Mms Dangers Side Effects

PHYSICIAN FOCUS: Be vigilant about medication safety

Both in the hospital and at home, medication errors are among the highest number of errors we experience in medicine. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that adverse drug events cause more than 700,000 emergency room visits and 120,000 hospitalizations each year.

Such errors are costly and too common; some end in tragedy. Many, however, are preventable.

The reasons why medication errors happen are many and varied.

Patients are taking more medications than ever. Current estimates are that 82 percent of Americans take a least one prescription medication, and 29 percent take five or more. That's likely to continue: the nation's population is aging, chronic diseases such as diabetes and arthritis are rising, new medicines are constantly being developed and huge amounts of advertising -- for both prescription and over-the-counter drugs -- reach consumers directly, creating interest and demand for a wide variety of remedies.

Other factors contributing to errors include patient confusion or misunderstanding in taking medicines; drugs with similar sounding names; and drug interactions with other medicines, alcohol or certain foods.

The amount of drugs, medicines and supplements available to patients today is enormous. Pharmacies are filled with scores of over-the-counter medicines, in different dosages and formulations. The number of commonly prescribed prescription medicines is vast (more than 1,100 according to Physicians' Desk Reference, a commercially published volume of information on drugs); and herbal medicines and vitamins -- many touted as alternative or preventive remedies -- are readily accessible.

Technological advances such as electronic prescribing help to reduce errors, but e-prescribing is not yet universally used, and it doesn't capture products we buy over-the-counter, many of which can be quite potent.

The important thing to remember -- one that bears repeating -- is that many medication errors are preventable. Here are steps to take for the safe use of medications.

The ONE Thing That Can Slash Your Risk of Dying From Cancer Up ...

For years now, you?ve heard that the way to better health is to turn off the Boob Tube and get your body moving. But new evidence shows that cutting back on TV time does more than just help you slip in a little exercise. The fact is it can also add years to your life.

As reported in The Daily Mail, Time Healthland and MSNBC, a new study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine shows that every hour of TV watched by people age 25 or over equates to a 22-minute reduction in life expectancy.

The findings suggest that too much TV is as detrimental to longevity as smoking and lack of exercise, Time Healthland reports.

Not just one, but two recent studies have concluded that watching TV can have serious repercussions. If you're over the age of 25, every hour spent in front of the TV cuts 22 minutes off your lifespan . That can equate to five years' worth if you watch TV six hours a day?which some people actually do. According to the Daily Mail, the average Briton spends four hours a day in front of the TV and Americans spend an average of five hours a day mesmerized by television.

According to the authors :

In another meta-analysis, published earlier this summer in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), researchers suggest that spending just two hours a day in front of the TV raises your risk of developing type 2 diabetes and heart disease by 20 percent. Add another hour to your viewing time, and you also significantly raise your risk of premature death from any cause...

Now, when you consider that an astonishing 90 percent of American children under age 2 watch TV regularly, then the damage can really start adding up over time. Many kids also have TV's in their bedrooms, which adds to the problem.