Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Hermaphrodites only?

I have finally caved in. I bought a package of Midol.

For my non-US readers, this Midol contains 500 mg of acetaminophen, 60 mg of caffeine, and 15 mg of the diuretic pyrilamine maleate. It advertises itself as "Menstrual Complete: maximum strength relief of cramps, bloating, fatigue, backache, headache".

For the record, it works. It was well worth walking up to the shelf in the store, search frantically for 15 minutes, and finally decide to buy the only product I could find that had both lots of painkillers and caffeine that could help my body absorb said wonderful drugs. (And no, I don't care how stereotypical this makes me. The pain stopped. Nothing else matters.)

Ever careful, remembering my mother's constant warnings to treat over-the-counter drugs with as much caution and respect as prescription medications, I turned the package over to read the warnings on the back before making my decision. Among the warnings I found this:

Ask a doctor before use if you have
  • glaucoma
  • a breathing problem such as emphysema or chronic bronchitis
  • difficulty in urination due to enlargement of the prostate gland
Now, please correct my if I am wrong, dear family and friends who work in the medical profession and know this better than I do, but isn't it extremely unusual for a person to have both a menstrual cycle and a prostate gland...?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

The pills sound wonderful! Personally I go for prescription drugs when it's time...

Since I don't work in the medical profession I can't be sure about the menstrual cycle and prostate gland but it do sounds a bit suspicious.

Unknown said...

Being a registered nurse I can confirm that having both a prostate gland and a menstrual cycle is NOT a common occurence.