DEAR DR. ROACH: I take telmisartan for hypertension. Included in every bottle is a type of tiny moisture-absorbent packs. As soon as the bundle is opened and I start taking the tablets, is it essential to maintain the dehydrator “capsule” within the bottle, or can I discard it? I’ve, greater than as soon as, virtually popped the dehydrator in my mouth, as it’s so near the telmisartan’s form, dimension and colour. Is telmisartan notably vulnerable to absorbing ambient water? None of my different drugs include dehydrators. — H.W.
ANSWER: These moisture-absorbing packets are referred to as desiccants, and they’re utilized in medicine bottles to maintain tablets dry. That is notably vital in capsules, as a result of they are going to degrade with an excessive amount of moisture. They often include silica, which is excellent at absorbing water. They aren’t poisonous, however they will trigger gagging or choking, therefore the “don’t eat” warnings.
It’s possible you’ll safely take away it so long as you retain the bottle tightly closed when not eradicating a capsule. However in case you reside in a spot with very excessive humidity and also you get a 90-day or longer provide, you may think about leaving within the desiccant and taking out a weeks’ value at a time and placing these tablets right into a pillbox or dispenser. This minimizes humidity entering into the medication bottle and in addition removes the chance of swallowing the desiccant by mistake.
DEAR DR. ROACH: I’m apprehensive aboutå my buddy, aged 28. Typically when he begins to eat, he will get hiccups, after which must vomit. As soon as he will get sick and rests for a couple of minutes, he can proceed consuming. He says that this has been occurring for years. He had seen a physician a number of years in the past about it, however he didn’t get any trigger or therapy concepts at the moment. His mom says that he would ceaselessly get the hiccups as an toddler and he appeared to spit up greater than his siblings, however nothing alarming. Any concepts? He says it’s extra embarrassing and upsetting than the rest. — M.L.
ANSWER: Most individuals have had hiccups, an involuntary spasm of the muscular tissues of respiratory. Some individuals get many hiccups, and there are just a few circumstances of intractable hiccups.
Though there are numerous identified causes of hiccups, the truth that your buddy will get them when consuming suggests that there’s a nervous reflex inflicting hiccups someplace within the esophagus or abdomen. A examine again in 1997 confirmed that 40% of wholesome volunteers developed hiccups when the esophagus was stretched by a balloon. I believe your buddy has a greater-than-normal reflex of this kind, and that his consuming is stimulating this nervous response. I ponder if he’s both swallowing air (quite common) or taking giant bites of meals that stretch the esophagus. Carbonated drinks fill the abdomen with gasoline and may set off hiccups. He ought to keep away from these.
I might counsel he begin consuming slowly and with small, deliberate bites. If easy, commonsense maneuvers don’t assist, he ought to get an analysis by a speech-language pathologist. Some gastroenterologists have particular experience in hiccups, however so do some pulmonologists, ENT medical doctors and neurologists.