The FDA has approved this season’s flu vaccines. These include the new strains of flu deemed likely to cause illness this year in the Northern Hemisphere. The approval of the four vaccines allows manufacturers to ensure they have sufficient supplies when vaccinations begin in the fall.

The FDA cautions that none of the vaccines protect against avian flu. Influenza, a contagious respiratory illness, can be mild or severe and in those whose immunity is compromised, can lead to death. Especially at risk are children, the elderly and those who suffer from certain medical conditions. Each year in the US, up to 20% of the population get the flu and approximately 200,000 hospitalizations and 36,000 deaths result from it.

The FDA has issued a warning about products containing high-strength Hydrogen Peroxide that are being sold on the web for medicinal purposes. Many of these products are being touted on websites as cures and preventatives for everything from AIDS to cancer. The FDA has issued warning letters to two firms that are illegally selling “35% Food Grade Hydrogen Peroxide”.

The FDA warns that ingestion of 35% hydrogen peroxide is dangerous and can cause gastrointestinal irritation and ulceration.

“This concentration is not approved by FDA for any purpose,” said Dr. Steven Galson, Director of FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. “No one has presented any evidence that hydrogen peroxide taken internally has any medical value. In fact, consuming hydrogen peroxide in the manner touted by these websites could lead to tragic results.”

To view the Warning Letters issued by the FDA, go to this site.

The Food and Drug Administration has approved several generic versions of the Boehring Ingelheim’s Mobic Tablets, (Meloxicam) a popular NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory) used in the treatment of osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

Meloxicam is an extremely popular drug, ranking 38th in dollar sales of brand-name drugs in the United States. A generic alternative will mean significant savings for patients. The approval of generic drugs can effectively aid in the lowering of health care costs and currently are used to fill more than 50% of all prescriptions written in the U.S.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration ( FDA) has issued a warning about seven so-called “natural” products being sold on the internet as alternatives to impotence drugs. Marketed as natural, botanical preparations, these products state they are non-prescription or herbal alternatives to help men (and in some cases, women ) enhance sexual performance.

However, the FDA warns that these products do in fact contain one or both of two active ingredients in the prescription drugs, Viagra and Levitra. They caution that these products may be dangerous as the undeclared ingredients could interfere or interact with prescription medications taken for other serious medical conditions. Men who cannot take the prescription drugs due to other health concerns or medications, may be drawn to these products as they claim to be natural and to not contain the active ingredients of the prescription drugs that are FDA-approved.

For more information, go to the FDA website.

As always, be cautious and smart when surfing the net or purchasing products. It’s your health, your money and maybe even your life that is at stake.