As the seasons change and parents reach for over-the-counter cold medicine for their icky-feeling children, they may be baffled by new instructions: Do not give them to kids under 4. Drug companies recently announced they are voluntarily changing the labels for OTC cold and cough medicines in a nod to pediatricians long arguing they do little good and aren’t worth the risks.

So now what?

Drug companies recently announced they are voluntarily changing the labels for OTC cold and cough medicines in a nod to the arguments from physicians who care for children that these medications may have significant risks, even for children over age 4, if not given correctly. So, what’s a parent to do?

My Take?

USA Today is reporting on the confusion that consumers, in general, and parents, in particular, are having about the safety of chemicals in plastic. Even federal government agencies don’t agree about the hazards posed by bisphenol A, or BPA, an estrogen-like chemical used in plastic that has been detected in the bodies of 93% of Americans tested. The FDA says it’s safe, but new studies question its safety.

My Take?

Fox News is commenting on a study published in the August 27 issue of JAMA in which medical researchers say that one-fifth of Ayurvedic herbal medicines sold on the Internet contain dangerously high levels of lead, arsenic and mercury. How’s a consumer to protect themselves?

My Take?

MedPage is reporting that a secret test nabbed three riders for using a banned new form of erythropoietin. The drug is CERA (Mircera), a pegylated EPO developed by Roche that reached the European market earlier this year. It was approved by the FDA last November, but U.S. distribution has been stalled by a patent dispute with Amgen, another firm that markets EPO. 

My Take?

Reuters is reporting that a class of antibiotic drugs, known as fluoroquinolones, will be getting a black box warning from the FDA about the risk of tendonitis and ruptured tendons. Drugs in this class include Cipro, Avelox, Proquin XR, Levaquin, Floxin, and Noroxin. Cipro is sold by various generic makers as ciprofloxacin and Floxin is sold generically as ofloxacin.

My Take?

LifeSiteNews.com is reporting a shocking revelation – that one death per month is the average loss of life associated with the cervical cancer vaccine Gardasil. The data comes from an FDA report obtained by a government watchdog agency.

My Take?

In its new report, the nonprofit Environmental Working Group says that 85 percent of sunscreens either inadequately protect from the sun’s rays or contain ingredients that may be unsafe. They say that the problem is worsened by the fact that the Food and Drug Administration has not passed standards for testing and labeling sunscreens — meaning that makers often have carte blanche when it comes to making claims about their products.

My Take?

The AP is reporting that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is cracking down on teas, supplements, creams, and other products that falsely claim to cure, treat, or prevent cancer, even though they are not agency-approved drugs. All are available for sale on the Internet. 

The agency has sent 25 warning letters to companies and individuals marketing these products, FDA officials said Tuesday. Twenty-three of the letters went to domestic companies and two to foreign individuals.

LifeNews is reporting a study that suggests Planned Parenthood is at fault in the deaths of women in the United States from the abortion drug RU 486. The abortion business had been telling women to use the drug in a different way than the FDA guidelines suggested and the study shows it contributed to the deaths.

So far, eight women have died from the use of the abortion drug, including women going to Planned Parenthood abortion centers in California. Planned Parenthood had been telling women to use the abortion drug vaginally, even though the FDA indicated oral use is safer for women.

MedPage Today reports that the FDA has approved duloxetine (Cymbalta), an SNRI (serotonin-norepinphrine reuptake inhibitor), for fibromyalgia (FMS).

This is only the second drug to be approved for FMS. Last year the the FDA approved the anti-seizure drug pregabalin (Lyrica) for FMS.

LifeNews is reporting another death of a woman from an abortion drug. Eight women in the United States have died from the Mifepristone abortion drug, one in Canada, now three in the UK, one in Sweden, and one in France.

My Take?