That’s the guiding commandment of doctors. Shouldn’t the same apply to medications and other remedies, too?

Of course it should. But new research has turned up a handful of remedies that may cause the very problem they’re supposed to treat. These include some of the most commonly used products in the medicine cabinet. Unsuspecting sufferers go on taking the offending medication, assuming they’ll eventually feel better, which only makes the problem worse.  Even doctors aren’t always aware of the danger.

Today, we alert you to a remedy that’s touted to get the red out, but may in fact be causing chronic bloodshot eyes. In the coming weeks, we’ll highlight other remedies that can make your problem worse rather than better.

When it comes to all common remedies, of course, a dose of skepticism is in order. Ten years ago vitamin E looked like a powerful defense against heart disease. Even many experts started popping capsules. This week, a report in the Journal of the American Medical Association from the large and long-running Physicians Health Study throws cold water on those hopes. Men who took daily doses of either vitamin E or vitamin C were just as likely to have heart attacks, eight years later, as men who took sugar pills.

Even low-dose aspirin took a drubbing this week. A report, also in JAMA, found that “baby” aspirin did not reduce risk of cardiovascular disease in people with diabetes. The news is particularly disappointing since heart problems are a common consequence of diabetes. “The use of aspirin for primary prevention of cardiovascular events in individuals with diabetes is widely recommended by existing guidelines,” notes Antonio Nicolucci, MD, in an editorial accompanying the study, “but the evidence supporting its efficacy is surprisingly scarce.” What’s more, low-dose aspirin can do harm, by increasing the risk of bleeding.

What does work? Six years ago, the federally-funded Diabetes Prevention Program offered convincing evidence for a way to slash risk of the disease by up to 70 percent, far more than any known pill can accomplish. The prescription: a healthier diet (less saturated fat, more vegetables and whole grains) and more exercise.
 
Getting Americans to fill that prescription hasn’t been easy. But maybe now that we’ve elected a bold and energetic new president committed to tackling health care, it’s time to do our part. Add a serving of vegetables and whole grains to the daily menu. Snack on fruit or nuts instead of candy or chips. Shut off the TV and take a brisk walk in the neighborhood.

Now that’s change you can really believe in.

Tags: Add new tag, bloodshot eyes, healthy diet, heart disease, low-dose aspirin, mediction overuse, vitamin C, vitamin E