You’ve possibly heard or seen a warning on medications that read “don’t drink this with alcohol.” We’ve to turn out to be so proof against labels that most of us don’t even bother reading or paying attention to warnings. However, we’re here to inform you that the danger is very real.

Never combine alcohol and medications.

PrEP, or pre-exposure prophylaxis, is an HIV prevention method in which people who don’t have HIV take HIV medicine to reduce their risk of getting HIV if they are exposed to the virus. Sounds complex right? Let’s break it down.

What is HIV?

HIV is a virus that can be transmitted through bodily fluids such as blood,

Looking after your sexual health is important for your overall health and well-being. Practice safe sex to prevent HIV and other sexually transmitted infections like gonorrhea and syphilis. There are available prevention measures such as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) that will protect you from HIV and condoms that will protect you from HIV and other STIs.

With four approved COVID-19 vaccines in Canada, some have said they would be more hesitant to get the Johnson and Johnson shot, since its efficacy against mild to moderate COVID-19 was 72%, compared to the 95% efficacy Pfizer and Moderna boast.

But is it fair to compare efficacies?

Not only is it impractical to pass on an approved COVID-19 vaccine just because its efficacy was slightly lower than another vaccine,

I do get quite a few questions from time to time and try to answer as many emails as I can. Here were a few really good questions that I thought I would share with all of you. Can we use ciprofloxacin for pneumonia? Why isn’t ciprofloxacin a treatment in community-acquired pneumonia? Also,

The administration procedure for inhalation therapy with nebulizers can be very lengthy and time-consuming. Because of this, many providers, pharmacists, nurses, and respiratory therapists could benefit from knowing which aerosolized medications may be combined to shorten this process. Patients also often ask, “Can I Mix Nebulized Medications”? There tends to be limited data and resources that are readily accessible to determine which medications should or should not be mixed together.

Avanafil, sildenafil, tadalafil, and vardenafil are PDE-5 inhibitors available in the USA and indicated for erectile dysfunction.  PDE-5 inhibitors prevent the breakdown of cGMP and it is also one of the drug classes that interacts with nitrates. Nitrates are one of the important medications to manage angina and other cardiovascular diseases.  Nitrates increase cGMP which will contribute to vasodilation.

Many patients are labeled as having a “sulfa allergy”. This is typically going to be from a reaction to sulfa antibiotics (i.e. sulfamethoxazole). Sulfonylureas are one of the drug classes that have sulfonamides as part of their chemical structure so therefore a theoretical cross-reactivity is possible. An estimated 3 – 6% of the population are allergic to sulfonamide antibiotics.

Omeprazole is one of the most commonly used medications for heartburn and other GI conditions.

Sean Navin is a clinical pharmacist who graduated in 2015 from my alma mater (University of Minnesota…