The Most Unexplained Medication Side Effects

We’ve all been ill and had to visit the doctor who prescribes medicine. We take it with the hopes of feeling better and we often do but then some medicines have side effects. Talk about from the frying pan into the fire. These unwanted effects related to medicines can range from mild to severe. It’s like choosing the lesser of two evils and sometimes that is difficult to decide. While we have to be thankful to modern medicine, we must be aware of the side effects; some of which are quite strange. Here are a few of these side effects; some of which can’t be explained. \r \r 1. Hair Color Returns\r \r The hair color industry is a thriving one as people are often looking to change their looks or cover their grays. Men and women are constantly looking to turn the hands of time to look and feel younger. Gleevec is used in the treatment of cancers such as leukemia. It has been observed that after using the medication for roughly five months, both men and women with gray hairs begin producing their former hues once more. Doctors are not sure why this occurs. Who says side effects are always a bad thing.\r \r 2. Higher IQ\r \r This side effect is certainly a welcomed one. Why not free two birds with one key. Iodized salt has been popular from the 1920s. Salt is fortified with iodine to ensure a reduction in iodine deficiency which causes goiter, serious birth defects and developmental delays. It was found that in places where iodine deficiency was prevalent and iodized salt was used to counteract this, people’s IQ scores increased by fifteen points. Who doesn’t want to be smarter?\r \r 3. Reduction in Height\r \r If you suffer from severe allergies, arthritis, asthma, multiple sclerosis or lupus, your doctor may have given you a prescription for prednisone. There are some common side effects to taking this medicine such as dizziness, weight gain, changes in mood and headaches. These are nothing that patients can’t handle and they aren’t long lasting. One of the strange side effects is a decrease in height. When prednisone is used in children it can result in stunted growth. For some patients, this tends to persist into adulthood.\r \r 4. Black, Hairy Tongue\r \r A medicine cabinet isn’t complete without a bottle of Pepto-Bismol. For heartburn, nausea, indigestion and upset stomach, Pepto-Bismol is the go-to medicine. While it is very effective in helping with these ailments, products such as Pepto-Bismol which contain bismuth can cause the tongue to turn black. It is believed that this active ingredient reacts with sulfur that is present in the mouth to form bismuth-sulfide which is black.  The hairy appearance of the tongue's surface is also a side effect of Pepto-Bismol. It has been found that after a few days of not taking this medicine, the tongue returns to its normal appearance.\r \r 5. From Red to Green Blood\r \r Persons who suffer from migraines may be familiar with the medicine Sumatriptan which is prescribed to treat this ailment. Some of its mild side effects are fatigue, vomiting, muscle cramps and stiffness, nightmares and stomach pains. It is thought that sulfur, which is an active ingredient in Sumatriptan, causes the blood to turn green. Yes, you read correctly- green. It is not clear as to why the blood reacts in this way but this change can seriously affect the body over time. The good news is that when the medicine is discontinued, new red blood cells will be produced and the blood will become red again.