Clear Answers to Your Medication Questions So You Can Take Your Medicine Safely
Q: I take Tylenol® for fever or headaches because it doesn’t upset my stomach like ibuprofen does, but my sister-in-law insists that Tylenol® is dangerous. There is new evidence that Tylenol® is usually very safe to use but CAN cause severe liver damage if you are not careful. Tylenol® was first used as a pain …
The Dangers of Taking Tylenol and How to Avoid Them Read More »
My stepmother had her hip replaced last week. After the surgery, she woke up in the recovery room and stayed overnight in the hospital. The next day she was lucky enough to be discharged directly back to her home instead of to the other option, a skilled nursing facility (AKA a nursing home) for several …
Q: How should I get rid of my old and expired medicines? I don’t want to just flush them down the toilet into the water supply. Nearly one-third of medicines sold to Washington State households go unused every year, according to a report by Take Back Your Meds, a group of over 270 health …
Q: How can you tell if a medicine or supplement is helping you? Why does ibuprofen work to ease muscle aches in some people but when others try it, they don’t get any relief? Why can amoxicillin cause a life-threatening allergic reaction in some people but in others can save their life? We are amazingly …
6 am usually finds me in my kitchen in front of a rectangular appliance 14 inches high, blending hot milk and coffee to jump-start my brain. My brushed nickel Gaggio Classic espresso maker is my go-to kitchen appliance every morning, to help me create my favorite form of caffeine: a 16-ounce hazelnut flavored latte, extra …
Do you prefer to use an ATM machine instead of parking your car, walking into the bank and standing in line to get cash? Would you rather push a couple buttons on your cell phone or go looking for a pay phone to put a couple of quarters into? Yeah, me too. These are examples …
Q: I’ve taken Aleve® for years for a bad knee, but now my stomach burns whenever I take it. Ibuprofen doesn’t work as well. My doctor gave me a prescription for Celebrex® which didn’t cause burning but only helped a little bit. Icy-Hot® didn’t help and capsaicin cream burns like fire. Are there any other …
Q: I always get a couple of pages of printed information about my medicine every time I get it refilled, but the print is so tiny I can barely make out the name of my pills at the top. There’s so many side effects listed, if I read them all I would be too scared …
Q: My 2-year old hates taking her medicine. Is there anything I can do to make it taste better? Julie Andrews as the magical nanny Mary Poppins sang about how “a spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down”. And to a child who doesn’t feel well, the bitter taste of a medicine is most …
Q: Since I started a new medicine, my food doesn’t taste right. Is there anything I can do about this? Our ability to taste foods and drinks can affect not only our enjoyment of socializing and savoring favorite flavors, but problems with tasting can actually lead to medical problems. As we age, we start to …
Dr. Achey graduated from Washington State University’s school of pharmacy in 1979, and completed her Doctor of Pharmacy from Idaho State University in 1994.