Author: Emma Yasinski

Emma Yasinski

I am a freelance science and medical journalist, fascinated by how the scientific process leads to incredible discoveries, but also can lead to publication bias leaning toward positive findings and minimizing negatives. With a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience from Lafayette College and a Master’s in Science and Medical Journalism from Boston University, I’ve written about clinical trial transparency, organ donation, and basic molecular biology for publications like The Scientist, The Atlantic, Undark.org, Kaiser Health News, and more. At MedShadow, I research and write about the sometimes unexpected ways that medicines can affect us, and what we can do if and when it does.

When pregnant, chances are you will have a lot of questions. One of them shouldn’t be “can I take this drug while pregnant,” but sadly research is often lacking in this topic. Tylenol While Pregnant In the last week of September 2021, a group of more than 90 doctors and researchers published a call to action, cautioning against the liberal use of Tylenol (acetaminophen) during pregnancy. The studies suggested that exposure to the drug could increase the risk of a baby having neurodevelopmental, reproductive, and urogenital disorders. The authors added, however, that Tylenol has long been considered one of the…

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Regular “MedShadow” readers are likely familiar with the idea of deprescribing—the process of reducing the number or dose of drugs a person is taking. “MedShadow” has written about the phenomenon before. But, while the idea of taking fewer medications is simple, the real world process of deprescribing, while balancing risks versus benefits, is complicated. Some medications have withdrawal symptoms, and tapering may take time. The Therapeutics Initiative at the University of British Columbia (UBC) is hosting a series of webinars with healthcare professionals sharing real-life stories about their own patients whose medications they were able to reduce, and what happened…

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Most parents know that newborn babies, toddlers, and young children go through a litany of vaccines. Very specific schedules are set, and parents are frequently back-and-forth to doctors’ offices just to keep up. But, what shots do adults need? The schedules can be difficult to read or understand. To stay on top of adult vaccines, read on to help determine what may be best for you. If you’ve felt overwhelmed by the number of vaccines you’re hearing about this fall, you are not alone. Christian Miller, 34, who says he’s always kept up to date on his vaccines found himself…

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Angela Tong, BscPharm, ACPR, met her patient, a woman in her 20s, when she’d just overdosed on acetaminophen. The overdose was not her first. Tong is a clinical pharmacist at Fraser Health Authority, a hospital system in Canada. She treated the woman as she stayed at the hospital for several months.  The woman had just started a new job as a medical assistant, but the stress quickly became overwhelming. She listed her symptoms to Tong.  “She felt really anxious. She feels sleepy during the day, but she had trouble sleeping at night. There are lots of voices in her head,…

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Adam is the youngest of three children. His older brother and sister came down with a cough and fever when Adam was nearly a month old. A week or so later, Adam was coughing as well, but his cough was phlegmy, and he started vomiting after each feeding. He tested positive for RSV (respiratory syncytial virus).  After 12 hours, he hadn’t wet his diaper at all. His mother had to rush him to the hospital, where he spent four days and three nights. He got oxygen, IV fluids, and antibiotics. Still, since there are no antiviral drugs specifically to fight…

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Regular MedShadow readers are likely familiar with the idea of deprescribing—the process of cutting down on medicine and reducing the number or dose of drugs a person is taking. MedShadow has written about the phenomenon before. But, while the idea of taking fewer medications is simple, the real world process of deprescribing while balancing risks versus benefits is complicated. Some medications have withdrawal symptoms, and tapering may take time. The Therapeutics Initiative at the University of British Columbia (UBC) is hosting a series of webinars with healthcare professionals sharing real-life stories about their own patients whose medications they were able…

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Heat Exhaustion & Heatstroke Yet another heat wave is “baking” the U.S. and is expected to last all week. And this is just the first full week of summer. In 2022, thousands of people died from heat-related causes in Spain, Portugal United Kingdom, the United States, and India. Extra-high temperatures are perilous for everyone, but they are even more so for the elderly, people who need electric medical equipment and for those on medications with side effects that can increase their sensitivity to heat. You may need to take extra caution to remain safe when the heat rises. Heat exhaustion is…

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Regular MedShadow readers are likely familiar with the idea of deprescribing—the process of reducing the number or dose of drugs a person is taking. MedShadow has written about the phenomenon before. But, while the idea of taking fewer medications is simple, the real world process of deprescribing while balancing risks versus benefits is complicated. Some medications have withdrawal symptoms, and tapering may take time. The Therapeutics Initiative at the University of British Columbia (UBC) is hosting a series of webinars with healthcare professionals sharing real-life stories about their own patients whose medications they were able to reduce, and what happened…

Read More

Regular MedShadow readers are likely familiar with the idea of deprescribing—the process of reducing the number or dose of drugs a person is taking. MedShadow has written about the phenomenon before. But, while the idea of taking fewer medications is simple, the process of deprescribing while balancing risks versus benefits is complicated. Some medications have withdrawal symptoms, and tapering may take time. The Therapeutics Initiative at the University of British Columbia is hosting a series of webinars with healthcare professionals sharing real-life stories of their own patients whose medications they were able to reduce, and what happened when they did.…

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