Wednesday, March 2, 2011

[Peckers_Pics] Twink Wars, PICS; Mar 3, 2011-Safe PICS For All Ages



Twink Wars, PICS; Mar 3, 2011 
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Health - Wellness - Exercise - Reflections:
Pain Medications: Could You Be Overdosing?
 
By Diane Wedner / March 01, 2011
 
When your back's aching, head's splitting and sinuses are stuffed, pain medications bring fast relief. But comfort can come at a high price: your life!

In high doses, one of our most-trusted, over-the-counter and prescription pain relievers -- acetaminophen (Tylenol) -- can kill you. Acetaminophen overdose is the top cause of liver failure among Americans.

We frequently seek relief in a dangerous cocktail of prescription pain relievers, over-the-counter headache remedies and cold medications.

But this seemingly harmless combo does damage to the pain -- and possibly your liver too.

About 60,000 people -- overdose on acetaminophen each year, according to the United States Acute Liver Failure Study Group (ALFSG). Some 390 of them require liver transplants, and 450 die from overdoses annually.

Add a martini to the mix, and you're tossing the dice -- with potentially deadly results.

"People take these drugs like candy," kidney specialist Mohammad Akmal, M.D., University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine, told the Medical Detective.It takes only two extra-strength (650 mg) pills four times a day to exceed the daily recommended dosage of 4,000 mg.

"We see people who've taken more than 6,000 mg -- even 15,000 mg -- of acetaminophen" in a day, says Robert Fontana, M.D., a professor of medicine and director of Liver Transplantation at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. "You can get into big trouble."

Compounding the problem: The popular pain reliever is an active ingredient in more than 200 over-the-counter products, including those typically associated with aspirin.

"People [think] over-the-counter medications are perfectly safe and you can take as much as you want," says Leigh Vinocur, M.D., an emergency room physician at University of Maryland School of Medicine. "[That's because] so many prescription drugs are now over-the-counter. You have to remember, they're still drugs."

Acetaminophen is also in two of the most popular prescription narcotic pain pills, Vicodin and Percocet. Doctors prescribe about $11 billion of these drugs annually because they relieve pain while minimizing the addictive side effects of hydrocodone, oxycodone and other narcotics.

"It's hard to keep track of all the different ingredients in drugs we take," says Ryan Stanton, M.D., an emergency medicine physician and medical director at University of Kentucky Good Samaritan Hospital in Lexington, Ky.

In a spot check of local drugstore shelves, the Medical Detective found acetaminophen in 24 cold and allergy products, 23 pain relievers and 6 children's formulas. Doses ranged from 325 to 650 mg in the adult products.

But even label readers can get stumped. Acetaminophen goes by other names -- paracetamol or N-acetyl-p-animophenol (APAP), for example. APAP? Sounds like the noise that insurance duck makes.
Another little-known fact: About 20% of people -- especially those who drink alcohol or have liver disease -- can overdose on less than the recommended amount because they're more sensitive to the drug.

The FDA Steps In
To prevent overuse, the FDA gave drug makers until early 2014 to lower the dose of acetaminophen in prescription medications to 325 mg or less. Right now, one tablet of hydrocodone products can contain up to 750 mg.

The agency also will require "black-box" warnings -- its strongest -- on prescription bottle labels.

No need to panic. Lower doses of acetaminophen will still relieve your agony, doctors say.

"[Combination] prescription drugs are already pretty potent," according to Fontana. "If acetaminophen is reduced from 750 to 325 mg, you won't lose much benefit."

But new rules don't apply to dozens of over-the-counter drugs containing acetaminophen. A 2009 FDA advisory panel called for reducing doses in these products too, but its recommendations weren't mandated because OTC drugs are subject to a more complex regulatory process than prescription meds.

Symptoms of Acetaminophen Overdose
Liver poisoning has three stages. In the first 12-24 hours after taking the drug, you'll experience flu-like symptoms -- sweating, diarrhea, appetite loss and nausea, abdominal pain and fatigue. You're on intimate terms with the toilet and "feel plain awful," Fontana says.

This is when you should head to an emergency room. Note the amount of acetaminophen taken and when. If you don't remember, doctors can sometimes determine that with a blood test.In hours 24-48, you may feel better because intestinal symptoms have passed and liver shutdown is in a quiet, but deadly, phase.

After 48-72 hours, your organ is severely injured, causing bleeding and sometimes coma.

Treating Painkiller Overdoses
Help is available if you take action early. Doctors will typically detoxify the liver with an amino acid called N-acetylcysteine (NAC), an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant. It's usually given intravenously within 16 hours of taking acetaminophen, and is most effective within 8 hours.

Dosage varies by patient, and "about 60%-70% are saved without a liver transplant," Fontana says.

But don't treat yourself at home, the Medical Detective warns. NAC sold in health food stores isn't regulated and doesn't have the potency or proper dosing you'd get in the hospital, doctors and pharmacists say.

Preventing an Overdose
Read drug labels, and do the math on dosages. Even if the over-the-counter drug is advertised for cough and cold, it may include acetaminophen. Same goes for allergy, headache, sinus, sore throat and upset-stomach products.

Check dosages, especially if you're taking more than one medication. Watch for the fancy names for acetaminophen: "APAP," "paracetamol" and "N-acetyl-p-animophenol." And don't take acetaminophen for longer than 10 days, unless your doctor says it's OK.

Give your doctors a list of all your medications. Women often see many specialists -- one for migraine relief, another for arthritis pain and a third for PMS. To avoid an accidental overdose, make sure all your doctors know every drug you're taking -- even OTC remedies and supplements.

Don't drink when taking acetaminophen. More than three alcoholic beverages taken with even correct doses of acetaminophen may damage the liver or shut it down entirely, doctors warn.

Be careful with kids' medications. Each year, more than 71,000 children ages 18 and younger end up in emergency rooms with unintentional overdoses of prescription and over-the-counter drugs, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"I see parents come into the emergency room after giving their children three different kids' preparations, all with [acetaminophen]," Vinocur says. "They're poisoning them."

To avoid accidental overdoses:

•Be sure your child really needs the medication. "Cold remedies just treat symptoms; they don't cure the cold," Vinocur says. "Do your kids really need the drug?"

•Accurately measure dosage. Use a measuring spoon or dropper, not flatware, when giving children liquid medication. Spoon sizes vary, and kids can get too high a dose.

•Don't give adult medications to children. "You can't just give kids a smaller dose than adults take," says Los Angeles pharmacist Ken Ross. Their systems can't handle it.

Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs
So much for acetaminophen. What about other popular painkillers like nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) – aspirin, ibuprofen and naproxen? Your liver's safe, but they have other dire side effects.

Taken in high doses for prolonged periods, NSAIDs can cause ulcers and gastric bleeding or put holes in the stomach or intestine. They may also raise blood pressure and damage kidneys.

Help Is on the Way
A new non-acetaminophen pain medication is currently in development, the Medical Detective has learned.

Called Peripheral Neuron 1, or PN1, it blocks transmission of pain signals from sensory nerves and doesn't cause the drowsiness or addiction of narcotics, according to researchers at the State University of New York at Stony Brook Medical School. The jury's still out on how it can affect the liver.

This topical ointment, being tested on painful conditions like shingles, may reach the market in a couple of years, says Stony Brook Professor Simon Halegoua, Ph.D., a developer of PN1. If clinical trials are successful, a prescription pill version will be available in about 5 years.

Until then, here's the Medical Detective parting words on pain relief: everything in moderation.
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And Now, Our War of the Fittest!

This group is called "Peckers Pics."  The English -  slang definition of "pecker" is to pluck at the truth. Therefore, we peck at items such as Gay Men's Health, Male Fitness, Gay (LGBT) Politics & Issues.  In this section you may peck at each photo in order to decide the winner of the "war of the fittest!"  Whereas, you should select the guy that may inspire you to exercise and "get fit!"   Warning: This may stoke you!
 
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Phuket Pride - The Grand Parade from Aquarius truck; Feb 28, 2011
Stoked?
Phuket Pride - The Grand Parade from Aquarius truck; Feb 28, 2011
Gay Group Joins Fight Against Wal-Mart
By ELIZABETH A. HARRIS / Mar 2, 2011 / The New York Times

As Wal-Mart strives to open its first store in New York City, it has attracted a long list of opponents, from elected officials to labor leaders to small business people.

On Wednesday, another group took up the cause: a prominent gay rights group.

The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, a gay advocacy group based in Washington, said Wal-Mart had a poor record when it came to gay employees.

"With the expansion of Wal-Mart stores comes the expansion of antiquated employment policies," the task force said in a statement, "that provide little to no protections for, and at times even hostility toward, their L.G.B.T. employees."

The task force criticized Wal-Mart for denying employee benefits to same-sex partners and for failing to prohibit discrimination based on gender identity. By comparison, the group said two other chain stores with a strong presence in New York, Costco and Walgreens, did much better.

"It may be a local debate for New York City, but Wal-Mart is the largest private employer in the country," said Rea Carey, the executive director of the task force. "To have Wal-Mart as a substantial employer there, and an employer that lacks these basic protections, then a lot of people who need work, who seek work, simply won't feel comfortable."

Stuart Appelbaum, the president of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, the organization that recruited the task force to join the fight against Wal-Mart's setting up shop in New York, said other gay advocacy groups had also criticized the giant retailer's record on gay rights. One of those is the Stonewall Democratic Club of New York City.

Wal-Mart, however, rejects the argument that it is not welcoming to gay employees, citing its Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Associate Resource Group (pdf) as a place where employees can build a sense of community.

"Diversity and inclusion are enduring values that are fundamental to our culture," said Steven Restivo, a Wal-Mart spokesman, "which includes a focus on having respect for our colleagues and customers."

The City Council speaker, Christine C. Quinn, also criticized Wal-Mart for its record on this gay issues.

"This lack of inclusion in its diversity policies is the antithesis of what we in N.Y.C. want and expect from our corporate partners," she said in a statement. "These are yet two more reasons why Wal-Mart is a poor fit to do business in N.Y.C."
"Every gay and lesbian person who has been lucky enough to survive the turmoil of growing up is a survivor. Survivors always have an obligation to those who will face the same challenges."
....Jake
 
 
Important Notice: Our ObamaBiden2008 Group works hand -in - hand with Peckers PICS.  To prevent duplication of articles and questions, all members of this group MUST Join ObamaBiden2008. It is unfair for members that belong to both groups to hear members of just Peckers PICS (only) to make statements when the ObamaBiden2008 has covered such topics.  President Obama has dismissed the constitutionality of DOMA and stated he will no longer defend it this aspect of it.  However, the Republican House shall have the legal right to fight it.   A few members of this group do not read such articles that I placed in this group - and were further discussed in the ObamaBiden2008 . Yet, such members state the opposite about our president.  Therefore, members must join ObamaBiden2008 within the next 5 days, or I shall go throuigh our member list and remove any member that does not belong to both groups. This shall clear up communications and confusion.  If you send a letter of protest, than you are being apathetic, and shall be banned.  The LGBT cause is too important and beyond 1 person's need to just look at pictures. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 



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"Every gay and lesbian person who has been lucky enough to survive the turmoil of growing up is a survivor. Survivors always have an obligation to those who will face the same challenges."

...Jake (Moderator)



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