Tag Archives: Medication

Inflammatory Bowel Disease & Coronavirus: Are You At Risk?

In this webinar with Dr. Chutkan, you will learn about the concerns and considerations for those with inflammatory bowel disease during the coronavirus pandemic, including whether or not you are categorized as high risk, what your medication regimen might mean for your infection risk assessment, and how best to stay healthy and protect yourself.

Some Medications May Increase COVID-19 Risk

Certain medications could make you more susceptible to contracting COVID-19 and could worsen infection. NSAIDs: You may have already heard that non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (such as ibuprofen and aspirin used to reduce pain, fever, and inflammation) may aggravate coronavirus infection. Because these drugs may affect the immune response, they can potentially elongate the infection time […]

Lifestyle Alterations Before Meds – Here’s Why

If you’ve read our newsletter in the past, you’re familiar with our motto of lifestyle interventions first and foremost, and medications as a last resort for treating physical ailments. But even we were shocked to find out that older individuals, on average, are on 15 prescription medications each year. A recent New York Times article […]

PPIs Increase Viral Infection Risk In Winter

Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs – acid blocking medications prescribed for reflux and GERD) are linked to increased rates of acute gastroenteritis in the winter months when enteric viruses are at their peak. In a cohort matched study containing 233,596 patients receiving proton pump therapy and 626,887 not receiving the therapy, researchers found that the PPI […]

Medications & Weight Gain Linked

Could your medication be the cause of your weight gain or inability to lose weight? A recent study presented at the United European Gastroenterology week this year found that commonly prescribed medications significantly alter the gut microbiome, increasing the risk of infection, weight gain, obesity, and a host of other diseases and conditions related to […]

An Alternative Treatment For Crohn’s

Annette is a patient born in Argentina who I saw in consultation for Crohn’s disease. Like most people from that part of the world, she received the bacillus Calmette–Guérin, or BCG, vaccine against tuberculosis as a child. Since the vaccine is prepared from a strain of live tuberculosis that has lost its virulence in humans, […]

Antibiotics May Disrupt Flu Vaccine Success Study Finds

Antibiotics disrupt flu vaccine success. A study published this fall found that in those who hadn’t had the flu shot or the flu in the last three years, receiving antibiotics just before the flu shot made it less effective. Cell  Takeaway: This is the first human study of its kind, and illustrates the key role […]

Common Medication Increases Risk Of Infection In Infants

Proton pump inhibitor (PPI) use in infants increases risk of infection in certain populations. PPI’s (as well as other acid blocking drugs) are commonly prescribed to infants who suffer from gastrointestinal upset and reflux. A recent study found a significantly increased rate of infection in infants who take PPIs and have regular CYP2C19 gene function […]

Antibiotics Tied To Colon Cancer

Oral antibiotics are tied to colorectal cancer (CRC). Researchers matched over 28,000 patients with CRC found in the Clinical Practice Research Datalink database with controls. Results showed that CRC risk depends on antibiotic type and location in the colon, but overall, CRC risk was dose dependent with any antibiotic use. Antibiotics with anti-anaerobic activity, which […]