At the end of the 90s the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer introduced Viagra to an unsuspecting and sexually reticent world. Blasting its way into global culture, the launch of the ‘little blue pill’ changed how the world talked about erectile dysfunction (ED) and improved the sex lives of millions worldwide. Read in full
Side effects of Salbutamol and Beclometasone
With one in five households affected by asthma, it’s a condition worth talking about. Asthma affects the airways, the small tubes which carry air in and out of the lungs. These tubes narrow when the sufferer comes into contact with irritants, causing them to feel short of breath. Asthma is conventionally treated with salbutamol-containing blue inhalers, and beclometasone-containing brown inhalers. But are there any side effects associated with these common treatments? Read in full
The difference between blue and brown inhalers
Asthma is a common condition in the UK, affecting one in eleven children and one in twelve adults (data from Asthma UK), and can often last for a life-time. However with the right medication symptoms can usually be kept under control so that sufferers can lead a normal life.
If you or your children have been prescribed one or two inhalers, make sure you know the difference between them so they are being used to manage symptoms appropriately. Read in full
Ventolin side effects
Ventolin is a brand name for the inhaled asthma medicine salbutamol. Ventolin side effects are the same or similar to those of other salbutamol inhalers.
Ventolin Evohaler is a salbutamol asthma inhaler which delivers a puff of salbutamol when the end of the inhaler capsule is pressed down.
Other asthma inhalers are breath actuated and release a puff of salbutamol only when air drawn in through the inhaler nozzle, e.g. Salamol Easi-Breathe asthma inhaler.
All the following asthma inhalers contain salbutamol; Ventolin Evohaler®, Ventolin Accuhaler® (dry powder for inhalation), Salamol Easi-Breathe®, Airomir Autohaler®, Airomir Aerosol inhalation®, Salbulin Novolizer® (dry powder for inhalation), salbutamol (non-proprietary) aerosol inhalation- includes Salamol® and Salbumalin®, and salbutamol (non-proprietary) dry powder for inhalation – includes Easyhaler® Salbutamol. Read in full
Dymista spray for hay fever
Dymista: New Spray for Allergic Rhinitis
Dymista is a nasal spray used to control the symptoms of hay fever and allergic rhinitis (allergic nasal inflammation). The spray treats a runny and blocked nose, sneezing and itching. Relief of symptoms usually starts within 30 minutes of using Dymista. Dymista is most effective when the spray is used regularly for at least a few days.
Ingredients and action
Dymista combines two medicines in one treatment. It is has a dual action. It contains a fast acting antihistamine called azelastine and a steroid called fluticasone.
Azelastine usually starts to work within 30 to 60 minutes. It takes a few days of regular use for the steroid part of the spray to reduce inflammation. Symptom control is likely to be fast and to improve over a few days, providing Dymista is used regularly. Read in full
The history of cigarette advertising in the UK
It is a truth universally acknowledged that smoking is bad for your health. With increasing evidence that cigarettes can cause everything from strokes to cancer, a smoker in the 21st century does so in the full knowledge that they’re playing a risky game of Russian roulette. But while anti-smoking ads and warnings are now the norm, advertising was once used to preach quite the opposite!
Origins
Tobacco first came to England in 1565, brought back by Admiral Sir John Hawkins from his travels overseas, and for the first twenty years smoking remained a pastime of sailors.
By the turn of the century smoking had started to gain popularity in other circles, but it wasn’t without its critics. In 1604 King James I wrote that smoking was “loathsome to the eye, hateful to the nose, harmful to the brain [and] dangerous to the lungs” and consequently increased the tax on tobacco by a rather hefty 4,000%. Interestingly, he also noted that upon dissection, the lungs of several great smokers had been found to be coated with a sooty substance, but it wasn’t enough to put people off. Read in full
Viagra UK patent set to expire
If you’re a sufferer of erectile dysfunction you’ll be thrilled to know that impotence medication is set to become a lot cheaper. The patent of the little blue pill will expire on the 21st of June 2013 and will no longer be able to monopolise the market.
The patent for Viagra currently protects the use of the revolutionary ingredient ‘Sildenafil’ and ensures that Pfizer are the only pharmaceutical company that can produce Viagra legally in the UK. Read in full
How do travel sickness pills work?
You’re going on a trip. You’re so excited you think you’re going to vomit. No wait, it’s travel sickness again.
Whether you suffer from emetophobia or not, nausea and vomiting is never nice. Travel sickness can easily ruin that special trip to Disneyland, at any age. Tablets can seem like a miracle pill, but how do they actually work? Read in full