5 Dangerous Mistakes You Make With Over-the-Counter Painkillers

More than 9 out of every 10 Americans use over-the-counter meds to manage pain, a new survey from the U.S. Pain Foundation found.

If you take them correctly, OTC painkillers are generally safe and effective, says Charles Vega, M.D., a clinical professor of health sciences at the University of California at Irvine.

But too many people don’t take the pills seriously—and skip the fine print on the bottle as a result, says Charles Vega, M.D., a clinical professor of health sciences at the University of California at Irvine.

The Dangerous Disease That 25% of Men Over 40 Have (and Often Don’t Know It)

Your medical history might have some serious holes in it. Nearly 80 percent of people with a common liver disease aren’t diagnosed, finds a new study from Baylor College of Medicine.

In the study, researchers determined that participants had non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)—an often-symptom-free accumulation of fat in the liver—if their lab work showed persistently elevated liver enzymes and no indication of organ-damaging factors like hepatitis or excessive alcohol use.