June 27, 2011

The Education of OTC Birth Control Pills Are Becoming Critically More Important

Filed under: birth control pills — Tags: birth control, birth control pills, birth control types, methods of birth control, prescription birth control pills — Kcondon @ 9:21 am

Medication has been evolving at an alarming pace due to the advancements of technology and our understanding of it. Prescription and over-the-counter medications are being more readily available than ever before. The availability and complexity of birth control pills in our time of age requires a certain understanding.

It has been brought to light that American women have been crossing the border into Mexico to buy birth control pills. Women are doing this because it is cheaper in Mexico but of course the risks in Mexico are greater. Also many women in the States are denied at the clinic because of a contraindication.

It’s not just Mexico. Many places all over the world have OTC birth control Much of South America also has OTC birth control available.

The results of the birth control studies have been somewhat contradictory. This confusion has lead to no affirmative stance and publication to be announced. Dr. Grossman’s team reported in the March issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology that woman from southern Texas were using combined oral contraceptives from a family planning clinics meaning prescription birth control pills had a lesser rate of absolute and relative contraindications (5.3% and 8.6%) than woman who were crossing into Mexico to buy them without a prescription (7.4% and 13.4%, respectively). However, another study done by Dr. Grossman and his colleagues show, “distributing more pill packs at once and removing the prescription requirement would lead to increased continuation”. A new study shows that “women who obtained their pills at the clinic were 60% more likely to stop taking them”. The reason is thought of as for the discontinuation of the pill is the issue of access. The danger is buying the pill OTC doesn’t inform women of the combined dangers. The conditions include “severe liver disease, breast cancer, ischemic heart disease, stroke or complex valvular heart disease, thrombogenic factors (e.g., major surgery with prolonged immobilization or history of thromboembolism), migraine with aura, smoking at age 35 or older, breastfeeding less than 6 weeks postpartum, and blood pressure of 160/100 or higher”.

The studies by Dr. Newcomer show that women can accurately use a checklist to spot the risks of birth control pills, and use an automatic blood pressure machine to check for hypertension. What OB-GYNs and general doctors need to do is ensure the safety of their patients by removing the barriers women face in getting birth control pills and educating them.

Birth Control Buzz is a service company that provides birth control prices, types of birth control(prescription required), health administrative services, and birth control statistics predominantly to US patients seeking to purchase pharmaceuticals on-line. For more information, call 1-866-868-8850 or visit http://www.birthcontrolbuzz.com/.

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February 10, 2011

Clear Concept: The Contraceptive Choices That Women Are Unaware Of

Filed under: birth control options — Tags: birth control, birth control benefits, birth control effects, birth control methods, birth control options, Birth Control Pill, birth control types, condoms, evra patch, hormonal contraceptive, IUD, NuvaRing — Janine @ 11:03 am

Birth Control has evolved over the past decade to rectify two significant problems: abnormal bleeding and missing pills. Instead of switching to the newly improved contraception available, women are nonetheless sticking to more common methods of birth control mainly including birth control pills, condoms and withdrawal. Women are uninformed of the many non-contraceptive benefits offered by the different types of birth control available today.

birth control options One example would be the advantages of the birth control pill, aside from contraception, the pill cuts the risk of ovarian and uterine cancers, relieves heavy bleeding and painful menstruation. Women are still wary to use hormonal methods of contraception due to exaggerated misinformation about the risks involved.

There are 4 different types of oral contraceptives:

Low dose – contraceptives that carry low levels of ethinyl estradiol and progestin.
Combined oral contraceptives – contraceptives that contain twenty to thirty micrograms of ethinyl estradiol with progestin.
Progestin drospirenone (DRSP) – used in Yaz and Yasmin, drospirenone has the same pharmacological effects of that of natural progesterone thus it also has slight diuretic properties. Yaz has 24/4 formulation meaning users take active pills for twenty four days and inactive pills for four days; during the four days menstruation occurs.
Extended cycle – contraceptives that allow women to opt out of menstruating, for either convenience or health reasons. With this option, women take active pills for over two cycles while omitting the hormone free interval which induces menstruation. The extended cycle has the same risks as that of the general 21/7 cycle.

The theoretical efficiency of oral contraception is not often lived up to in the real world due to regular missed pills. Studies show that up to forty percent of women often miss pills in any birth control regimen causing unwanted pregnancy and unscheduled bleeding. The transdermal patch and vaginal ring were created to minimize these problems. The patch (Evra, Ortho-Janssen) releases hormones into the skin every day for a week. The ring (Nuvaring, Merck) delivers hormones daily for one month. Both contraceptives are extremely effective and related to improved bleeding although there had been concerns about the dosage of estrogen continuously being delivered to the body. There are concerns regarding the Evra patch which dispatches more estrogen than the regular patch. There had also been warnings issued by the FDA and Health Protection Branch (HPB) about the increased risk of thrombosis associated with the patch. Hence the (vaginal ring is seen as the most competent in cycle control and consistent with the lowest rate of unscheduled bleeding. In spite of the favorable points, girls are not open to the way the ring is self administered (insertion into the vagina).

The intrauterine device continues to be overlooked by its poor image and is still unknown for its obliging efficacy and safety. Overshadowed by false ideas of increased pelvic inflammatory disease and infertility, patients and physicians are oblivious of the benefits of the intrauterine device.

Copper IUD – Can be used for thirty months and are believed to be 96% to 98% effective. Failure rates are about 1% and the rates of discontinuation are around 10% – 15% mostly due to increased bleeding and pain.
Mirena IUD – This IUD can be used up to five years with the highest efficacy rates of 99.8%.

The effectiveness of the use of the intrauterine device is comparable to that of surgical female sterilization. Aside from contraception, other advantages offered by the IUD include significant decrease in dysmenorrhea and bleeding. Insertion is a procedure done at a clinical office.

Evidently contraceptives are still being developed and new developments continue to be introduced to the general public. As the number of contraceptive options increase, the challenge lingers to increase awareness and reassure patients of the safety of these options.

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November 5, 2010

Birth Control Gel in testing stages

Filed under: birth control,birth control methods,birth control options,birth control types,contraception,contraceptive,contraceptives — Tags: birth control, birth control benefits, birth control effects, birth control methods, birth control options, birth control types, contraceptive, contraceptives, hormonal contraceptive, progesterone — Janine @ 12:07 pm

Birth Control comes in many forms including implant, injection, patch, ring, IUD, pills, and soon gel! The birth control gel is still in its early testing stages, but the results are looking optimal. The gel can be rubbed onto the arms, legs, shoulders or abdomen much like a moisturizer. Applying 3 milligrams of the gel daily will deliver the right dosage of progesterone and estrogen, much like the birth control patch, through the skin to stop the ovaries from releasing an egg every month.

The main ingredient to this gel is Nestorone, a newly developed type of synthetic progesterone very similar to the natural hormone that contains a chemically identical type of estrogen that is produced in a woman’s body. This birth control gel will not cause users to experience common side effects such as nausea and weight gain. Women who are breastfeeding are also able to use the birth control gel because the hormones in the gel will not interfere with the milk supply.

The New York Population Council research center’s director of clinical development of reproductive health, Dr. Ruth Merkatz is the researcher behind the latest study on this birth control gel. Over a seven month period, there were 18 women in the age range from 20 to 40 who had used the birth control gel. So far, none had become pregnant from using the gel. Dr. Ruth Merkatz finds that the birth control gel can improve the choice of methods and options of birth control for women.

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October 19, 2010

Contraceptive Alternatives – Hormonal Contraceptives – The Patch

Filed under: birth control types — Tags: birth control types, condoms, contraceptive, hormonal contraceptive, irregular bleeding, menstrual cycle, the patch — Candace @ 10:25 am

The patch is a thin, beige patch that sticks to your skin like a band-aid. Each patch contains one week’s worth of progesterone and estrogen hormones that is released into the skin.

Since 2001 the patch has been used throughout the States. The failure rate is one in one hundred women, per year. An advantage of using this type of contraceptive is that there are fewer side effects like nausea and vomiting. The patch may cause skin irritation and can be detached without being noticed by activities like showering. This can alter the efficiency. The patch can be less effective for women who weigh over 198 pounds.

Just like using other hormonal contraceptives, the patch is based on the menstrual cycle. The patch should be applied the first day of the menstrual cycle, or (like the pill) the first Sunday after the cycle begins. The patch should be changed weekly for 3 weeks in a row. On the fourth week no patch should be worn, and this is when a woman’s period should begin.

The patch is not effective in protecting against STI’s. You can protect against STI’s by using condoms and the patch together. The patch also has a few side effects including irregular bleeding, breast tenderness, and mood swings. These mild side effects will likely disappear after a couple months.

The patch is not suitable for all women. Some medical conditions can make the patch less effective or dangerous. It is not recommended for women who have blood clots, high blood pressure, specific types of cancers, migraine headaches, or diabetes.

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August 25, 2010

The Pill is the Most Used Contraceptive

Filed under: birth control methods — Tags: birth control effects, birth control methods, Birth Control Pill, birth control types — Candace @ 1:16 pm

The pill is one of the safest and most effective methods of birth control. At a success rate of nearly 100 percent the pill is the most commonly used contraceptive in the world. The oral contraceptive has always been the most popular contraceptive for females due to its easy and painless use. From an interview of conducted on 7, 3536 women it was discovered that 99 percent of women use at least one type of contraceptive for intercourse. Condoms are the most popularly used form of contraceptive for women having intercourse for the first time. In this interview it was also found that of those females with a male partner, 93 percent of the men used a condom, 82 percent of the women used birth control pills, and 53 percent of couples used the withdrawal method.

The pill works by stopping the hormones that activate ovulation by providing an extra dose of estrogen. This prevents the release of an egg. Not only this, but it also thickens the cervical mucus, making the strenuous trek for sperm even harder. The pill must be taken daily for optimum results.

Because many women forget to take the pill on a daily basis, there have been recently created iPod and iPhone applications that help by providing a daily reminder in the form of an alarm. As well as this you can also try using an online calendar, a alarm set on your phone, a note on your desk, or other simple reminders to take the pill.

The pill has been the most commonly used form of contraceptive for 2 years now and will hopefully be continually used in the future despite new, more complex methods being discovered in the medical world.

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August 17, 2010

FDA Approves of New Emergency Contraceptive Pill

Filed under: abortion,birth control,birth control methods,birth control options,birth control types,EC,emergency contraception,morning after pill — Tags: birth control, birth control types, contraceptive, EC, ella, EllaOne, emergency contraception, hormones, morning after pill, plan b — Amanda @ 10:04 am

The U.S Food and Drug Administration have approved of ella, a new one-dose emergency contraceptive that works longer than the current leading drug on the market. In June this year, the FDA unanimously voted that the use of ella provided convincing data and sufficient information on its safety. ella was approved last year in Europe under the name ellaOne and is currently used in 22 countries.

The FDA approved ella as a prescription-only birth control option. This ruling allows for U.S sales of the drug. Ella from HRA Pharma is to be marketed as an emergency contraceptive that can be taken within 5 days of unprotected sex or contraceptive failure. The current emergency contraceptive drug ‘Plan B’ is approved for use up to 3 days after unprotected intercourse.

In a trial between Plan B and ella, women randomly received one of the two pills within three to five days of having unprotected sex. Women who took ella had a 1.8 percent chance of becoming pregnant. Women who took plan B had a 2.6 percent chance.

Consequently, Plan B is currently available without a prescription for those 17 and older where as ella will require a doctor’s prescription. HRA Pharma did not request an over-the-counter position for ella.

There is some concern about women becoming confused by the use of ella. Although ella prevents ovulation for as long as 5 days after sex, some women may believe that once taking ella, it can protect them against pregnancy from any additional acts of unprotected sex for 5 days. This is not true as sperm from additional sex can outlive the initial sperm past the 5 day window. In addition, the FDA is concerned about the obesity rates in the US and ella’s effect on overweight and obese women. Ella seems to be less effective in obese women.

Ella works differently than Plan B. Though both emergency contraceptives contain hormones that prevent ovulation, ella also contains ulipristal, a non-hormonal drug that blocks the effects of hormones necessary for conception. Ella belongs to the same class as a drug called mifepristone – a drug that is used as a part of a treatment that induces abortion. This calls for criticism from pro-life groups who believe that ella is closer to an abortion pill than an emergency contraceptive pill. However, ella is used at lower doses that prevent conception and should not cause abortion. It is still unknown whether or not ella will affect an existing pregnancy, or if ella might increase the rate of spontaneous miscarriage in the few women who become pregnant despite using ella.

The FDA reviewers reported no life-threatening medical side effects with ella. The most common side effects were mild and included headache, nausea, and abdominal pain.

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