Study Links Heartburn Drugs To Fatal Illnesses

Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) — a widely prescribed group of medications that combat heartburn, GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease), and ulcers — are the most widely prescribed class of drugs worldwide, with annual global sales of about $13 billion. More than 15 million Americans take the…

What Causes Heart Palpitations?

Seemingly out of nowhere, it feels like your heart is skipping beats. Or, as the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute further describes, it’s “fluttering, pounding, or beating too hard or too fast.” You’re not sure what to think and it freaks you out. You…

Smoking and Chronic Back Pain

As if there aren’t already enough reasons to stop smoking, chronic back pain sufferers – and those who want to avoid chronic back pain (and who wouldn’t?) – may have one more. Smoking is associated with an increased incidence of chronic pain, particularly back pain,…

Pregabalin/Lyrica Reclassified To A Class C Drug

A prescription drug linked to 33 deaths in 2017 in Northern Ireland will now be treated as a class C drug. Pregabalin – also known by the brand name Lyrica, or the street name bud – is an anti-epileptic drug also used to relieve chronic…

9 Questions That Will Help You Decode That Skin Rash

Having a skin rash can feel like you’re in a bizarre, dermatological version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Your skin is unhappy for some reason, and instead of doing the polite thing—chilling out—it’s going to express its displeasure. Boldly. Meet your new rash. 1….

Cancer’s ‘Internal Wiring’ Predicts Relapse Risk

The “internal wiring” of breast cancer can predict which women are more likely to survive or relapse, say researchers. The study shows that breast cancer is 11 separate diseases that each has a different risk of coming back. The hope is that the findings, in…