Antibiotics: Safe or Harmful? During the winter season, people are often given antibiotics for their colds and flus. But colds, flus, cough and sinus congestion are symptoms of upper respiratory infections that are typically caused by viruses. However, antibiotics act only against bacteria and are ineffective against viral infections. Taking an antibiotic when you don’t need it is not without risk. Antibiotics can drastically decrease the numbers of normal, protective intestinal flora normally present in the intestines – which can leave you too deficient – and cause an increased risk [...]

Birth Control Alternative or Fertility Enhancer Ovu-Tech Uses You’re trying to become pregnant. — You’re trying to avoid pregnancy. — You want to determine whether you’re ovulating. — You want to enhance your awareness of your menstrual cycles. During a woman’s menstrual cycle, there are only about three days when her egg is available for fertilization. Sperm can survive up to 72 hours (3 days) in the vagina and uterus, so if sexual intercourse occurs up to three days before a woman is fertile, she can still potentially become pregnant. [...]

Birth Control Pill Use Increases HIV Transmission Risk Reference: Lancet, (1997;350:922-927) HIV-infected women who take birth control pills are much more likely than other HIV-infected women to have detectable virus in the cervix or vagina, according to a new study. Other risk factors for viral shedding include vitamin A deficiency, gonorrhea infection, or yeast infections. Increased shedding of virus could mean a greater risk of transmission to either a sexual partner or to an infant during delivery. Heterosexual transmission of HIV is the predominant mode of infection among adults worldwide. [...]

Oral Contraceptives and Low HDL Increase Stroke Risk Reference: Journal of Neurology and Neurosurgical Psychiatry, June 2000;69:29-33. This study analyzed the relationship between various blood lipid parameters and the risk of ischemic stroke in patients under 45 years of age. There was no relation found between risk of ischemic stroke and total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, or triglycerides. Only low HDL cholesterol levels were shown to increase risk. Other increased risk factors included the use of oral contraceptives, high blood pressure, smoking, and male sex. These risk factors remained, regardless of [...]

Birth Control Pill, Gene Defect Tied To Clot Risk New England Journal of Medicine, June 18,1998;338:1793-1797, 1840-1841. Two gene mutations — including one found in up to 15% of whites — and oral contraceptive use are linked to an increased risk of cerebral-vein thrombosis, a potentially fatal disorder caused by clotting in the brain’s venous system. Women with one of the gene mutations who also take oral contraceptives have a risk of cerebral-vein thrombosis nearly 150 times that of the general population. Certain non-genetic factors, including smoking and the use [...]

Birth Control Pills Increase Risk of Breast Cancer Journal of the American Medical Association, October 11, 2000;284:1791-1798, 1837-1838 Older generation birth-control pills may have significantly increased breast cancer risk among women with a family history of the disease. In a study of 426 families, investigators found that oral contraceptive use tripled breast cancer risk among women with sisters or mothers who had the disease. The risk was confined to women who used “the pill” prior to 1975. Since then, birth control pills have evolved to include lower doses of estrogen [...]

Birth Control Pill Use Increases Risk of Fatal Embolism Reference: Lancet, 2000; 355: 2133-2134 Further reinforcing results of previous studies, new research from New Zealand suggests that the use of oral contraceptives may cause a nearly 10-fold increase the risk of developing a fatal pulmonary embolism. Several previous case-control studies had found that their use was associated with an increased risk of deep-vein thromboses and nonfatal pulmonary embolism. The incidence was somewhat higher than we expected” stated one on the study’s authors, who found that 65% of women who died [...]

Newest Version Of Birth Control Pill May Cause Blood Clots Reference: British Medical Journal, September 25, 1999;319:795-796, 820-821 The latest generation of birth control pills, which were introduced in the 1980s and early 1990s, may raise a woman’s risk of blood clots even more than earlier oral contraceptives. Danish investigators tracked hospital admissions for venous thromboembolism, a group of disorders that includes pulmonary embolism (clots in the lung), and deep venous thrombosis (most often clots in large veins in the legs). The study authors found that for both men and [...]

Toxic Effects of Birth Control Pills Birth Control Pill Use Increases Blood Clot Risk Reference: British Medical Journal, November 11, 2000;321:1190-1195 “Third generation” oral contraceptives are linked to a more than doubled risk of potentially fatal blood clots known as venous thromboembolisms. The research from Boston University School of Medicine in Massachusetts indicates that oral contraceptives containing desogestrel or gestodene increased the risk of blood clots by a factor of 2.3 compared to older birth control pills containing levonorgestrel. The findings support earlier research about the potential danger of the [...]

Aspirin & Tylenol Linked to Kidney Failure Reference: New England Journal of Medicine, December 20, 2001;345:1801-1808 Individuals who have kidney disease or other ailments who regularly take aspirin or acetaminophen may be boosting their risk of developing kidney failure. Researchers report that such patients who were regular users — those who took these painkillers at least twice a week for 2 months — were two to three times more likely to have the beginning stages of chronic kidney failure, compared with individuals who did not use these painkillers on a [...]