When setting up a medical practice anywhere, whether in the developed or developing world, it’s considered one of the drugs that should always be included in stock if a basic healthcare service is to be offered. As one of the best known drugs of its class and one directly recommended by the WHO, it’s hard to fault it. But because it’s addictive, it’s not only limited to supply on prescription in most countries, it’s also a controled drug, i.e. it’s illegal to have it in your possession unless you have a prescription.

Indeed, it is used as a sedative in place of an anesthetic for dental and minor surgical procedures. Indeed, when you look at its long-term success, it’s hard to find a better or more reliable drug. Valium is effective, being rapidly absorbed into the blood stream and becoming active quickly with few side effects when used in short bursts. Most medical regulatory authorities around the world recommend that it’s not used for more than between two and four consecutive weeks. Other than this, the medication is so well regarded, it’s listed as an “Essential Drug” by the World Health Organization (WHO).

As one of the best known drugs, it’s also one of the most abused. So, even though online pharamcies will supply valium without you having to produce a prescription, this does not mean you’re free to use it as you think fit. If you ignore the directions of your local healthcare provider or the online pharmacist, the resullts can be a long and expensive addiction. So, use the drug as directed and get all the benefits without any of the disadvantages.

Except there’s a growing problem. Actually, the problem is not with the “growing”. Produce and the grass eaten by cattle, sheep, etc., do very well. It’s that some of the cattle are getting a little too gentle in some parts of the world. In Georgia, the state monitors the quality of the milk and the labs have made an interesting discovery.

This means the drugs are now in the rivers and the underground water used for irrigation. They are also sprayed directly on to field as fertilizer. Valium has the highest concentration. When the cows contentedly ruminate on the problem, it enters their milk and then reappears on our tables. Well, apart from taking a valium to stop worrying about the problem, there’s almost nothing that can be done about it. The whole system we city dwellers have built for dealing with human waste depends on processing and then releasing the “safe” outflow and sludge into the environment again.

None of us want to see our taxes rise to redesign or replace our sewage plants. So, all I can ask is that we all use fewer pills. I like my milk and prefer it free from valium. And the same goes for the yoghurt, butter, cheese and anything else made from the milk of animals. And don’t forget to wash fresh produce thoroughly before using it!

If it affects us, we often resent being forced to change. So when the government makes laws about what websites selling drugs should or should not contain, and how they should work, it affects everyone who is sick. In the US right now, there’s a big debate. Should you be able to buy prescription drugs like accutane through the internet? Ask the folk who lobby for the pharmaceutical industry and they tell you of the risks to public health. Without local controls, a website can be a scam selling fakes.

The real question is who owns the shop or website, and how responsible they are. Sites like this introduce you to reputable online pharmacies. It’s true those sites don’t ask for a prescription. But if you saw your local healthcare advisor and were recommended accutane for treating your own acne or the acne of your children, you were acting responsibly. If this is a repeat order for a drug, there’s no need to get a repeat prescription.

Probably the most common is the use of inhaled corticosteroids and beta-2 agonists to allow asthma sufferers to compete. Other than that, topical corticosteroids are used for treating skin conditions. For this and the relief of joint pain and other inflammations, Prednisone is the most common medication, but athletes must get a full Therapeutic Use Exemption before using it.

There are myths that using steroids enhances performance. Most health experts agree that these drug simply allow the body to resume functioning normally. So asthma sufferers are able to breathe. Inflamed joints are able to move more smoothly again. And so on. For example, Dr. Kenneth Fitch of the School of Sport, Exercise and Health at the University of Western Australia has conducted three double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled studies of asthma drugs. The results showed no enhanced performance. So why does WADA control their use? Probably because corticosteroids will mask the prohibited performance enhancers.

So you can reach for Prednisone knowing it’s approved as the standard treatment by elite athletes. To get to the Olympics yourself, all you have to do is to become one of those elite athletes. No problem!

When people take Prednisone, it usually has an immediate effect in reducing inflammation and easing many of the physical symptoms. This improvement naturally lifts your spirits. You’re starting to feel better. However, some people find their spirits getting slightly out of hand. The medical expression is “euphoria”. Some older patients experience a sense of the years falling away. It leaves them feeling ten or more years younger. Although this may not sound a bad thing, you need to be cautious.

Even though you may only be taking a small daily dose of Prednisone, there are other side effects. In older people, the most dangerous is osteoporosis, a weakening of the bones caused by a loss of calcium. You may miss the signs of muscular weakness because you feel good. Similarly, in younger people, the sense of happiness can mask other symptoms that would warn you of problems. So, if the euphoria persists, you should go see your local health provider and get sad again. Although Prednisone is an excellent drug, you need to be able to monitor your body accurately for other side effects.

It’s a misfortune to touch this plant or to touch something that has touched this plant — did you know your pet can pass through a thicket and bring its richness back to you on its fur? This plant is bursting with an oily resin called urushiol. If this penetrates your skin, you’ll almost certainly get blisters and, in due course, a rash.

Only a very few people are immune. For light exposure — you realized the danger immediately and washed the affected area of skin with warm water and plain soap or a solvent like rubbing alcohol — an over-the-counter topical steroid cream will usually be sufficient. For more serious exposure, you’re going to need the cream plus Prednisone.

Two final thoughts on removing a patch of poison ivy from your yard. Lay in a supply of Prednisone and, wearing gloves, cut the vine and throw it on a bonfire. But watch out. Heat and smoke can lift urushiol particles into the atmosphere so don’t stand down wind of the fire. And if all else has failed, get a goat. Goats love to eat poison ivy.

Although the official cause of death this August was pneumonia, he had been fighting sarcoidosis for many years. This is an autoimmune disease that, somewhat unfairly, operates along racial lines. Black Americans are sixteen times more likely to die than white Americans. There is no cure for this disease. It can affect any part of the body where groups of cells clump together. Where these so-called granulomas occur, the body is damaged.

The standard treatment is Prednisone. This corticosteroid modifies the immune system, reduces inflammation and, in many cases, induces remission. Bernie Mac had been in remission for some three years before his death.

Although there are some side effects if you take a steroid like Prednisone over longer periods of time, e.g. an increase in body weight, fluid retention, etc. these are prices worth paying for those with this disease. Often affecting the lungs and leaving you breathless, people are left without energy. If it enters the heart or brain, you get symptoms mimicking a stroke or seizures. That Bernie Mac kept going and entertained so many for so long is a testament to the kind of man he was and the therapeutic quality of Prednisone.