In May, the makers of Vagisil, the popular over-the-counter cream for vaginal itching and irritation, launched Preventeza, their own version of the emergency contraceptive pill (ECP). This is a good thing: with more options available from online and local retailers, emergency contraception becomes more accessible and more people can prevent unplanned pregnancies. We’ll walk you…

It may sound far-fetched, but a vaccine to prevent HIV is in the works and already being studied in humans. For the past 30 years, progress has slowly been made towards developing an effective HIV vaccine, but unfortunately, experiments have ultimately failed. This new vaccine seems to be giving researchers renewed hope. Recently, scientists have…

Have you noticed that your allergy medicines don’t work as well as they used to? You’re not alone. According to a national survey, 37% of allergy sufferers change their nasal allergy medicine at least once every few years because they’re not effective enough. Reviews of allergy medicines on Iodine.com support this phenomenon. Someone who recently…

Trulicity, Victoza, and Bydureon all belong to a newer class of non-insulin diabetes medications known as GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) receptor agonists that improve blood sugar control and may lead to weight loss. They were each approved by the FDA in the last decade, and increase how much insulin the pancreas makes in response to high…

It’s summer, which means warm weather, days at the beach, and poison ivy. Every summer, people swing by the pharmacy with questions about how to get rid of their itchy rash. If you do happen to come into contact with poison ivy this summer you may find the following tips particularly helpful: The earlier you realize…

Vickie is a self-employed realtor in Titusville, Florida – and she doesn’t have health insurance. What she does have are three conditions that require long-term medications. With irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), rosacea, and upper esophageal issues, she’s been shopping around for lower drug prices the last 10 years by calling drugstores to ask for prices….

Many diabetics are tasked with checking their blood sugar multiple times a day, a burden that can be costly and painful. Recently, with the evolution of Continuous Glucose Monitors (CGM), diabetes management has gotten easier as patients can instantly check their blood sugar throughout the day. And now, care may get even easier with the…

After a blood test, it’s easy to worry about the results. Will they be normal? What problems will they reveal? One of the most common reasons your primary care doctor might call you for an abnormal lab result is high creatinine levels. This usually reflects an impaired kidney function — but not always. If serum…

Trained as a cardiologist, Dr. Eric Topol, director of the Scripps Translational Science Institute, hasn’t shied away from pushing his peers to do better — from being among the first physicians to champion the recall of Vioxx a decade ago, to his embrace of genetics and mobile technologies in his 2012 book, The Creative Destruction of…

Blockbuster erectile dysfunction drug Viagra (sildenafil) went generic in 2017, and since then, fills for generic sildenafil have surged — up 18% in June alone. The GoodRx Index also showed the following drug trends in June: Fills for allergy medications are dropping off. Actimmune continues to be the most expensive drug in the US. This…