Health News__
Not Sticking To Heart Medications Leads To Trouble

..... Not taking your heart medications as prescribed leads to trouble. People with heart disease who don't take their medications as prescribed risk suffering a heart attack or other heart-related event,
a recent study shows.
..... In a study of 1015 adults with heart disease, reported in the latest issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, 83 participants (8.2 percent) admitted to not always taking their medication as prescribed, and 146 (14.4 percent) suffered heart-related events during nearly 4 years of follow up. Medication non-adherence was associated with a greater than 2-fold increased risk of cardiac death, heart attack, or stroke notes the study.
..... The researchers note in their report that medication non-adherence is "remarkably common." Depending on the number of daily doses, an estimated 51 percent to 79 percent of patients may not take their medication as prescribed.

Vitamin D May Curb
Type 2 Diabetes Risk

..... During a 17-year follow-up of roughly 4,000 men and women, researchers found that individuals with higher blood levels of vitamin D had a 40 percent lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes than those with lower levels of this vitamin.
..... People with the highest vitamin D levels had a 40 percent lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes as those with the lowest vitamin D levels, as reported in the journal Diabetes Care.
..... Vitamin D comes from the diet (mainly from fish), supplements and sun exposure. Previous human studies have suggested that high intake of fish fat is related to a reduced risk of coronary heart disease.

Cold Medications
.....Peoples Pharmacy offers many products that may help relieve your cold symptoms. Don’t expect to get rid of all your symptoms. Instead, try to find a product that will ease your worst symptoms.

Acetaminophen
Acetaminophen may provide relief for pain, sore throats, and fevers. Talk to your Peoples pharmacist about the appropriate dosages for your family members.

Decongestant Sprays and Drops
Decongestant sprays and drops such as xylometazoline may help relieve stuffed-up noses. They should be used as directed and are best limited to three days of continuous use. If you don’t like nasal spray or drops, try using oral decongestants.

Oral Decongestants
Oral decongestants such as pseudoephedrine may be useful for stuffed-noses when sprays or drops are ineffective or cannot be tolerated. Oral decongestants take about 30 minutes to work because your body must first absorb them. Do not use oral decongestants if you have high blood pressure or diabetes.

Expectorants
Expectorants such as guaifenesin may help relieve wet, “productive” coughs with phlegm caused by chest congestion.

Cough Suppressants
Cough suppressants such as dextromethorphan, or DM, may help you get a good night’s sleep by relieving dry, hacking coughs that can interfere with your sleep or daily activities. A dry, hacking cough is a cough that does not produce mucus.

Zinc Gluconate Lozenges
Zinc gluconate lozenges may help shorten the duration of a cold. The lozenges should be sucked approximately every two hours while you are awake. Do not give zinc gluconate lozenges to children under five because they may present a choking hazard.

Each product may have possible side effects, so it is important to read the product instructions and talk to your Peoples pharmacist before you use any non-prescription product.