Personal Injury Archive

5 (Other) Times You Shouldn’t Use Denture Cream

July 28th, 2009. By AbiK

There are certainly reasons why a denture-wearer would want to use a denture cream, such as Fixodent or PoliGrip—and undoubtedly self-assuredness is the biggest reason of all, particularly with younger denture wearers who may be even more self-conscious about wearing them. There are, however, times when it’s probably best to put that tube of denture cream down. The biggest of these reasons is, of course, the recent reports connecting longer-term use of denture cream with zinc build-up (ie, zinc poisoning) that leads to neurological damage.

In case you hadn’t been aware of the above risk, the symptoms of zinc poisoning include weakness in the hands, arms and legs, poor balance, lack of coordination, numbness, tingling, pain and a burning sensation.

But, webmd.com points out 5 other instances when you shouldn’t use denture cream: Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: denture cream
Posted in Personal Injury | 4 Comments »

Reglan, Tardive Dyskinesia and Marijuana

July 27th, 2009. By AbiK

A number of years ago, these three—Reglan, Tardive Dyskinesia and Marijuana—probably would not have been sitting in a headline together. But with the recent FDA-imposed black box warning for Reglan—the one that states the drug can bring on potentially chronic and debilitating neurological side effects (translation: tardive dyskinesia), Reglan’s been sitting side-by-side more often in text than GERD or “acid-reflux” patients would like.

The disturbing thing about Tardive Dyskinesia—aside from the fact that it’s a potential side effect of something used to treat a condition that’s seemingly rather commonplace—is that any resource you go to will tell you there is no treatment for it. That’s right: no treatment. And it can be completely debilitating—there are no shortage of videos on youtube.com to give you an impression of how challenging the condition must be to live with. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Reglan, Tardive Dyskinesia
Posted in Drugs/Medical, Personal Injury | No Comments »

7 Things you didn’t know about Dentures

July 27th, 2009. By AbiK

With all the news lately about denture creams like Fixodent and Poligrip being linked to neurological disorders as a result of their potential to contribute to zinc build-up and, ultimately, zinc poisoning, it got me thinking about dentures—and how little I know about them. Also, I recently found out my mother-in-law wears them (yes, after 15 years, I had no clue, dispelling the myth that they’re “soooo obvious”). So I wanted to learn more. Here, some fascinating and fun facts about dentures… 

1. Wonder who wears dentures? Wonder no more. According to orawave.com, the following shows the percent of American denture-wearers by age group:

35 – 44             16%

45 – 54             29%

55 – 64             51%

65 – 74             57%

Most interesting though is that dentures are not only for the over-50 set: the Orawave site also shows that 3% of Americans ages 18 – 34 wear dentures. Basing that on 2000 census figures, that’s close to 2 million “younger” people who wear dentures. Given their young age, they might be more self-conscious about wearing them and, therefore, might rely more heavily on denture cream. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: denture cream
Posted in Personal Injury | No Comments »

Why exactly is Oral Sodium Phosphate so bad?

July 23rd, 2009. By AbiK

After following the OSP (oral sodium phosphate) story—where the FDA required a black box warning for colonoscopy prep solutions containing OSP, such as Osmo-Prep and Visicol, as they were found to potentially increase the risk of kidney failure, I started to wonder just what the heck OSP does when it’s in your system. 

Here’s what it does. According to a “Dear Mayo Clinic” column answered by Dr. Stephen B. Erickson of the Mayo Clinic’s Nephrology department (mayoclinic.org, 4/15/07),

“The problem occurs when phosphates, which should pass through the kidneys, collect there instead. As a result, areas of the kidneys become calcified—in effect, “turn to stone.” This can damage the kidneys in two ways: by clogging some of the organ’s ducts, and by disabling some kidney tissue, which is essential for filtering out toxins from the blood. Both kinds of damage are permanent.

While this damage is said to occur “rarely,” that’s because only the worst cases present symptoms. What concerns me is that we may be recognizing just the “tip of the iceberg”.” Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Oral Sodium Phosphate, OSP
Posted in Drugs/Medical, Personal Injury | 3 Comments »

An Internet Community for Avelox Sufferers

July 21st, 2009. By LucyC

Have you suffered an adverse event such as tendon rupture, from taking Avelox? Or any other of the myriad of side effects it’s associated with? If so, you may already be aware of the online community that exists to support people who have suffered or are still suffering from flouroquinolone adverse events.

Sifting through the information available on the internet about Avelox was an educational experience for me. I had no idea this community existed. And it seems as if it’s necessary. While there have been reports of tendon ruptures associated with the drug, it’s not exactly mainstream news. Nevertheless, it seems like pretty serious stuff.

For example, on the website fqvictims.org, several people have posted information about their experience with Avelox adverse events. One man described his problems this way, “Severe pain from left hip through left foot, left leg from mid-calf to foot reddened, severe burning pain in tendons, muscle spasms, depersonalization, anxiety, panic, increasingly severe CNS symptoms with floaters in my eyes which are very dense and almost curtain-like along with anxiety and insomnia which requires three 3 mg melatonin at bedtime, severe photophobia.” Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Avelox, Tendon Rupture
Posted in Drugs/Medical, Personal Injury | 2 Comments »