June 2023
Some drugs, including commonly used prescription and over-the counter medications, can cause photosensitivity, increasing the skin’s vulnerability to sunlight. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and antibiotics are the drug classes with the strongest evidence for photosensitivity.
March 2023
Learn about the numerous prescription and over-the-counter medications that can cause or exacerbate insomnia.
November 2022
Patients taking the commonly prescribed diuretic spironolactone should be aware that it has clinically important interactions with many other commonly used prescription and over-the-counter medications.
September 2022
Numerous prescription and over-the-counter drugs can cause or exacerbate urinary incontinence. Knowing which medications prescribed or recommended by your doctor cause urinary incontinence will allow you to take steps to prevent or minimize this common, troubling adverse drug effect.
May 2022
Patients taking any of the widely used nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) should be aware that they all have clinically important interactions with many other medications.
April 2022
Medications are a leading cause of sexual dysfunction in men. Knowing which drugs prescribed or recommended by your doctor can cause sexual dysfunction will allow you to take steps to prevent or minimize this common, often troubling adverse drug effect.
March 2022
Patients taking any of the widely prescribed angiotensin receptor blockers used to treat hypertension, among other disorders, should be aware that they have clinically important interactions with many other commonly used prescription and over-the-counter medications.
May 2021
In this month’s Question & Answer feature, we respond to a reader’s question about whether the potassium-sparing diuretic spironolactone (ALDACTONE, CAROSPIR) can cause magnesium deficiency.
January 2021
Patients taking the widely prescribed angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, such as benazepril (LOTENSIN) and lisinopril (PRINIVIL, QBRELIS, ZESTRIL), should be aware that these medications have clinically important interactions with many other prescription and over-the-counter medications.
January 2020
Patients taking the commonly prescribed drug methotrexate, which is used to treat certain autoimmune diseases and several types of cancer, should be aware that it has clinically important interactions with many other prescription and over-the-counter medications.
June 2019
Read about the many prescription drugs that can interact in dangerous ways with grapefruit or grapefruit products.
May 2019
For men, abnormally large breasts can be distressing and embarrassing. Find out about the numerous drugs that can cause breast enlargement in men.
April 2019
Drugs are the most frequent cause of taste disturbances. In this article, we identify more than 60 commonly used prescription medications that have been linked to problems with taste.
March 2019
Read about the many prescription medications that can interact in dangerous ways with lithium, the drug of choice for treating bipolar disorder, also known as manic depression.
November 2018
Read about the numerous medications that can interact with digoxin, a drug commonly prescribed for heart failure and atrial fibrillation. These interactions can result in either digoxin toxicity or decreased digoxin effectiveness depending on the other drug being used concomitantly.
June 2018
This article lists practical steps to take to avoid death, hospitalization or other medical problems caused by heat stress. It also identifies over 100 drugs that can impair your response to heat and thereby increase your risk of heat-induced illness and death.
March 2017
Spironolactone is a diuretic (water pill) that has been used for decades to treat certain patients with high blood pressure, heart failure, swelling (water retention) and other conditions. Find out who is most likely to benefit from using this drug and who should avoid it because of its dangerous adverse effects.
July 2016
Summer is a terrific time for healthy outdoor activities, such as walking, hiking, biking and swim¬ming. But for an unlucky few, certain medications can lead to adverse skin reactions following exposure to the sun. Find out whether you are at risk and how to protect yourself.
January 2016
For the approximately 5 million Americans suffering from chronic heart failure, there is a wide array of lifesaving drug treatments. Find out our take on the most recent expert guidelines for treating this disease.
September 2014
In December 2013, new guidelines for treatment of high blood pressure were issued by a group of experts appointed by the National Institutes of Health. The guidelines stirred much controversy in the medical community. Get the Public Citizen Health Research Group’s independent take on these new guidelines.
April 2013
Recent evidence points to increased acute kidney injury associated with combining nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) with two antihypertensive drugs: a diuretic plus either an angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or an angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB). Find out the names of these drugs. This is especially important for patients with hypertension, diabetes, congestive heart failure or chronic kidney disease, because such patients are routinely treated with diuretics, ACE inhibitors and ARBs.
June 2012
This article lists practical steps to take to avoid death, hospitalization or other medical problems caused by heat stress. It also contains a list of 123 drugs that can impair your response to heat.
May 2012
The article lists many drugs that treat high blood pressure but can also increase the risk of gout. If you have gout, ask your doctor whether your dose of any of these drugs could be reduced or whether you should switch to a medication with a lower gout risk. However, hypertension control is of utmost importance.
December 2011
Find out how using a combination of two commonly prescribed drugs (a total of 30 million prescriptions filled annually in the U.S.) can cause life-threatening increases in blood potassium, a risk that has led to hospitalization.
May 2011
This article reviews recent studies showing significantly increased risk of blood clots in high-selling contraceptives containing drospirenone, compared to the lower risk of blood clots with older contraceptives containing levonorgestrel. Drospirenone is an ingredient in the contraceptive pills Yaz and Yasmin, which are sold in the U.S.
December 2008
This article lists 68 drugs that can cause high blood potassium (hyperkalemia) that can result in nausea, fatigue, muscle weakness or tingling sensations, as well as heart abnormalities (showing up as an abnormal electrocardiogram). In some cases it can be fatal.
If you are taking any of these drugs, be especially careful if you have diabetes or kidney disease. If so, you are at increased risk, and your doctor will have to weigh the risk of giving you these drugs. Also, the older you are, the more likely you are to develop hyperkalemia. Also, make sure you are receiving appropriate laboratory monitoring.
July 2008
Low levels of sodium in the blood are one of the most common laboratory abnormalities and the consequences range from mild and non-specific to life-threatening. The article discusses the symptoms of low blood sodium and lists 53 prescription drugs that can cause it. We urge that both patients and health professionals be alert for symptoms that may signal the onset of hyponatremia if the patient is predisposed to this disorder as a result of their drug therapy or diseases.
November 2007
Something never mentioned on cigarette warning labels is that smoking can affect the way a number of medications work, in some cases resulting in significant, dangerous adverse outcomes. Smokers should be aware that a number of medications may not work as well because of smoking cigarettes. The article lists 16 drugs whose levels in the blood become lower, making the drugs less effective, if the patient is also smoking.
December 2003
This statement appears in the professional product labeling, or package insert, for eplerenone: “The principal risk of INSPRA is hyperkalemia. Hyperkalemia can cause serious, sometimes fatal, arrhythmias (heart rhythm disturbances).”
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