AnythingUrban - The MANChild Swagga

A Reader Asks The PharmD: Do Cold Medications Really Cure a Cold?

...your health and medication related questions addressed by a Pharmacist

Dear RX Rated:

I’ve wondered whether or not the cold drugs bought at the pharmacy actually cure a cold.  A friend of mine and I were going back and forth about this the last time I became sick.  I’m not one to take medications unless I absolutely have to.  What do you think?

Melinda H.

Houston, TX

 ----------------------------------------------

Hi Melinda,

That is a great question.  I’m sure you’ve heard friends telling you, “you better get on top of that cold before it gets bad” as they ramble to find the Pseudofed in the medicine cabinet.  Or you have seen your mother, girlfriend, or boyfriend taking the quickest route to the pharmacy to grab a box of Theraflu.  Something about sipping that hot cup of steaming medicinal goodness just makes you feel like surely this will get rid of your cold. Don’t let it be lemon or honey flavored. You can almost feel their love steaming straight out of the cup, along with a quick route to recovery.

 These common cold products are great for making you feel more comfortable, or maybe even help you make it through another work day (when you really should be keeping your cooties at home).  But will the traditional cold medications help you to recover from a cold any more quickly?  They generally contain different amounts or variations of common ingredients to address your specific symptoms.

OK, here we go.  Class, are you ready????  Without bogging you down in overly detailed explanations, I’ll do my best to break down how most of these ingredients work.

For example, pseudoephedrine (kept behind your pharmacy counter) and phenylephrine are decongestants, which will help the symptoms of a stopped up nose by constricting the vessels within the mucous membranes of the nasal passages.

Dextromethorphan is a cough suppressant contained in your cough medications or any over the counter medication claiming to help with cough.  It works partly by suppressing the cough center in the brain.

Any number of antihistamines, i.e.  brompheniramine, chlorpheneramine,  etc. will help with a runny nose by blocking the body’s histamine response, which can cause runny nose, sneezing, and watery eyes.

Acetaminophen (which many of us know as Tylenol) will help with fever, aches, pains, and even a sore throat.  It works by blocking pain impulses, as well as inhibition of the body’s temperature regulation center.

There is also guaifenesin, which is an expectorant.  It works to decrease the viscosity of the mucus in the chest, in order to loosen it up and decrease chest congestion. 

If you turn over the boxes of the majority of cold medications, these are most of the active ingredients that you will find.  Do they make you feel better?  Absolutely!  To answer your question, do they help you to recover from your cold faster?  Absolutely not.  The common cold is caused by any of around 200 viruses.  Clearly, none of these ingredients contain any type of antiviral properties.  Usually, a cold will run its course and resolve in about 1 week.

Now, there are some alternative remedies that have been shown in some studies to shorten the duration of your misery, i.e. vitamin c and zinc.  But I think I’ve answered your question.  As a side note, some of these ingredients are not recommended if you have certain health conditions, such as high blood pressure or diabetes, or are on certain medications.  Make sure to read the product packaging to check for warnings, and consult with your doctor or pharmacist before taking if you have concerns.  Thanks Melinda!   

What works for you?  Are there any store bought medications that you swear by?  Does your family practice home remedies that predate the women's suffrage movement? 

Let’s hear about it.

Well, that wraps up the first edition of RX-Rated with a PharmD.  I hope it was informative.  Please keep your questions coming.  Send them to rx-rated@live.com. 

I’ll see in two weeks.

Dawn Johnson, PharmD

 

Disclaimer

This site and its services are for consumer educational and entertainment use only. Nothing contained in this site is or should be considered, or used as a substitute for, medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. The services provided on this site are here to educate consumers on health care and medical issues that may affect their daily lives. This site and its services do not constitute the practice of any medical, nursing or other professional health care advice, diagnosis or treatment.

We advise users to always seek the advice of a physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions regarding personal health or medical conditions. Never disregard, avoid or delay in obtaining medical advice from your doctor or other qualified health care provider because of something you have read on this site. If you have or suspect that you have a medical problem or condition, please contact a qualified health care professional immediately. If you are in the United States and are experiencing a medical emergency, please call 911 or call for emergency medical help on the nearest telephone.

We are not liable to any user or anyone else for any decision made or action taken by based on reliance upon the information contained on or provided through this website

Race Relations: Are They Getting Better? Worse?

 I recall living in a predominantly white neighborhood for a short time as a youngster.  On the surface, social life was fine for me and my two younger sisters; we played outside with a large number of children that lived in the area - most of them were white.  But behind the scenes, the parents of these white children were not so comfortable.  Why?  Because we were black.  See, my family never received a "welcome to the neighborhood" gift - but ultimately, we did receive something that really hurt.

A petition.  Several families in the area decided to flex their "racist" muscle by immobilizing and voicing their displeasure towards us, hoping that this would pressure us to move.  The petition asked us to do just that - move.  I don't know if they were trying to protect their property value, their property itself, or if they simply could no longer stomach the anger felt as they see their kid outside playing with... us.  We ended up moving away from this neighborhood.  My mom never explained to my sisters and I that these circumstances lead to us moving, but when I did find out, I could only shake my head. 

Fast forward.  I recently read about a modern day incident where black school children were placed under siege on a daily basis by racists students.  Constant intimidation was verbalized and expressed throughout the school grounds; from threats of "lynching" to the N- word etched on the walls of bathroom stalls.  The story is a sad one, but it especially angers me to think that as I grew up in the 70's, often in segregated schools, I never experienced racism on any large scale while in school.  And I'm talking grade school, middle and high school.  So now I'm thinking:  are race relations getting worse?  Does this incident represent just how much more work we really need to do to combat racism and bigotry?  Please check this incident out for yourself.

Do inmates run the asylum? Think about it.  After you think about it, think about these guys: the media.  Do they help the cause?  Should they share a responsibility in matters such as race relations?  I ask because of this (video):

My thoughts?  Does this really happen in our schools?  Being that this (apparently) is a history class, including South Carolina history, maybe I can understand the anger that propels these students to verbally assault this teacher.  I'm bugging, but seriously, this story seems a little far fetched.  Death threats?  Name calling?  What happened to public policy in schools?  And am I naive to think that there should be some sort of provocative action to explain why this occurs in the first place?  And is this "...all we know...our culture?"  C'mon seriously. 

I also question Faux news with this one.  Did they ask these same questions, or did they simply decide to run with this story?  And what happens when news and media agencies simply ignore the impact that deceptive, misleading and "subjected" stories are allowed to go on air?  Chaos maybe? 

As schools often suggest, "behavior that might be acceptable at home will not be tolerated in the school," - but what about behavior that takes place at the school?  How much do we know about things (like racism) that may take place in our schools nowadays?

Stories like this remind me that racial relations in the US needs steady work - and while we may not be able to reach and teach all, we can never underestimate how important it is to simply speak up and talk about it.  Or is it?

Rewind.  As my family packed the bags to move, it never occurred to me to ask Mom "Why are we moving from this neighborhood?"  I wonder if it would have helped me to know that my friends parents didn't like me because of the color of my skin.  Sometimes I just don't think so. 

What do you think?

------------------------------

P.S.  Ok, ponder this?  A blackface costume of Aunt Jemima gets L.I. teen tossed from school.  Here is the article.  Very disturbing huh?  Like:

Fellow student defended the teen (and I quote):  "I don't think it's that racist," he said. "At one point in time, that might have been seen as racist but not now."

NY Daily News quotes:  "The Aunt Jemima character, owned by The Quaker Oats Co., has been the advertising icon for pancakes and syrup since the late 1890s. Many blacks consider the term 'Aunt Jemima' to be derogatory, with connotations of subservience to whites."

The MANChild Swagga corrects them: "The Aunt Jemima character, owned by The Quaker Oats Co., has been the advertising icon for pancakes and syrup since the late 1890s. Many blacks consider dressing in blackface to be derogatory, with connotations of subservience to whites."

Let's get it right people.

SMH.

Welcome Gerard "GNIUS" Clendenin II to the Team

Please join me as I welcome Gerard to the team.

About Gerard S. Clendenin II - Blog Contributer/Venturist

Gerard is a genuinely unique and humble individual. Born the eldest of four siblings in Harlem, NY and raised on the shores of south New Jersey, Gerard was primarily raised in a single family household and witnessed the struggles of a split family early on in life. Through great sacrifice and dedication, his mother prospered in the non-profit sector of business and held steadfast the nurturing values of guiding her family. Gerard attributes who he is today to these same values and principles. His faith, level of gratitude, and conscious awareness is what fuels that inner passion.

Gerard attended Rowan University (formerly Glassboro State College) and majored in Law/Justice. He holds a diverse background which includes mentoring at-risk youth, account management, real estate appraisal, and network marketing.

Gerard is happily married to Nicole Bankhead-Clendenin.  He looks forward to sharing his spirit of thought with you.

Gerard can be contacted via these outlets:
myspace.com/bronzefigure
GNIUS69@GMAIL.COM

------------------------------

As a valued reader, we would like to ask you to subscribe to stay connected to us.  By doing so, you will receive an email message as we deliver new content for you.  Subscribing is simple (please visit us here to subscribe) and allows us to remain relevant as thought leaders.  We thank you in advance for your help.

Microsoft's Vision for 2019

Presented at the 2009 Wharton Business Technology Conference by Microsoft's Business Division president Stephen Elop, check out the future:

My impression?  Well, these futuristic enhancements look fancy, cool, crazy... all that, but I would be interested to know what role technology will play in addressing our real world issues.  In other words, I would love to be able to read the "virtual" morning newspaper as it digitally displays across my coffee table, but how will technology help to offset our needs for environmental protection?  Can we enable technologies that can feed the homeless?  

Wasteful energy policies, overuse of resources, water supply shortages, global climate change, and deforestation are just some of the issues experts say need to be addressed for humans to achieve sustainable living on this planet. By the year 2025, an additional 2.9 billion people will strain tightening water supplies, and the world's energy needs will go up 60 percent by 2030, according to the United Nations.

Top 10 Emerging Environmental Technologies (according to LiveScience):

10.  Make Paper Obsolete

9.  Bury The Bad Stuff

8.  Let Plants and Microbes Clean Up After Us

7.  Plant Your Roof

6.  Harness Waves and Tides

5.  Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion

4.  Sun/Solar Development

3.  Create a Hydrogen Economy

2.  Desalination of Seawater

1.  Make Oil From Just About Anything

(More details on these emerging technologies can be found here)

Remembering Fela Kuti - African Music Legend

 Revolutionary music.  Afrobeat.  I recently thought about Nigerian superstar Fela Kuti, the 58-year-old father of Afrobeat, and one of the most significant musicians of the 20th century.  Unfortunately, little mention is made in the United States about the life of Fela, whose influence never fully reached American soil.  As we remember the enigmatic and charming styles of so many musicians, from Bob Marley to James Brown to Marvin Gaye, I can't help but to think about the influence Fela would have on our lives through his music and legacy. 

Fela Anikulaplo-Kuti was a Nigerian musician whose work established the Afro-beat genre of music. He lived and worked in London, Los Angeles and Nigeria, forming several different musical groups and uniting African people on an international scale.

As a spokesman for the Nigerian people, Fela became a revolutionary political influence, running for the presidency twice. Standing against the oppressive and corrupt Nigerian government resulted in beatings and imprisonment. After nearly two years he was released, and continued to tour through Europe and the US, spreading his revolutionary message through the acceptance of the Afrobeat genre. Fela passed away in 1997, and his life and work is now being celebrated by Knitting Factory Records in a reissue series this year.