Join us for a special in-store visit from Naturopathic Doctor Joyce Johnson on Wednesday May 15th at our Park Royal location in West Vancouver for a Healthy Living Seminar sponsored by Webber Naturals.
Space is very limited for this rare event. Attendees will each receive a $25 coupon, free samples during the event and be entered to win a gift basket valued at $75. Sign-ups are available through the Park Royal London Drugs Pharmacy at 1 (604) 926-9616.
To reinforce the importance of getting vaccinated and to help increase immunization rates, London Drugs has partnered with I Boost Immunity (IBI) as part of National Immunization Awareness Week (NIAW), which runs April 20 -27, 2019. For every vaccination administered this week at any London Drugs pharmacies in BC, a second lifesaving vaccine will be donated to UNICEF Canada through I Boost Immunity to immunize a child in another country.
“By getting vaccinated at London Drugs, British Columbians can play an active role in helping to protect tens of thousands of the world’s most vulnerable children from vaccine-preventable diseases,” says Shannon Turner, Executive Director of the Public Health Association of BC.
About 100 years ago, infectious diseases were the leading cause of death worldwide. Today, in Canada, those diseases now cause less than 5 per cent of all deaths, thanks largely to immunization programs in all provinces and territories.
With that said, vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles have been making a resurgence in recent months and London Drugs pharmacists are hoping to reinforce the importance and success of immunizations during National Immunization Awareness Week, which also coincides with Vaccination Week in the Americas and World Immunization Week.
Most parents of young children know that the best way to protect their kids is to have them vaccinated on schedule but it is important for adults to review their vaccination history to see if any immunizations are required.
“Even if you received vaccines as a child, the protection provided by some vaccines can wear off over time and may need to be updated. As you age, you may also be at more risk for other diseases due to your health conditions and travel habits, so additional vaccines may be required,” Gianni Del Negro, a Pharmacist at London Drugs.
Vaccines for pneumonia, shingles, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, measles, mumps, and rubella are all available at London Drugs. Common travel vaccinations are also available at some pharmacies to prevent illnesses like hepatitis A and B, yellow fever, typhoid, and traveler’s diarrhea.
Patients can simply call the London Drugs pharmacy nearest them to book an appointment to have a vaccination administered. Appointments for Travel Immunization Clinics can also be booked online.
“Simply by getting vaccinated, you can make a global impact, providing life-saving vaccinations to children worldwide. At the same time, you are taking care of your own health needs and potentially saving the lives of people in your community as well,” adds Shannon Turner.
Every year in British Columbia, the Drug and Poison Information Centre receives 26,000 calls about poisoning, including almost 4,000 drug poisoning cases that require hospitalization, and approximately 500 of which are fatal. A quarter of these serious cases occur among adults aged 55 and over.
Many adults over the age of 55, especially those with chronic health conditions, have multiple prescriptions. Each new drug, vitamin, or over-the-counter product that’s added to the mix increases the risk of adverse side effects and medication interactions.
Taking multiple medications on time and not taking duplicate doses by mistake is an ongoing issue for this age group and a contributing factor to the high number of serious poisoning cases.
Throughout the month of April, Preventable, London Drugs, and Fraser Health Hospital Foundations are partnering to raise awareness about the importance of medication adherence to reduce preventable overdoses and dangerous side effects when some medications are mixed – including over-the-counter drugs.
As part of the campaign, patients can download or pick up a free card at participating London Drugs locations, which they can fill in with their current medications and anything else they are taking, including vitamins, minerals, and herbal products, and have it reviewed by a pharmacist.
Medication reviews and pharmacist consultations are safeguards designed to make sure that patients take all medications safely. They also help patients to understand the purpose and potential downsides of medications and to avoid serious drug side-effects.
“If you are unclear about how to take your prescription or over-the-counter medications or how supplements might interact with each other, don’t assume everything will be okay — ask your pharmacist or doctor,” says Dr. Ian Pike, spokesperson for Preventable. “Aging is a fact of life, but poisoning from medication use is not. Having an awareness of your medications and how certain drugs can interact with each other can prevent poisoning, even death.”
A recent poll conducted by Insights West on behalf of London Drugs found that one third (34%) of Canadians aged 55 or older are not taking their prescription medications properly. This includes one in five who admit that they make adjustments to prescription dosage, size, or frequency without consulting a healthcare professional. The same number (18%) say that they have trouble remembering when or if they have taken a medication.
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Changes to your vision are common as you get older. You may find yourself needing glasses to read the newspaper, or noticing that your vision gets blurry or your eyes feel dry. It’s a normal part of aging, but there are things you can do to detect and prevent age-related eye problems to ensure healthy vision well into your later years.
There are several diseases that can affect your eyes as you get older:
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is actually the leading cause of blindness in the industrialized world, as London Drugs Pharmacist Gianni Del Negro discussed in a recent Global News spot. Cells in our eyes naturally break down and create waste products, but in people with AMD the process to flush them out gets slowed down. Those waste products stay in the eye, causing blurred vision and eventually vision loss.
Cataracts are cloudy spots on the lens of the eye. Most cataracts are related to aging, and they can develop slowly over time so you may not notice during the early stages of the disease. Cataracts are the second leading cause of blindness in Canada, but they can be treated quite effectively with surgery.
Diabetic retinopathy is a complication of diabetes. It’s caused by damage to the small blood vessels connected to your retina, the light-sensitive membrane at the back of your eye. If you have diabetes, it’s very important to get a yearly dilated eye exam.
Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that affects the optic nerve. It most commonly occurs when pressure inside the eye is too high due to a backup of fluid, but it can also result from an injury or infection in the eye.
Dry eye is very common as we age. As we get older, our body may produce lower quality tears. Tears are distributed across the cornea every time we blink, protecting our eyes from the environment outside. When tear production is reduced, we lose that protective layer of liquid. Dry eye can feel like a stinging or scratchy feeling in the eye and can lead to blurred vision.
While there are many diseases that can affect your eye health as you age, most are preventable or treatable.
Yearly eye exams are key to prevention, even if you’re not experiencing vision problems. Some diseases like glaucoma or diabetic retinopathy can be spotted early and thus treated more quickly. In a dilated eye exam, your eye doctor will put drops in your eyes that cause your pupils to dilate so they can see through to your retina at the back of your eye. They may also use a puff of air to flatten your cornea to test your eye pressure.
You can reduce your risk of AMD by 50% by quitting smoking, controlling your blood pressure, and maintaining a healthy body weight. Your eyes are like the rest of your organs; your diet and exercise habits have an effect on them as well.
Protecting your eyes from the sun is essential. Wear sunglasses with UV protection. You can further reduce potential damage to your eyes by wearing a brimmed hat in the sun.
Taking multivitamins and eating antioxidant-rich foods can help your eye health. Studies have shown certain combinations of antioxidants and vitamins slow down the progression of AMD. Some multivitamins like Vitalux are specifically formulated with eye health in mind.
Eye drops can help with dry eye or other eye irritation. Some eye drops contain preservatives, so if you’re sensitive to preservatives look for options like TheraTears or Systane Ultra. If you need eye drops for itchy eyes during allergy season you can use eye drops like Visine or Naphcon, which contain an antihistamine. Most allergy eye drops also contain a decongestant to reduce redness, but this can be harmful if you have glaucoma. Talk to your pharmacist before taking any new medication.
For more information on age-related eye diseases and eye health, talk to your local London Drugs pharmacist or visit our Health & Wellness Library online.
Experts at Aerobiology Research Laboratories who specialize in pollen and spore identification and research in Canada say there has been a late start to allergy season, but that it has arrived in British Columbia with the rest of Canada not far behind.
The aeroallergen monitoring firm collects pollen samples daily at collection sites across Canada and looks at when pollens are present in the air in each city, assessing the average pollen season length and the number of very high pollen days.
Last year, the average allergy season length across Canada was 115 days, with Victoria, Vancouver, Burnaby, Hamilton, and Brampton experiencing the longest seasons.
Tree pollen allergy season start and end dates across Canada last year with number of very high pollen days in each city. Pharmacists recommend that allergy sufferers should start taking their medication about two weeks prior to the start of allergy season as some medications can take a few weeks to become fully effective.
For allergy suffers, the arrival of pollen in the air underlines the importance of taking allergy medications proactively, says London Drugs Pharmacist Craig Forster, in this CTV News story.
Some medications can take a few weeks to become fully effective, so ideally, allergy sufferers should start taking their medication two weeks prior to the start of allergy season to stay one step ahead of symptoms.
A new survey conducted by Insights West on behalf of London Drugs found that four in 10 (40%) Canadians don’t start taking their allergy medications early enough. This includes three in 10 (29%) who say they only take allergy medication when they start to feel symptoms and one in 10 (11%) who take them only when they notice symptoms are not going away. Just seven per cent take them either right at the start of allergy season or two weeks beforehand.
One underlining issue is that some people mistake early allergy season symptoms with a cold. The similarities between cold symptoms and allergy symptoms can make it difficult to tell which condition to treat.
The survey underscores Canadians’ confusion, as 65 per cent mistake allergy symptoms for a cold. Most respondents identified the symptoms of a cold as coughing (88%), sneezing (83%), sore throat (83%), runny/stuffy nose (79%), and chest congestion (70%).
When thinking of allergies, most respondents associate them with itchy or watery eyes (93%), sneezing (90%), and a runny/stuffy nose (78%). Fewer than half recognize the other symptoms shown as a sign of allergies, such as itchy ears and throat, wheezing, and long-lasting symptoms.
Although allergies and the common cold share many symptoms, patients experiencing seasonal allergies generally suffer from itchy watery eyes and a runny nose. Symptoms of a cold may include aches and pains, a sore throat, and perhaps a fever and chills, which are not typical of seasonal allergies. A cold will generally only last about a week or two, whereas seasonal allergies will have longer-lasting symptoms.
For allergies, treatments may include antihistamines, decongestants, sinus rinses, nasal sprays, or eye drops.
Pharmacists at London Drugs can help distinguish your symptoms and recommend the right course of treatment based on the severity, your past response to medications, and any other medical conditions.
Visit your local London Drugs and speak with a pharmacist to learn more.
Are you thinking about using medical cannabis? Are you unsure about whether it is right for you? Then the best thing to do is get some expert advice.
As the medication management experts of the health team and the most accessible front-line health-care providers, pharmacists are uniquely qualified to advise you on the safe and effective use of medical cannabis, especially if you are taking other prescription medications. Although pharmacies are not yet dispensing medical cannabis, London Drugs now has Cannabis Educators at select locations. These specially trained pharmacists are available to answer questions about medical cannabis use. Here are some of the most common questions we can help answer.
Medical cannabis has been able to help people living with a host of symptoms and conditions. In some cases, these patients have suffered for years because they have not responded to conventional treatments.
What conditions can medical cannabis help? Health Canada recognizes the following:
Cannabis is generally either inhaled or taken orally. Inhaling cannabis produces a swifter, stronger effect than consuming it orally, but the effect doesn’t last as long. Of the two inhalation methods—smoking and vaporizing—vaporization’s lower temperature usually produces fewer toxic by-products (carbon monoxide, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and tar) than smoking. Therefore, smoking cannabis is not recommended.
Currently, there are no clinical studies on the therapeutic effects of edible cannabis products such as oils and foods. However, oral ingestion leads to slower, less consistent absorption of the cannabinoids (the active substances in cannabis), but the effects tend to last longer.
There is no set dosage that is right for everyone. Your age, medical condition(s), how often you use it, your previous experience with cannabis, and other prescription or non-prescription drugs you take are all factors in determining the right dosage for you.
For example, for patients taking multiple medications, pharmacists may recommend a medication review to help identify potential drug interactions and side effects, and to select the right dose and strain of cannabis. Because no scientifically defined dosage of cannabis has been established for any medical condition, your health-care provider will work with you to determine the most suitable amount, strain, and method of using medical cannabis to meet your particular needs.
No, there are some people who should not use medical cannabis. This is part of the reason it is so important to discuss this treatment option with your health-care prescriber.
More scientific studies will need to be done in order to determine a complete list of reasons why someone should not take cannabis, but as a general guideline, Health Canada recommends that you should not use medical cannabis if you:
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If you’re of a certain age, there’s a good chance you wake up much earlier than you used to, or wake up frequently in the night. But should these common sleep behaviours be of concern? Well, yes. It’s actually a common misconception that sleep needs decline with age. In fact, research shows that our sleep needs remain constant throughout adulthood. So, what’s keeping you awake? And what can be done to help you get the 7-9 hours of that glorious, healthy sleep you really need?
One of the newest discoveries about sleep is that increased mental stimulation during awake hours can encourage deeper sleep. Because retirees and seniors tend to have more downtime than younger adults, they likely have decreased cognitive stimulation.
It’s actually a cycle: the more we stimulate our intellect when awake, the better we sleep; and the better we sleep, the more we remember, and the better we learn.
So, do your best to keep your mind active: volunteer, take a walk in a new neighbourhood, go to a museum, learn a new skill, spend time with friends and family — anything that gets you out of a boring, repetitive routine will challenge your brain.
Another discovery in the science of sleep is something called advanced sleep phase syndrome. As you age, you may find yourself getting sleepy earlier and earlier in the day, prompting you to go to bed earlier. The earlier you fall asleep, the earlier you wake up, and the cycle continues. Earlier wake up times can also lead to increased napping, which can have an even greater effect on sleep quality.
Doctors don’t really know why this happens as we age, but they do know that sticking to a regular bedtime and avoiding long naps can help regulate your sleep rhythms.
Exposure to bright light can also help tell your body when it’s time to be awake and when it’s time to sleep, so make an effort to get outside in the sun every day (late afternoon is best), or talk to your London Drugs pharmacist to see if a light therapy device would be right for you.
Snoring and sleep apnea can wake you up multiple times per night and disrupt your REM cycles (the deepest and most restorative part of your sleep cycle). These problems become more common as we age, but there are things that can be done to prevent them.
If you snore or stop breathing while you sleep, be sure to see your doctor about solutions, which can include a custom pillow, decongestants, weight loss, or even a breathing mask that helps to open up airways. Learn more about snoring and sleep apnea.
Many health issues also contribute to sleep deprivation. Chronic pain, restless leg syndrome, depression, and dementia are all common conditions for seniors and can affect quality of sleep. Consult with your doctor about the right treatment for any issues, and adjust medication to effectively treat disruptive symptoms.
One thing to keep in mind when talking to your doctor is that some medications can actually keep you awake at night, so make sure she knows about all the medications you are currently taking and ask for suggestions about optimal timing and dosage to preserve your sleep.
Sleep issues can effect men and women differently, and menopause specifically affects women’s sleep. If you were ever pregnant, you’ll remember that those hormones can radically affect your sleep patterns, and the same goes for menopause.
When talking to your doctor about menopause symptoms, don’t forget to mention sleep troubles so he can help you find the best treatment for all of your symptoms.
Even if you’re retired and the kids have moved out doesn’t mean that your stress is gone. Health issues, financial problems, or the death of a loved one cause stress, and that can make it hard to sleep. Don’t struggle alone: talk to a friend or family member, a counsellor or your family doctor about help for managing stress. Other things you can do to help with stress are gentle yoga, tai chi, meditation, creative hobbies, journaling, and deep breathing exercises. Make time for yourself every day to take care of your mental health as well as your physical health.
There are many other things everyone can do to help encourage healthy sleep:
