Friday, January 22, 2010
NETI POTS - AUDIO
Click to hear Trevor's Pharmacy Feature-Audio Segment Thanks to all the good people at the Parkland's Best Music 730 CKDM Return to Dauphin Clinic Pharmacy site
NETI POTS
By Trevor Shewfelt, Pharmacist at the Dauphin Clinic Pharmacy
We now have this and most other articles published in the Parkland Shopper on our Website. Please visit us at www.dcp.ca
The information in this article is intended as a helpful guide only. It is not intended to be used as a substitute for professional advice. If you have any questions about your medications and what is right for you see your doctor, pharmacist or other health care professional.
I have something very important to tell you. Come in really close. Don’t tell ANYONE where you heard this. Oprah might be wrong. The reason I don’t want my name disclosed is I’m pretty sure the Queen of Day Time Talk could make me disappear if she wanted.
Obviously I’m kidding (and a little scared) about Oprah. But neti pots were my first introduction into Ms. Winfrey’s powers. A few years ago, people started coming into the pharmacy demanding neti pots. I had no idea what they were talking about. I few days later I saw a re-run of Oprah on in the evening and low and behold one of her guests, I think it was Dr. Oz, was demonstrating neti pots.
A neti pot looks like a little tea pot. The user fills the pot with a salt water solution. Then they tip their head to the side over a sink. They place the neti pot spout into their top nostril and pour gently. The salt water runs into the top nostril, through the sinuses and out the bottom nostril into the sink. The Oprah guest said the first time you try the neti pot, it will feel like you are drowning. I have tried it, and yes, it does feel like you are drowning.
So after the Oprah Show, everyone wanted a neti pot. The more medical term for what a neti pot does is called nasal irrigation. It isn’t a new practice. Some yoga practitioners have espoused the benefits of nasal irrigation for years. I remember a medical resident talking about nasal irrigation. A specialist that had taught during her training actually liked the idea of nasal irrigation. However when the specialist recommended nasal irrigation to patients, the patients usually refused as it was too weird. The resident thought it was funny now that Oprah recommended nasal irrigation, the masses were running to the pharmacy to pour salt water into their noses.
So what does nasal irrigation with a neti pot do? Well, from personal experience, it definitely washes mucus and all the dust, dirt and other assorted gunk out of your nose and sinuses. The are some more interesting claims I read as well. One is the salt water (saline) reduces swelling in your nasal passages and sinuses because the fluid causing the swelling flows into the saline and is flushed out. Another claim is that the saline rinse flushes histamine and leukotrienes out of the sinuses. These chemical messengers that your body produces can cause inflammation and swelling. A negative claim says that the saline rinse gets rid of good stuff like immune globulins from your nasal passages. Immune globulins can help fight infection.
There are some small studies saying that nasal irrigation may be modestly effective in reducing sino-nasal symptoms. The side effects of nasal irrigation are mild and infrequent. They include nasal irritation, stinging or burning in a small number of patients. Nasal irrigation is relatively inexpensive. So it sounds like Oprah hit it out of the park when she sent everyone to the pharmacy looking for neti pots. Well, there might be a fly in the ointment.
There is a small study showing some possible harm from nasal irrigation. Now usually people would irrigate their sinuses for a few days to a couple of weeks because they were stuffed up. This study followed 68 people. These people got that drowning feeling once a day for a year. Then half the people stopped pouring salt water into their sinuses while the other half kept pouring. The non-irrigating group got fewer sinus infections.
Why did the non-neti potters get fewer infections? Is Oprah leading us down the garden path? We don’t know. It was a small study, so the results could be a fluke. It could be the neti potters didn’t clean their apparatti properly and infected themselves. It could be all that continuous saline washed out important stuff in the nasal passages that should be there to protect us from infections.
So was Oprah wrong? Probably not. If you want to try nasal irrigation, keep you neti pot clean, only use it once or twice a day to prevent dryness and don’t use it for more than a couple weeks in a row. If you are also on a prescription nasal steroid, use the neti pot first then the steroid.
When I tried nasal irrigation, I used a product called HydraSense. It is more expensive than a neti pot, but it is an all in one product. You don’t need to mix the salt water or use the clumsy tea pot up the nose. It comes pre-mixed in a pressurized nose spraying bottle. Yes I got the water to go all the way from one nostril, through my sinuses and out the other nostril. Yes my nose and sinuses felt clean. Yes it felt like I was drowning. No, I don’t think I’ll do it again. And I’m really sorry I suggested Oprah might be wrong.
As always if you have any questions or concerns about these or other products, ask your pharmacist.
We now have this and most other articles published in the Parkland Shopper on our Website. Please visit us at www.dcp.ca
The information in this article is intended as a helpful guide only. It is not intended to be used as a substitute for professional advice. If you have any questions about your medications and what is right for you see your doctor, pharmacist or other health care professional.
I have something very important to tell you. Come in really close. Don’t tell ANYONE where you heard this. Oprah might be wrong. The reason I don’t want my name disclosed is I’m pretty sure the Queen of Day Time Talk could make me disappear if she wanted.
Obviously I’m kidding (and a little scared) about Oprah. But neti pots were my first introduction into Ms. Winfrey’s powers. A few years ago, people started coming into the pharmacy demanding neti pots. I had no idea what they were talking about. I few days later I saw a re-run of Oprah on in the evening and low and behold one of her guests, I think it was Dr. Oz, was demonstrating neti pots.
A neti pot looks like a little tea pot. The user fills the pot with a salt water solution. Then they tip their head to the side over a sink. They place the neti pot spout into their top nostril and pour gently. The salt water runs into the top nostril, through the sinuses and out the bottom nostril into the sink. The Oprah guest said the first time you try the neti pot, it will feel like you are drowning. I have tried it, and yes, it does feel like you are drowning.
So after the Oprah Show, everyone wanted a neti pot. The more medical term for what a neti pot does is called nasal irrigation. It isn’t a new practice. Some yoga practitioners have espoused the benefits of nasal irrigation for years. I remember a medical resident talking about nasal irrigation. A specialist that had taught during her training actually liked the idea of nasal irrigation. However when the specialist recommended nasal irrigation to patients, the patients usually refused as it was too weird. The resident thought it was funny now that Oprah recommended nasal irrigation, the masses were running to the pharmacy to pour salt water into their noses.
So what does nasal irrigation with a neti pot do? Well, from personal experience, it definitely washes mucus and all the dust, dirt and other assorted gunk out of your nose and sinuses. The are some more interesting claims I read as well. One is the salt water (saline) reduces swelling in your nasal passages and sinuses because the fluid causing the swelling flows into the saline and is flushed out. Another claim is that the saline rinse flushes histamine and leukotrienes out of the sinuses. These chemical messengers that your body produces can cause inflammation and swelling. A negative claim says that the saline rinse gets rid of good stuff like immune globulins from your nasal passages. Immune globulins can help fight infection.
There are some small studies saying that nasal irrigation may be modestly effective in reducing sino-nasal symptoms. The side effects of nasal irrigation are mild and infrequent. They include nasal irritation, stinging or burning in a small number of patients. Nasal irrigation is relatively inexpensive. So it sounds like Oprah hit it out of the park when she sent everyone to the pharmacy looking for neti pots. Well, there might be a fly in the ointment.
There is a small study showing some possible harm from nasal irrigation. Now usually people would irrigate their sinuses for a few days to a couple of weeks because they were stuffed up. This study followed 68 people. These people got that drowning feeling once a day for a year. Then half the people stopped pouring salt water into their sinuses while the other half kept pouring. The non-irrigating group got fewer sinus infections.
Why did the non-neti potters get fewer infections? Is Oprah leading us down the garden path? We don’t know. It was a small study, so the results could be a fluke. It could be the neti potters didn’t clean their apparatti properly and infected themselves. It could be all that continuous saline washed out important stuff in the nasal passages that should be there to protect us from infections.
So was Oprah wrong? Probably not. If you want to try nasal irrigation, keep you neti pot clean, only use it once or twice a day to prevent dryness and don’t use it for more than a couple weeks in a row. If you are also on a prescription nasal steroid, use the neti pot first then the steroid.
When I tried nasal irrigation, I used a product called HydraSense. It is more expensive than a neti pot, but it is an all in one product. You don’t need to mix the salt water or use the clumsy tea pot up the nose. It comes pre-mixed in a pressurized nose spraying bottle. Yes I got the water to go all the way from one nostril, through my sinuses and out the other nostril. Yes my nose and sinuses felt clean. Yes it felt like I was drowning. No, I don’t think I’ll do it again. And I’m really sorry I suggested Oprah might be wrong.
As always if you have any questions or concerns about these or other products, ask your pharmacist.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Smoking Cessation - 2010 - AUDIO
Click to hear Trevor's Pharmacy Feature-Audio Segment Thanks to all the good people at the Parkland's Best Music 730 CKDM Return to Dauphin Clinic Pharmacy site
Smoking Cessation - 2010
By Trevor Shewfelt, Pharmacist at the Dauphin Clinic Pharmacy
We now have this and most other articles published in the Parkland Shopper on our Website. Please visit us at http://www.dcp.ca/
The information in this article is intended as a helpful guide only. It is not intended to be used as a substitute for professional advice. If you have any questions about your medications and what is right for you see your doctor, pharmacist or other health care professional.
I heard a lecture from a cancer researcher, and he was asked what the next big break through would be in eliminating cancer. He said we can already significantly reduce the amount of cancer in the population. He said the number 1, 2, 3, and 4 best things for reducing cancer in the population is quitting smoking. So….HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! Have you quit smoking yet?
There has been a Manitoba wide smoking ban since October 1, 2004. It is hard to believe that is now over 5 years ago. Across the pond in the European Union, Ireland was first to institute smoking ban in March 2004. Bans now exist in Italy, Spain, Belgium and Britain. On January 1, 2008, the smoking ban in France was extended to bars, discotheques, restaurants, hotels and cafes. Those romantic images of people in Paris discussing the issues of the day in a Parisian café over a cigarette and café au lait are a thing of the past. Who says the world doesn’t follow Manitoba’s lead?
Smoking is the number 1 cause of premature death in North America. Name a body part, and we can tell you how smoking is bad for it. Other than the heart and lungs that everyone knows about, let's talk about some less discussed problems. Smoking decreases the blood flow to the skin, and this leads to leathery-looking skin and increased wrinkling. The more you smoke, the more likely you are to get cataracts -an eye problem that can lead to blindness. Smoking is the main reason people get cancer in the mouth. Smoking makes it harder for your saliva to remove germs in your mouth. You'll get stains, bad breath, and a higher chance of gum disease. Smokers are twice as likely as non-smokers to develop psoriasis - a disfiguring red and silver rash that can occur anywhere on your body. Smokers are more prone to stomach ulcers. The ulcers don't heal as fast, and they're more likely to recur. There's also growing evidence that smoking may increase the risk of chronic bowel disease. Finally, guys, smoking causes impotence.
Are you ready to quit this year? It won't be easy. The numbers I could find said that only about 10% of people who try to quit cold turkey will succeed. The numbers double to about 20% if a medication and a detailed smoking cessation plan worked out with a health care professional are added onto just plain will power.
The first thing you may want to do is check with your doctor and pick a medication to help you. Many people have already tried the nicotine patch, the nicotine gum and the prescription pills Zyban or Champix. Maybe its time to try something different. How about a Nicotine Lollipop or a Nix Stix? Nicotine Lollipops and Nix Stixs are prescription items that we can custom make for people under the direction of their doctor.
At the moment we make 2mg and 4mg Nicotine Lollipops in strawberry flavor, but we can customize the flavor or the strength under the direction of your doctor. The idea behind the Nicotine Lollipop is the same as the nicotine gum or nicotine patch. We are putting some of the nicotine back into your system that the cigarette used to provide. This will help reduce (not eliminate) the cravings for cigarettes. The added bonus is psychological. People who have used the Lollipop say they like that they are still putting something in their mouth like they used to do with cigarettes.
How do you use the Nicotine Lollipop and how long does it last? This will vary person to person, but in general one Lollipop will last about 1/2 a pack of cigarettes. During your regular cigarette break you put the Lollipop in your mouth for about 5 minutes or until the craving passes (whichever is less) and then you reseal the Lollipop in our special child proof container and put it away until your next craving. What strength of Lollipop do I need? Your doctor will help you choose when they write the prescription, but usually the 2mg Lollipop is for 1 or less packs a day, and the 4 mg is for people who smoke more than a pack a day.
Let’s say we have a smoker with a craving at a meeting, and sticking something like a lollipop in their mouth is inappropriate. What should they do? Well the nicotine patch is too slow for an immediate craving. What if you had a discreet little applicator which you could rub on your wrist and get nicotine immediately? Well at the Dauphin Clinic Pharmacy, we are compounding such a device for patients at the request of their doctors. We call it a Nic-Stix and with a prescription from your doctor, we can compound a device that looks like a chap stick tube. The Nic-Stix has 30mg of nicotine in it so is will last 1-4 weeks depending on use, but it also must be kept away from children because it would be toxic if ingested. The Nic-Stix will melt easily, so it should be kept in a cool place, but is small enough to be carried almost anywhere.
Smoking kills three times more people than alcohol, AIDS, illicit drugs, car accidents, suicide and murder all combined. Quitting smoking is very difficult, and it takes the average ex-smoker six serious quit attempts before they succeed, but the results are worth it.
As always if you have any questions or concerns about these or other products, ask your pharmacist.
We now have this and most other articles published in the Parkland Shopper on our Website. Please visit us at http://www.dcp.ca/
The information in this article is intended as a helpful guide only. It is not intended to be used as a substitute for professional advice. If you have any questions about your medications and what is right for you see your doctor, pharmacist or other health care professional.
I heard a lecture from a cancer researcher, and he was asked what the next big break through would be in eliminating cancer. He said we can already significantly reduce the amount of cancer in the population. He said the number 1, 2, 3, and 4 best things for reducing cancer in the population is quitting smoking. So….HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! Have you quit smoking yet?
There has been a Manitoba wide smoking ban since October 1, 2004. It is hard to believe that is now over 5 years ago. Across the pond in the European Union, Ireland was first to institute smoking ban in March 2004. Bans now exist in Italy, Spain, Belgium and Britain. On January 1, 2008, the smoking ban in France was extended to bars, discotheques, restaurants, hotels and cafes. Those romantic images of people in Paris discussing the issues of the day in a Parisian café over a cigarette and café au lait are a thing of the past. Who says the world doesn’t follow Manitoba’s lead?
Smoking is the number 1 cause of premature death in North America. Name a body part, and we can tell you how smoking is bad for it. Other than the heart and lungs that everyone knows about, let's talk about some less discussed problems. Smoking decreases the blood flow to the skin, and this leads to leathery-looking skin and increased wrinkling. The more you smoke, the more likely you are to get cataracts -an eye problem that can lead to blindness. Smoking is the main reason people get cancer in the mouth. Smoking makes it harder for your saliva to remove germs in your mouth. You'll get stains, bad breath, and a higher chance of gum disease. Smokers are twice as likely as non-smokers to develop psoriasis - a disfiguring red and silver rash that can occur anywhere on your body. Smokers are more prone to stomach ulcers. The ulcers don't heal as fast, and they're more likely to recur. There's also growing evidence that smoking may increase the risk of chronic bowel disease. Finally, guys, smoking causes impotence.
Are you ready to quit this year? It won't be easy. The numbers I could find said that only about 10% of people who try to quit cold turkey will succeed. The numbers double to about 20% if a medication and a detailed smoking cessation plan worked out with a health care professional are added onto just plain will power.
The first thing you may want to do is check with your doctor and pick a medication to help you. Many people have already tried the nicotine patch, the nicotine gum and the prescription pills Zyban or Champix. Maybe its time to try something different. How about a Nicotine Lollipop or a Nix Stix? Nicotine Lollipops and Nix Stixs are prescription items that we can custom make for people under the direction of their doctor.
At the moment we make 2mg and 4mg Nicotine Lollipops in strawberry flavor, but we can customize the flavor or the strength under the direction of your doctor. The idea behind the Nicotine Lollipop is the same as the nicotine gum or nicotine patch. We are putting some of the nicotine back into your system that the cigarette used to provide. This will help reduce (not eliminate) the cravings for cigarettes. The added bonus is psychological. People who have used the Lollipop say they like that they are still putting something in their mouth like they used to do with cigarettes.
How do you use the Nicotine Lollipop and how long does it last? This will vary person to person, but in general one Lollipop will last about 1/2 a pack of cigarettes. During your regular cigarette break you put the Lollipop in your mouth for about 5 minutes or until the craving passes (whichever is less) and then you reseal the Lollipop in our special child proof container and put it away until your next craving. What strength of Lollipop do I need? Your doctor will help you choose when they write the prescription, but usually the 2mg Lollipop is for 1 or less packs a day, and the 4 mg is for people who smoke more than a pack a day.
Let’s say we have a smoker with a craving at a meeting, and sticking something like a lollipop in their mouth is inappropriate. What should they do? Well the nicotine patch is too slow for an immediate craving. What if you had a discreet little applicator which you could rub on your wrist and get nicotine immediately? Well at the Dauphin Clinic Pharmacy, we are compounding such a device for patients at the request of their doctors. We call it a Nic-Stix and with a prescription from your doctor, we can compound a device that looks like a chap stick tube. The Nic-Stix has 30mg of nicotine in it so is will last 1-4 weeks depending on use, but it also must be kept away from children because it would be toxic if ingested. The Nic-Stix will melt easily, so it should be kept in a cool place, but is small enough to be carried almost anywhere.
Smoking kills three times more people than alcohol, AIDS, illicit drugs, car accidents, suicide and murder all combined. Quitting smoking is very difficult, and it takes the average ex-smoker six serious quit attempts before they succeed, but the results are worth it.
As always if you have any questions or concerns about these or other products, ask your pharmacist.
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