Male and Female Meds
Simply, medications and pharmaceuticals are, for the most part, tested only on males 25-55 between 180 and 250 pounds. Medications are only tested on women and children if the condition that the medication is to be used for is explicitly for women or children.
Once a medication is approved, its dosage is dependent only on the weight of the person being given the medication. Information is gained as to whether the medication is better or worse for women or children only after it is released to the public and information comes back which allows doctors to make changes in its usage, dosage, or efficacy.
In our world, many drugs have distinct benefits and risks, depending on whether Jack or Jill takes them. New research on the Type 2 diabetes drug metformin (more than 46 million prescriptions are written in North America annually) reveals that it has a positive effect on women’s heart function, but not on men’s, and may even increase a man’s risk of heart failure!
And last year the Food and Drug Administration cut gals’ recommended dose for the sleep aid zolpidem in half. Unfortunately, this was only after women (but not men) taking the drug ended up in more traffic accidents.
Even aspirin has gender-specific effects: Taking it daily cuts men’s risk of heart attack by 32 percent, but not women. However, a daily dose reduces women’s risk of stroke 17 percent, while men don’t get that protection. This is especially important for women on hormone therapy. So it’s often good for both genders to take two low-dose aspirin a day — with water before and after — but for different reasons.
Because there’s not a lot of gender-specific info on many meds, it’s extra-smart to notice how your medications affect you. If they seem oddly ineffective or you think you’re experiencing side effects, talk to your doc about whether your gender may be making a difference.
via Blogger http://bit.ly/1pxZQvG
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