FDA Prohibits Drug Importation from Ranbaxy’s Plant in Mohali, India

Press Announcements > FDA prohibits manufacture of FDA-regulated drugs from Ranbaxy’s Mohali, India, plant and issues import alert:

"The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today issued an import alert under which U.S. officials may detain at the U.S. border drug products manufactured at Ranbaxy Laboratories, Ltd.’s facility in Mohali, India. The firm will remain on the import alert until the company complies with U.S. drug manufacturing requirements, known as current good manufacturing practices (CGMP)."

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FDA Warns of CT Scan Radiation Overdoses

This KWTX news article reports a hospital's problem with CT brain scan radiation overexposure, FDA Warns Hospitals About CT Brain Scan Radiation. The excessive dose problem was identified when a patient reported hair loss after a scan. The end result, the FDA has posted a notification, Safety Investigation of CT Brain Perfusion Scans: Initial Notification. 

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FDA Warns - Avoid Burning - MRI and Drug Patch Interaction

Updated November 22, 2022

The original links broke.

You can still read about the same topic here:

• FDA advisory: Transdermal drug patches with metallic backings may cause burns during MRI - Healio
• What Patients Should Know Before Having an MRI Exam - FDA.gov

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If you wear drug patches, watch out! You don't want to get burned. If you wear them into an MRI machine, the patch could burn you, warns the FDA in their alert, FDA Warns About Risk of Wearing Medicated Patches During MRIs.

FDA recommends that patients who use medicated patches (including nicotine patches) do the following:

• Tell the doctor referring you for an MRI scan that you are using a patch and why you are using it (such as, for pain, smoking cessation, hormones)
• Ask your doctor for guidance about removing and disposing of the patch before having an MRI scan and replacing it after the procedure.
• Tell the MRI facility that you are using a patch. You should do this when making your appointment and during the health history questions you are asked when you arrive for your appointment.

Additional Info by the FDA & others: FDA Public Health Advisory Risk of Burns during MRI Scans from Transdermal Drug Patches with Metallic Backings Transdermal Drug Patches with Metallic Backings Guidelines for Screening Patients For MR Procedures and Individuals for the MR Environment, Institute for Magnetic Resonance Safety, Education, and Research, www.imrser.org, 2009 

Related Posts: Are You Safe In An MRI Machine? 

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Are You Safe In An MRI Machine?

The statistics make me nervous. Your personal safety might be at risk, reports this excellent Health Care Blog post, The MRI Safety Gap. If you're headed for an MRI, you'll want to bone-up on the safety risks. It seems that more accidents and harm are happening in the MRI suite. The blog post tells the full story of flying missiles, getting burned, and more. If you're one of approximately 30 million folks (per year) getting an MRI, read the post.

For more detailed information:
JCAHO Sentinel Event Alert: Preventing accidents and injuries in the MRI suite

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FDA Warning - Anesthetics On Skin Can Harm

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Updated October 6, 2022

The link in the original post broke.

You can still read about this topic here:

FDA Issues Public Health Advisory Alert on Skin Numbing Products - OH&S Online

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According to the FDA press release, FDA Alerts Public about Danger of Skin Numbing Products, popular topical anesthetics (that is, skin numbing drugs) can cause severe reactions when used improperly. The alert talks about serious and life-threatening risks associated with improper use of topical anesthetics available in over-the-counter (OTC) and prescription forms of these drugs. These skin-numbing products in cremes, ointments or gels contain anesthetic drugs such as lidocaine, tetracaine, benzocaine, and prilocaine that are used to desensitize nerve endings near the skin's surface. If used improperly, the drugs can be absorbed into the bloodstream and cause reactions such as irregular heartbeat, seizures, breathing difficulties, coma or even death. Here are some details you should read . . .

The FDA strongly advises consumers not to:

• make heavy application of topical anesthetic products over large areas of skin
• use formulations that are stronger or more concentrated than necessary
• apply these products to irritated or broken skin
• wrap the treated skin with plastic wrap or other dressings
• apply heat from a heating pad to skin treated with these products.

If a health professional recommends the use of a topical anesthetic, then:

• use a topical anesthetic that contains the lowest strength, and amount, of medication that will relieve the pain
• apply the topical anesthetic sparingly and only to the area where pain exists or is expected to occur
• do not apply the topical anesthetic to broken or irritated skin
• ask your healthcare professional what side effects are possible and how to lower the chance of having life-threatening side effects from anesthetic drugs
• be aware that wrapping or covering the skin treated with topical anesthetics with any type of material or dressing can increase the chance of serious side effects, as can applying heat to the treated area while the medication is still present

Did you learn anything new here? What are you going to do differently for yourself, or for your loved ones for safety's sake? 

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Check Out iGuard - Esp. If You Take Multiple Meds (free)

Updated April 10, 2024

The original post didn't age well.

The iGuard website is no longer available. It is undergoing several changes of hand.

The iGuard site became MediGuard, and now that site is moving to another location.

You might also be interested in:

MediGuard - on Wikipedia

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No, this isn't an Apple product or accessory. This is a free service (registration & usage are free) for folks taking medications, and offers extra benefit for those taking multiple medications, reports this BusinessWire release, One Million Americans Now Receive Personalized FDA Drug Safety Alerts Through iGuard.org. Read on for the quick highlights . . .

According to the news release, iGuard.org is different from other drug information services, because although patients today have access to an enormous set of tools for getting information about their health, iGuard.org is the only service that:

• helps patients identify which drugs pose the greatest risk using a personalized, color-coded, drug safety rating system
• detects potential interactions between drugs and diseases as well as interactions between drugs – recognizing that drug-disease interactions (e.g., Viagra and heart disease, birth control pills and smoking) are the highest cause of death and disability associated with medication use
• communicates emerging product recalls (which outnumber alerts by four to one) as well as safety notifications and FDA advisories
• avoids bombarding patients with irrelevant communications by ensuring that drug-specific messages are sent only to those users to whom they apply
• ensures that communications are actionable and easy to understand by having a pharmacist review and update FDA / drug company alerts for the consumer audience
• allows patients to have their doctor copied on their communications
• is funded by medical research, not by advertising, which helps improve medicines

If you're taking meds, shouldn't you be taking advantage of iGuard?

Related Posts:
Serious Drug Interaction Risks For Older Adults (video)
MedNotes - A New Online Drug List Mgmt Tool - And More! (free)
Drug and Alcohol Interactions - Have things changed?
Deadly Overdose At Home - Especially alcohol and opioid painkillers

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iBreath - A Breathalyzer For Your iPod or iPhone

Way cool! Now you can connect an alcohol breathalyzer to your iPod or iPhone, reports this LA Times news article, "Blow into the iBreath and your iPod plays a blood-alcohol alert. Measure your blood alcohol level, and avoid driving while you're drunk. For about $80, you buy the iBreath from David Steele.com. How would you use the iBreath?

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MedNotes - A New Online Drug List Mgmt Tool - And More! (free)

Updated April 16, 2019

Some of the links broke in the original post below.

The MedNotes (aka My Med List) feature link still works.

You might also be interested in the smartphone app that includes the My Med List functionality:
Drugs.com Medication Guide


 - - -  Original Post Follows Below  - - -

Check this out! It's a new and interesting twist in the very competitive arena of personal health care records, and drug profile, safety, information, alerts, interactions, and more. The online offerings just keep getting more robust, don't you think?! Drugs.com just unveiled its MedNotes feature, and here's what their press release, "Drugs.com Unveils the Next Generation Medication Safety Tool to Help Consumers Avoid Dangerous Drug Interactions," says about it:

• Add your medications to instantly assemble relevant medical information in a simple, easy to read personalized format.
• Gain immediate access to in-depth consumer information, drug comparisons, historical news, FDA alerts, drug interactions, plus food, allergy and medical condition interactions.
• Choose to be notified when new FDA alerts are issued and when any new drugs become available for any of your existing medical conditions.
• Create personal, printable health and medication records, including physician and emergency contacts, allergies and existing medical conditions.
• Use MedNotes to manage medications profiles for yourself and your family.

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Caution - Some Dietary Supplements Contain Hidden Drugs

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Updated November 19, 2020

Links broke in the original post.

You might also like to read:

Feature: Revealing the hidden dangers of dietary supplements - ScienceMag

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Things aren't always what they seem to be. The same goes for some dietary supplements. An estimated 150 million Americans use dietary supplements, ranging from multivitamins to herbal remedies to specialized mineral blends. So folks need to be careful about what they buy and who they buy it from, reports this Atlanta Journal Constitution article, "Dietary pills laced with drugs - After-market scrutiny: FDA warns about Blue Steel, other supplements that do not have to prove their safety." The government estimates that 30,000 to 40,000 supplement products are being sold by all sorts of companies, some large and reputable, others operating out of a garage or basement. This poses a challenge because regulators are spread too thin, and can only conduct occasional spot checks. Here are some resources that you can reference to try and protect yourself . . . Dietary pills laced with drugs - After-market scrutiny: FDA warns about Blue Steel, other supplements that do not have to prove their safety (audio) 

Resources: 

FDA: Recalls & Safety Alerts for dietary supplements and other products 

FDA: Risks of buying fake erectile dysfunction products on the Internet 

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Halloween Safety Alert From The US Product Safety Commission - Costumes, etc.

Updated October 14, 2021

The original link broke.

You might also be interested in:

HALLOWEEN SAFETY TIPS - SafeKids.org

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It's never too late to brush-up on the latest tips on Halloween safety. The US Product Safety Commission publishes this excellent collection of safety tips, "Halloween Safety: Safety Alert." It covers things like, costumes, pedestrian safety, and how to choose safe houses to visit. 

Previous posts: 

The Health, Drug, Prescription, and GMP Supersite: Halloween Costume Flame Retardants - Caution (video) 

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Ouch! Black Box, Black Eye. Watch Out For These Antibotics.

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Updated March 19, 2022

The original link broke.

You can still read about the same topic here:

FDA Drug Safety Communication: FDA updates warnings for oral and injectable fluoroquinolone antibiotics due to disabling side effects - FDA.gov

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Increased risk of tendinitis and tendon rupture - It's tough to be a drug company, and it's tough to be a patient taking medications. The FDA just released this alert, Information for Health Professionals - Fluoroquinolone Antimicrobial Drugs. So, if you're taking any of the following: Cipro, Proquin, Factive, Levaquin, Avelox, Noroxin, Floxin, or their myriad generically named brethren, then you should read the FDA release. This class of drugs just earned a black box warning, which means patients and prescribers should pay more attention to this unwanted effect. It's worth repeating the main thrust of the alert, "Fluoroquinolones are associated with an increased risk of tendinitis and tendon rupture. This risk is further increased in those over age 60, in kidney, heart, and lung transplant recipients, and with use of concomitant steroid therapy. Physicians should advise patients, at the first sign of tendon pain, swelling, or inflammation, to stop taking the fluoroquinolone, to avoid exercise and use of the affected area, and to promptly contact their doctor about changing to a non-fluoroquinolone antimicrobial drug." 

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