Dental health & drugs

[Grog]

Really...ingesting lots of cough medicine would cause similar...teeth problems??

The stuff in cold remedies (pseudoephedrine and I think also dextromethorphan, but I'm not sure) used to be on the international list of doping products. It is no longer the case, but the drug keeps its potential as a stimulant. It's an ingredient used in the making of methamphetamine. I think it's used by many youth who play hockey, among others.

You'd have to abuse your cough medicine quite a bit before your teeth start falling off, I think.

Just because it's sold without a prescription doesn't mean that it doesn't have side effects. One can overdose on aspirin, tylenol or ibuprophen at doses which are not as high as you'd think.

My favourite story is about grapefruit. I really dislike grapefruit. But some people have one a day, or more. Interestingly, when consumed in great quantities, grapefruit interacts with a lot of other drugs, with adverse effects. I think it can also curb down the effect of birth control pills. I'm really glad I dislike grapefruit.

[ASammy1]

I had very bad asthma as a child and as a result of the medication I was on, the enamel of my teeth are now weakened. I am prone to broken teeth much more than others my age (30).

[Tuckervill]

Meth is a problem everywhere, even in my little town. (It seems especially bad in some small towns in some states.) I found a homemade crack pipe thrown over the fence into my back yard once. It was made out of a plastic water bottle, chewing gum and a straw. I had police officers on my block for something I think was unrelated, and I told them about it. They asked to see it, and I dug it out of the trash and handed it across the fence. They acted like I was handing them a poisonous snake! Sheesh.

I really hate that in order to get a medicine for my husband's colds we have to give a driver's license and "register", for one little measly box of pills. And not just once--every single time you buy something in our state, no matter what store, they have to check your id and fill out information. I just don't take the medicine--I'm never that sick, but my husband needs it sometimes.

Why is meth called P in New Zealand? What does the P stand for?

Karen

[crazycanuck]

I guess since P is made from Pseudoephedrine, someone decided to call it that?

I'd have to do a search on the NZ Police or NZ Herald site to see...

http://www.police.govt.nz/service/drugs/meth.html

http://www.police.govt.nz/safety/meth.html

[Possegal]

My favourite story is about grapefruit. I really dislike grapefruit. But some people have one a day, or more. Interestingly, when consumed in great quantities, grapefruit interacts with a lot of other drugs, with adverse effects. I think it can also curb down the effect of birth control pills. I'm really glad I dislike grapefruit.

Actually you don't have to eat a lot of grapefruit. Grapefruit is a cytochrome P450 (CYP3A4) inhibitor. If a drug is metabolized by CYP3A4 enzymes, then the drug won't be metabolized as quickly if you are drinking or eating grapefruit and you run the risk of too high a blood level of the drug. We usually tell people NO grapefruit if the drug is one that will be affected by inhibition of CYP3A4. My sister is currently on one such drug.