Author Archives: admin
World Hepatitis Day – Friday July 28th
This Friday July 28th is World Hepatitis Day. The World Health Organization’s Global Strategy on viral hepatitis is to eliminate hepatitis B and C by 2030. Governments from 194 countries, adopted this goal at the 69th World Health Assembly meeting … Continue reading
What is International Self Care Day?
This Monday July 24th is International Self-Care Day. This annual day was established in 2011 by the International Self-Care Foundation to encourage people to be aware of the daily choices they make in promoting a healthy lifestyle. When you choose to wear … Continue reading
Can Arthritis Affect Intimacy?
As a pharmacist specializing in both arthritis and menopause, I am often asked about changes in libido with aging and if arthritis can affect this. There is a natural lowering of libido with age as blood flow to the genital … Continue reading
Five Key Treatment Recommendations for IBD Patients
This is a list of DON’TS….. key questions developed by Dr Geoffrey Nguyen, a Gastroenteritis at Mount Sinai in Toronto and Choosing Wisely Canada, a national healthcare campaign. A specialized group of physicians and patients worked on these questions. Don’t … Continue reading
Why is adherence important?
One definition of adherence is: attachment or commitment to a person, cause, or belief. When talking about medication, adherence refers to how closely a patient follows the treatment plan that was agreed upon between physician and patient. At the pharmacy … Continue reading
Benefits of Exercise for Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) Patients
For most people, regular exercise will improve your overall health. Patients with IBD are no exception and may see additional benefits outside their GI system. Ankylosing Spondylitis, an inflammatory arthritis, has been associated with IBD and can be improved with … Continue reading
Understanding Clostridium Difficile (C. Diff)
In recent years, there has been an increase in Clostridium Difficile (commonly known as C. Diff) which is a bacteria causing debilitating diarrhea. C. Diff has various strains which are often resistant to antibiotics, which makes the infection difficult to treat. Surprisingly, … Continue reading
New Methotrexate Injection Available
In some of our recent blogs we discussed ways to manage adverse effects of methotrexate. One strategy to reduce potential nausea and increase the absorption of methotrexate is to give it by injection rather than swallowed tablets. The most common … Continue reading
Food Additives and Your Health
I have touched on additives in food that may be impacting your health in the past and this week I will be elaborating on the topic. There are many different products that companies may add to food in order to modify the … Continue reading
Managing Methotrexate Adverse Effects (Part 3)
In our last two blogs we discussed the importance of folic acid supplementation while on methotrexate, and the use of dextromethorphan (DM) to reduce the potential “sick day” phenomenon which some people experience the day after taking methotrexate. In this blog, … Continue reading
