (even when not working), our immune system, and obviously our long term health as well.

Now, everyone cannot stop working overnight shifts in every field, or our world would turn to chaos and patients in the hospital would not be very happy (to say the least) but these are really dramatic results and I think that they are something that we should be cognizant of and keep in the back of your mind.  Go to see your HCP and get check ups, do SBE’s (self breast exams), and be aware of the effects that staying up all night might have on you.  Those shifts might get you some extra cash, but at what cost?

Just be aware of the effects of long term sleep and poor health outcomes, and try to live as healthy a lifestyle as possible; this study hit home for me, but whether you are a man or woman, working nights, or just odd hours, think about what might be happening to your body in the long term and how you can hopefully offset the bad with and otherwise healthy lifestyle. So get some sleep, eat something healthy, and get some exercise!

Yours in Good Health
B

For years people have lived under the impression that if they substituted fake fat for real fat, i.e. using Olean (AKA Olestra), they would lose weight, but a Study from Purdue University may have proved the exact opposite!  I have never eaten something that says it can cause anal leakage on the label, but I know that some people swear by eating “fatty” foods made with fat supplements to get a snack without all the extra fat.

What is Olean?
It is a fat substitute that adds no fat, calories, or cholesterol to foods.  It came out in the late 90’s, gained a lot of popularity, then lost its luster a bit because people starting falling prey to the horrible side effects because they weren’t reading the label!  So, the label stated that the product may cause abdominal cramping and loose stools, along with the loss of fat soluble vitamins A,D,E,&K.  Because Olean is a “fat” made from sucrose and the molecules can bind with many different fatty acids, it becomes too large for our digestive tracks to absorb, so we don’t absorb it, and it comes out….and boy does it!  Apparently it was created to taste/feel the exact same as regular fat in our mouthes, i.e. WOW potato chips (made with olean) taste the same as regular. Hmmm….

So why might you GAIN weight?
Well, I have discussed in pervious blogs about sugar substitutes, and these substitutes work the same way; our bodies are really smart, and when we put food in our mouths, it gears up for digestion based on taste. How amazing, right?  We put something super fatty in our mouths, start chewing, and based on taste and feel of the food, the digestive system gets ready by stimulating our metabolism and hormonal reactions to break down the fats, calories, and absorb all nutrients.  So, when you try to “trick” your body by eating fake fat, it gets revved up to burn lots of calories and fat….but then it’s left unable to burn anything because no calories or fat are absorbed. So, it begins to learn that when you eat stuff that tastes and feels like fat, it doesn’t need to work or kick into high gear as it perviously would.  Now, most people think “no big deal” but it is a big deal because we NEED fat to live, there are fat absorbed vitamins, and they are needed for energy to stimulate your cells/muscles/etc.  SO when we eat fats in meat, avocados, milk, etc. our body doesn’t efficiently break them down or stimulate our digestive systems as much, because we were like the boy who cried wolf with fats previously and tricked it into getting ready to break down fat and nothing was there, so why would it work efficiently when we really do eat fat?  The problem is, it won’t react the same way if you use those supplements.

There is no such thing as a free meal!  You may feel like you are getting a freebie of eating a “high fat” snack without the fat and calories, but it will catch up with you in the long run, and your body will hold onto the real fat that you eat and try to store it in case you don’t eat lots of fat again; the body is always looking out to protect itself, wether you want it to, or not!   Plus, the study from Purdue found that rats that ate a “high fat” diet with fat substitutes ate much more food and gained more weight than those that ate a high fat diet with regular fats. Fats (real ones) slow the digestive system, so you fill fuller faster, and it is a longer period before your body feels hungry again, but this doesn’t appear to happen with the fat substitutes.

What should I do?
You should eat a  healthy diet, and when you do feel like a fatty snack, eat a fatty snack, just don’t make it a habit!  If you deprive yourself of something, you are going to crave it and eventually cave in and basically binge on it.  So, allow yourself a treat every now and again, and remember that if you are truly craving something, your body is usually telling you that you are missing something in your diet.  So eat real fats, in small portions, and ditch the substitutes!

I have a personal mantra: If I can’t pronounce it, I don’t eat it!  Maybe more people should adopt that and we wouldn’t be faked out by new products….if you want to lose weight, don’t eat and excess of fatty foods, do eat fakey foods!

Yours in Good Health
B

So many people live their lives daily with some sort of pain.  Some people have chronic pain from a past injury, either from work, car accidents, or chronic medical conditions (arthritis, tendonitis, etc) and others have acute pain from being post-operative (having surgery), a new injury, or because they just slammed their finger in a door! No matter what the reason is, people are living with some form of chronic pain, and how they choose to treat it, can have huge effects on their lives.

How do we treat pain?
Pain is all very subjective to the person who has it; I mean, I might think that stubbing my toe hurts very much, but someone might obtain the exact same injury and be yelping out in pain, because it hurts them more- they actually feel more pain.  I have one friend that takes a percocet before she gets a bikini wax, really?!?!? So, how one treats their pain can be very different, but I want people to think how their choices can effect them:
OTC (Over-the-counter) medications: there are NSAIDS (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) such as Ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) or Acetaminophen (Tylenol) that are taken orally 4-6 times a day.
Prescription Medications: Opioids (i.e. oxycontin, percocet, hydromorphone/dialudid) which act centrally to decrease pain and are also to be taken orally usually 4 times daily.
Alternative therapies: heat and cold, deep breathing exercises, and distraction techniques.

What are the side effects?
The problem with always taking pharmaceuticals is that there are side effects to each medications that we take, no matter what it is.
OTC Medications:
Ibuprofen: can cause nausea/vomiting/stomach pain, bleeding ulcers, may impair blood flow to kidneys, leading to fluid retention.
Acetaminophen: low fever, stomach pain, nausea, dark urine, liver failure leading to jaundice (a yellowing of skin and eyes).
Prescription Medications:
Opioids: Nausea, vomiting, drowsiness, constipation, delirium, and compromise of the immune system.
*As with any medication, you may also experience a form of an allergic reaction which can be in the form of hives, difficulty breathing, or anaphylaxis.

Do Alternative Therapies work?
Many people skip alternative therapies and head right for medications to treat their discomfort, always forgetting about the fact that there are other things we can do to help with our discomfort. In the case of chronic pain, there are options of using heat and/or cold therapy for muscle and joint pain, Physical Therapy for long standing injuries or arthritis, or learning to live with the discomfort and how to deal with your pain.  And in the case of acute pain, heat and/or cold can also be used, distraction techniques, and deep breathing exercises can assist with pain.  A recent study in Pain Management in Nursing looked at non-drug therapies for older adults in rural areas, that usually reach for pharmaceutical treatments for their pain, found that these older adults that don’t usually start with alternative therapies, reported a significant decrease in pain/discomfort with the use of heat/cold and breathing techniques that were taught to them.  These adults had never been shown or educated in regards to the use of heat and cold with pain tolerance and found it to be extremely helpful, many stopped using daily medication therapy.  They reported significant decrease in pain, just by making a few simple changes, that anyone can do!

Now, I realize that there are some pains that putting a heat pack on is not going to fix (i.e. a broken arm) but it can help with chronic back pains, arthritis, etc.  I am not saying that people shouldn’t ever take pain medication, that is ridiculous, but the more we take medications to mask our pain, we become dependent upon them; it can become a habit to take medications, and your pain might not even be tat bad on a certain day, and long term effects of pain meds can be detrimental to your overall physical and mental health. But heat and cold can help and taking deep breaths in to relax your mind, and breathing the pain out with each breath can relax you and help to diminish some pain because your muscles are also relaxing.  Anxiety makes pain worse, and being worried about pain is not a good way to go through life; try to use some of these alternative therapies before reaching for your usual pain medication next time, your body will thank you and you will feel more empowered that YOU have the control, not your pain!

Yours in Good Health
B

I hear so much education for adults on health, nutrition, and exercise.  And there are targeted programs for young children as well to learn about healthy eating and proper food choices.  But what about the teenager population?

A few days ago the CDC produced the results of a survey that they sent nationwide (within the US) to high school students, in which they got just over 114k results, and the results were rather shocking, I must say.   It showed that only 8% of high school girls get the recommended 60 minutes of aerobic exercise whereas 22% of boys hit the mark.  Not doing enough physical activity when you are younger can shape your attitude towards physical activity, and can lead to an adult that doesn’t work out.  Plus, it can lead to heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes later on.

Other shocking results were related to nutrition, and honestly it made me a little sad.  63% of respondents said that they drink at least one soda a day (that was full calorie soda, but as we know diet soda is no better for you in the case of Type II diabetes) and 33% report drinking two or more sodas a day.  There are tons of choices of water, milk, and juice in schools, which the teens are also drinking, but then they tend to reach for the sodas!  This also becomes a lifestyle choice, just like lack of exercise, and can be a really hard habit to break.

These choices come from home, peer influence, and from education.  I think that we are not doing a good enough job educating children and teens on nutrition in schools, and reinforcing that information or helping to shape the education at home either.  If we all cooked healthy foods and stocked out homes with fruits and veggies and organic meats, taught our kids about a healthy diet and fed it to them, they would learn at home, and it would become how they eat.  BUT I totally get that I am thinking in an ideal world where money grows on trees, people don’t have to work, and we have time to cook three healthy meals a day!!

I understand in the real world, where money can be an influence, that unhealthy food tends to be cheaper, but if the choice comes down to buying your family a fast food meal, or buying a loaf of whole wheat bread organic peanut butter and some preserves?  The PB&J is healthier, cheaper, and will feed your family for longer…plus you can spend time together making your “meal” which includes whole grains, proteins, and fruit.  That is something that you can teach your kids!  Also, fruits and veg are really cheap at local farms, and even if you live in the city, look for farmers markets; it’s the time when farmers are bringing their goods closer to you!!

I also want to encourage you to walk to the markets or ride bikes…WITH YOUR KIDS!  Exercising together can encourage them to make healthier choices on their own; we really need to lead by example with our children, especially with things that will allow them to be healthier and prevent disease later in life.  Tat is part of having a cild; keeping them healthy and safe, and teaching them how to be an adult.  So, while schools might be missing the mark on educating them, and their friends parents might not be doing their part, YOU can do yours, and bring up the healthiest child you can!

Start at home….and maybe there will be a new teen exercise program in the Boston area soon (email me and let me know your thoughts)!

Yours in Good Health
B

I have never been a big huge fan of “warming up” and I usually get chastised by the people I work out with and by my clients that I work out; they always want a “warm up” period and I just jump in and go.  Honestly, I am usually going for a run with my dogs before work, or have some sort of time constraint, so I just hop to it.  I never felt there was an issue with it, but other people made me feel super guilty about it.  The theory is that heated (or warmed) muscles are more flexible and ready to adapt to the work out and allow you to perform better…but that theory may have been blown to bits! But, I feel that I am now supported in skipping the warm ups!  A recent study from the Journal of Applied Physiology, showed that warm ups are really not helpful and actually prevent you from getting a hard workout.

Why are your workouts thwarted?
Well, highly trained male cyclists volunteered to be studied and they either performed their normal warm up or a much shorter version followed by their regular workouts. It turns out that the cyclists warm ups were 20 minutes in length and they got to around 95% of their maximal heart rate.  Their muscles were electrically stimulated before (cold) and after their warm ups; it was found that the muscles contracted much more forcefully when the muscles were cold.  The muscles were over exerted and tired when the athletes finished their warm ups.

The same findings were present in Olympic skaters when training before the 2010 Olympics.  In trying to warm up their muscles, these athletes were actually truly fatiguing them, thus the athletes could not optimally perform.

If the athletes warmed up for 15 minutes reaching only 65% of their maximal heart rate, their muscles contracted still forcefully and didn’t seem over-fatigued. The problem is that most people think they are warming up, and really they are overexerting themselves, and then push themselves further, which allows for a risk of injury.  Ironic right? People think they are preventing injury by warming up, but really they are stressing their muscles by pushing themselves too much.

The scientists were unable to draw a conclusion wether warm ups were really even necessary, but they couldn’t find anything that swayed them either way.  The lead researcher didn’t see a need, but had no solid proof for or against that statement. So, since there is no data showing me I have to warm up, I am going to keep on keeping on and you all can warm up if you want, but I am just going to hop  right into my runs and let my muscles fatigue at their own will.

If you have any injuries related to running, you may want to keep with a short, easy warm up and then assess for discomfort or anything that doesn’t feel right, and stop if need be!  For those of us who run/workout because we love it and not because we are training for the Olympics, I think this is all cause for personal choice, but if you are new to working out, you may want a warm up to get your heart and lungs ready.  As well, if you have any illnesses and you are new to working out, you should get approval from your HCP before starting any new regimen.  But if you are healthy and feel up to it, hop right in and get the workout you need!

Yours in Good Health
B

There are so many people that come to the hospital daily for emergency treatment,  without insurance for primary care treatment, or just without a primary HCP, so they go to the Emergency Room for treatment.  Now, I am not going to hop on a soapbox about getting treatment in the ER versus primary treatment; I want to give you information regarding what you should know and think about before you go to a hospital, or bring a loved one to the hospital for treatment.

Medication Lists:
This is CRUCIAL!  It is so important for you to have written down, or typed out, all of the medications that you take. Now, on this list, you need to have medications, doses, frequency with which you take them, and when you normally take them.  That helps us in two major ways: knowing what you have last taken (maybe you are having a reaction) and it gives us insight into what we should treat you with and when you require your next dose.  It also might help us figure out what NOT to give you.

It is important to remember to add ALL medications, including medications that you may not take every day (like a rescue inhaler, for example), over the counter medications, and herbal supplements/vitamins. Some herbal supplements may cause reactions with prescribed medications, and in the case (which we hope doesn’t happen) that you are unable to speak for some reason, we can ascertain some of your past medical history based upon your medical treatments.

Thoughts on Treatment:
We like to know, in the case that someone doesn’t have advanced directives or a power of attorney designated, what they would and would NOT like performed when they come into the hospital.  If, again, you become unable to speak, we need to have a way of knowing what you would like us to do (based on religious or personal preferences): insert a breathing tube and place you on a ventilator if you are unable to breathe on your own? Place large IV’s in your chest and into your heart?  Chest tubes to drain fluids?  We will perform every available treatment to save your life, should you become increasingly ill, but is that something you want?

It is food for thought, and something that everyone should think about and talk to your family (parents, children, siblings, significant others) so that they know what you want done, should you become very ill. Also, give someone close to you a copy of your medication list, or let them know where it is, in case there is an accident and you are unable to obtain it yourself.

I know it is a bit of a morbid topic, but you really need to think about these things, and taking 10 minutes to write down your medications can save you from a possible serious interaction, and allow us to treat you appropriately. And talk to your family about what you want and need for treatment…it will help us help YOU!

Yours in Good Health
B

For many years, people have thought that having pets along with children at an early age, is a bad idea for allergy reasons. It is estimated that 40% of American homes have dogs alone, and around 6 million Americans are allergic to cats and less than half of that have dog allergies, are the allergies due to early exposure?  Many HCP’s thought that kids who had a bunch of allergies were having the allergic reactions because they were exposed to either cats or dogs at a young age. And all studies prior to now had been basically looking at the rates of children with allergies to pets/pet dander (skin flakes and many times their saliva from “kisses” can cause a reaction to those allergic)and making an educated guess that having the pets caused stress on the immature immune system, and caused an allergy to the animal itself.  A new study is making that a myth of the past!

What is the new study?
A study was performed over 18 years looking at both children in homes with animals as pets and those without, and following up to see how many of them had allergies to pets 18 years later.  They found a minimal relative risk of increased allergies to cats and negligible risk with dogs; also cesarean babies versus vaginal deliveries had no real difference in allergy to pets risk.  This study looked at blood titer levels of reactions to whatever pet they lived with, and if they had an increased level of immune response, they were assumed to be allergic.  This is actually great news for those if us who have furry friends and worry about the risk (allergies) to our pending offspring!

What are signs and symptoms of pet allergies?
Coughing and wheezing
Runny, itchy, stuffy nose
Red, itchy eyes
Sneezing
Hives on the skin where a dog may have licked you (if allergic to saliva)
Asthma

How do I know if my child is allergic?
Your HCP can perform a RAST (radioallergosorbent test) which is a blood test to find out specifically what a person is allergic to; it is more accurate than the skin reaction tests.  The RAST will allow you to find out specifically what the child is reacting to, and then you can help to change the environment to allow for less allergic reactions.

What can I do if my child is allergic?
You can allow the pet only in certain parts of the home, clean fanatically if the animal goes to other parts of the home, ensure that everyone who plays with or touches the pet washes their hands thoroughly afterwards, or get rid of the pet (which makes me soooo sad!!)
OR
You can try antihistamines (such as Benadryl, Allegra, or Zyrtec) to see if you child has decreased reactions.  Use decongestants such as Sudafed or Allegra-D to allow for less stuffiness in the nose and clear up secretions, or try prescription medications such as Flonase or Nasonex that are steroids that can help prevent allergic reactions.  Hopefully one of those medications can work so that you can keep your child healthy and keep your families pet!!

So, this is all good news, bad news! We can easily test for the allergens, there are treatments for pet allergies, and the allergies are not caused by early exposure to pets….so what does cause pet allergies??  I guess until we know further, we have to assume genetics, so if you are allergic to pets, be wary with your children around pets, and have them tested so that they can be around other children/families and their pets if they aren’t allergic.  And if you do have a child that is allergic, let them know about their allergy, how to be careful around pets, and to tell their friends if they can’t be around a certain type of animal.  Do what is best for your family and your child, and talk to your HCP about your options.

Yours in Good Health
B

I wanted to give a littles heads up about current worldwide drug recalls from the Aidapak Company.  Apparently, there was a massive cross contamination of all drugs created by the company and penicillin’s contaminated almost all of their products.

This is a huge deal, many people have penicillin allergies and of that, anaphylaxis can ensure with each additional exposure.  So, even if penicillin or B-lactim exposure usually just causes you some hives or light skin rash, you could be taking a medication that isn’t supposed to contain those compounds and go into anaphylaxis (a whole body allergic reaction that can cause death quickly if not treated immediately.)

It is not know exactly how many drugs were cross-contaminated but the company has asked all clinics and hospitals to remove the drugs from use, but there is a list of 300 drugs on the Aidapak website listing all drugs affected.  So if you are taking any drugs made by this company, just double check that your medication hasn’t been recalled, especially if you have a penicillin allergy.

Yours in Good Health
B