News

As the yellow bus haul away out kids for another day of learning, your Thompson Pharmacist knows that nothing upsets parents more than when they get the call from the school nurse that their child has head lice.  Truth is, that the first line treatment for head lice is...

With school around the corner, one of the biggest concerns parents have is if their child brings home some unwanted friends, those being of the six-legged variety… head lice!  This week we will cover the basics of head lice and next week we can cover the pharmacological treatment. Life...

Most of us did it today, and if not, we will be doing it tomorrow.  Yet most of us feel very uncomfortable discussing our bowel movements with anyone including our health care professionals.  As unpleasant as these discussions are, stool consistency is about the only gauge we have to...

Your six-inch pancreas is quite a busy organ, producing close to 2 quarts of pancreatic juices that aid in digestion.  As discussed last week when the pancreas fails to produce adequate enzymes we see several symptoms of inappropriate digestion such as diarrhea, gas, unexplained weight loss and steatorrhea. SOURCE:...

Most patients are familiar with the function of the pancreas to produce insulin.  It also produces glucagon to help regulate blood sugars.  Another extremely important function of the pancreas is to make enzymes for digestion of the food we eat. Just as the pancreas can “wear out” and stop...

Coenzyme Q-10 has been touted for everything from eye disease, heart disease to HIV. Most of the time we are using it for people who complain about muscle pain while on a statin for cholesterol management.  Many of our patients complain about muscle aches, some of them are not...

Melatonin, secreted by the pineal gland in the brain, is a neurohormone used to regulate sleep-wake cycles. Melatonin secretion begins around the third or fourth month of life, peaks in pediatric years, and lessens as we age. This decline in melatonin secretion seems to be due to calcification of...

Milk Thistle—weed or liver saver??? Latin Name:  Silybum marianum also called “Mary thistle” or “holy thistle” Milk thistle grows in North and South America, and throughout most of the world, as it is native to the Mediterranean region.  This plant is considered by most to be an invasive species...

Latin Name: Zingiber officinale Ginger can be found in our kitchens as spice for “ginger snaps” and in “ginger ale”. Ginger, which is found in the tropics has green-purple flowers and a rhizome (a bulky underground stem) that is the basis for its use in the kitchen. Ginger has...