One in four people who borrow prescription medications experience side effects, according to a survey of 2,773 people.

Researchers looked at whether sharing prescription medication leads to inappropriate use, delayed care, and other problems. Among the findings:

• A large proportion of people who borrowed prescription medications said they never got written (55 percent) or verbal (38 percent) warnings or instructions from the person who gave them the medicine.
• While 77 percent of people who borrowed medication said they did so rather than seeing a health care provider, almost one in three of those people ended up going to a health care provider afterward. As a result, they delayed care.
• Among those who delayed care, half reported that they failed to tell the provider they had taken medication for which they had no prescription.

According to the researchers, the results offer proof that borrowing prescription medication poses real risks. The study was presented at the American Public Health Association’s 2009 Annual Meeting in Philadelphia.

Damp surroundings, badly maintained heating and air-conditioning, and carpeting can help lead to poor indoor air quality, according to experts at the 2009 meeting of the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. Such air can cause or worsen allergies, asthma, and respiratory problems.

To improve your home’s indoor air quality:

• Keep the air conditioner clean. Use a filter that has an American Society of Heating and Air-Conditioning Engineers Standard Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value of eight or more.
• Avoid installing carpeting in a home if you can’t control the humidity.
• If you can’t replace carpet, clean it carefully using a vacuum with a HEPA filter or a cyclonic vacuum.
• Use a dehumidifier in your basement to prevent mold.

The “chocolate cure” for emotional stress is getting new support from a study published in the American Chemical Society’s Journal of Proteome Research. The small study found that eating about 1.4 ounces of dark chocolate a day for two weeks reduced levels of stress hormones in people who felt highly stressed.

Previous studies have suggested chocolate may offer health benefits. Until now, however, little research in humans showed exactly how chocolate’s stress-busting effects might work.

In the study, Swiss and German scientists identified reductions in stress hormones and other stress-related biochemical changes in volunteers who rated themselves as highly stressed and ate dark chocolate for two weeks.

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