More than 30 million—nearly 1 in every 10—Americans have diabetes. To help manage their condition, many people with diabetes use a small, portable glucose meter to measure the amount of sugar (glucose) in their blood. After pricking the skin with a sharp lancet (small needle), one places a drop of blood on a test strip inserted in the glucose meter. The glucose meter then displays the blood sugar level on the screen. People with low or high blood sugar readings need to make quick treatment decisions. If the blood sugar reading is low, the person needs to eat or drink a sugary food or beverage, like candy, glucose tablets, or orange juice. This helps raise the amount of sugar in the blood to normal limits. If the reading is high, the person may need to take more insulin. The extra insulin helps lower the amount of sugar in the blood. If the blood sugar reading is normal, no additional food or medicine is needed. Unfortunately, mistakes have been made when making these treatment decisions due to the way the blood sugar results are displayed on some glucose meter screens.
Read Safety ArticleCholesterol-lowering medicines can cause a variety of muscle problems. These side effects can range from mild soreness to a potentially deadly condition called rhabdomyolysis (pronounced rab-doe-my-o-ly-sis).
Read Safety ArticleDiabeta (glyburide) is an oral medication commonly used in the treatment of diabetes. However, a potentially dangerous situation exists for patients who purchased drugs via the Internet: Diabeta is also the name of a “natural medicine” available from Morpheme Remedies, based in India, but available online and promoted for purchase in the United States.
Read Safety ArticleAre you using eye drops to help relieve your sore eyes? If you overuse eye drops that contain decongestants (ingredients that shrink swollen blood vessels) such as naphazoline, tetrahydrozoline, or phenylephrine, it could lead to conjunctivitis--swollen, red, sore eyes with a liquid discharge. It could take weeks for this condition to clear up. Use your eye drops as directed on the label, or your red eyes may actually worsen.
Read Safety Article