March 30, 2011 -- The FDA is alerting the public that the new blood-thinner option, Pradaxa, will degrade and become less potent if taken out of its original packaging. Many senior citizens and people on multiple medications and vitamins use pill boxes to put 7 or 30 day supplies of medicine in one daily compartment. But if Pradaxa is removed from its bubble pack or from the pill bottle with a special drying component that also requires you put the lid back on tightly, then it becomes susceptible to moisture and may lose its potency as a blood thinner. 

So, FDA says store Pradaxa in its original bottle or bubble pack until use and closely follow the instructions. Pradaxa has been touted as the new Coumadin (warfarin) with less complicated administration, side effects and contraindications.

Pradaxa is made by Boehringer Ingelheim and costs nearly $3.40 a pill. FDA wants the word out on the special handling requirements. More information can be found at www.fda.gov, or the manufacturer's website at pradaxa.com 

March 29, 2011 -- FDA and Greenstone LLC announced the recall of the depression drug Citalopram and protatic drug Finasteride because there appears to have been labeling mixups between the two drugs by the third party manufacturer. Some of the bottles may contain the other drug. In addition to the obvious reasons not to take a wrong drug or abrupt stoping of a prescribed drug, Finasteride in particular should not be handled by pregnant women because it can cause birth defects. The recall includes Citalopram 10 mg tablets in 100-count bottles and Finasteride 5 mg tablets in 90-count bottles and both were distributed in the U.S. 

For more information see the recall notice at

http://tinyurl.com/4gvzjbp

March 29, 2011 -- FDA and Candy Dynamics of Indianapolis, IN, have announced the recall of Short Circuits bubble gum sold throughout the U.S. and Canada in retail stores and through mail orders. The recall is due to elevated levels of lead. This could cause problems for anyone chewing the gum and, in particular, children and pregnant women. Anyone with gum labeled Short Circuits should contact Candy Dynamics for information on how to destroy the product at 317-228-5012. 

In an oddly prophetic way, the product is officially identified as Toxic Waste Short Circuits Bubble Gum, 3.2 oz size, Lot #15070SC12. The Lot number is located on the left side of the bag. The bubble gum is manufactured in Pakistan.

For the recall notice use the link below. 

http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm248548.htm

March 25, 2011 -- According to the U.S. Census Bureau the ten year span between 2000 and 2010 resulted in growth in the national population to 308,745,538 persons. Of this, 72.4 % are white, followed by 16.3% Hispanic or Latino and 12.8% Black or African American Origin. This represents only a 5.7% rise for Whites and a 43% rise for Hispanics and Latinos. In Texas there are some 25 million more people and approximately two-thirds of the growth is in the Hispanic community and has yielded a pickup of 4 Congressional seats for Texas.

With the new Census Data perhaps Congress and the Southern and Western States will become better advocates for the Hispanic community in areas such as Immigration Reform and the long sought passage of the Dream Act to allow a path of citizenship for those kids who graduate high school in the United States and for the most part have never known another home.

For Census Data indepth, follow the link below. 

http://2010.census.gov/2010census/data/