Asthma Drugs That Can Kill You

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http://www.mercola.com/2005/dec/6/asthma_drugs_that_can_kill_you.htm

 

 

Asthma Drugs That Can Kill You

 

 

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has asked the manufacturers of

three popular asthma medications to add new warnings to their labels,

indicating that the drugs could increase the chances of severe asthma

episodes that can result in death.

 

Advair, Serevent, and Foradil

 

The warnings would be placed on the bronchodilator medicines Advair

and Serevent, made by GlaxoSmithKline, and Foradil, which is made by

Novartis AG. Patients use them on a daily basis to relax bronchial

muscles and prevent asthma attacks.

 

Only if All Else Fails

 

In a public health warning issued on its Web site, the FDA said that

these drugs, and others in the same class, which are collectively

known as long-acting beta 2-adrenergic agonists (LABAs), should only

be used if other medical treatments have failed.

 

Best-Selling Drug

 

Advair is GlaxoSmithKline's biggest-selling drug, and the company's

asthma drugs account for about 15 percent of their total sales. The

company disagreed with the FDA's proposed labeling changes, arguing

that they were inconsistent with established treatment guidelines.

 

Serevent and Advair already have a " black box " warning as a result of

a study showing that Serevent patients had a higher risk of

life-threatening asthma attacks and deaths.

 

News November 19, 2005

 

Guardian Unlimited November 22, 2005

 

Dr. Mercola's Comment:

 

Here we go again, yet more drugs that have been used for quite a while

for a common problem, and now we find out they can kill you. It is no

surprise if you are familiar with natural medicine, as this is

precisely what you would expect if you use potentially toxic Band-Aids

that in no way, shape or form treat the underlying cause of the problem.

 

If you haven't already done so, you will want to read my special

Thanksgiving message in which I discuss how you can participate in a

program that will start to put an end to this nonsense.

 

But getting back to the current asthma drug issue, in October, Public

Citizen alerted the public about GlaxoSmithKline presenting false

safety information to the FDA about Serevent. The FDA has finally

taken action, at least to some extent.

 

It's no surprise that GlaxoSmithKline strongly objected to the

warning: The company lost 4 percent of its net value recently on the

stock market. However, Morgan Stanley analysts remained optimistic,

arguing many U.S. physicians may disregard the warnings " given the

positive Advair experience. " This is exactly why warnings of this

nature seldom do any good.

 

If you're looking to avoid positively deadly experiences with any

potentially toxic asthma drug, here are some safer, more natural

treatments worth considering:

 

* Retool your diet based on your body's unique metabolic type.

* Reduce, with the plan of avoiding, sugar, most grains, fruit

juices and pasteurized dairy products.

* Exercise. Amazingly, this simple and inexpensive recommendation

can have profound benefits in the treatment of asthma.

* Balance the ratio of omega-3 fats in your diet by taking a

high-quality fish or cod liver oil daily. For most living in the

northern hemisphere this is clearly the time of year when you will

want to be taking cod liver oil for its beneficial vitamin D, which

you are not likely receiving from the sun.

* A course of allergy skin tests (if you suffer from a more severe

form of asthma).

* Avoid ALL commercial milk products, as they are notorious for

making asthma worse. If you consume milk at all only use raw milk

products from grass-fed cows but even then be careful the raw milk is

not worsening the asthma.

* Consider using vitamin E.

 

Related Articles:

 

A Natural Treatment For Asthma

 

Antibiotics Linked to Asthma, Allergies

 

Tylenol May Cause Asthma