Recently, an Iowa-based pharma company is dragged in an Ozempic lawsuit, reason? For selling counterfeit Ozempic.

What Is Ozempic?

Ozempic is a popular drug used for diabetes and weight-loss. Its official website notes that a medicine prescribed for people with type 2 diabetes and it comes in injection of .5mg, 1mg, or 2mg. It is injectable along with diet and exercise to improve blood sugar in people with type 2 diabetes.

The website also notes that it is the "first and only medicine in its class (GLP-1) proven to help lower the risk of worsening kidney diseases, kidney failure, and death due to cardiovascular disease in adults who also have chronic kidney disease".

What Happens When You Consume Counterfeit Ozempic?

The presence of fake Ozempic in the market is alarming. They are sold in lower prices, and could cause serious dangers to your life. One of the reasons being that these counterfeit Ozempic drugs may not have undergone the rigorous safety and efficacy testing that genuine medications do.

As per the Shapiro Legal Group, in 2023, incidents involving counterfeit Ozempic led to serious health emergencies in the United States.

ALSO READ: Iowa-based Pharmacy Faces Charges For Selling Counterfeit Ozempic

Three individuals experienced dangerously low blood sugar levels, after using the Ozempic pen. The pen instead contained insulin glargine, a medication used for long-acting blood sugar control in patients with diabetes. As per America's Poison Control Centers, all three of these cases were reported by the same regional poison control center, which meant that there might be a concentrated source of counterfeit Ozempic.

The Health Risks Counterfeit Ozempic Puts You At

Hypoglycemic Shock

This happens when your blood sugar levels drop dangerously low, and leads to confusion, trembling, heart palpitations, and sweating. Counterfeit Ozempic containing insulin instead of semaglutide can induce this condition unexpectedly in non-diabetics.

Coma

It is a deep state of unconsciousness, which can be triggered by severe hypoglycemia.

READ: Weight Loss Drugs Like Ozempic, Mounjaro And Wegovy Under Scrutiny After Deaths And Pancreatitis Reports in UK

Infections

This can happen if you use non-sterile counterfeit Ozempic injections, which can introduce bacteria into the body. The signs could be redness, swelling, pain, itching, and pus at the injection site.

Seizures

This can happen when your counterfeit Ozempic contains insulin. As a result, it your blood sugar can drop and lead to uncontrollable jerking movements, loss of consciousness, and confusion.

How To Identify Counterfeit Ozempic?

The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified that counterfeit Ozempic have few features that consumers must be vary about. These include:

• Lot Number and Serial Number
• Pen's Scale
• Label Quality
• Spelling Mistakes

How To Check Lot Number And Serial Number For Fake Ozempic?

Novo Nordisk, a global health company in its press release noted that Ozempic box that has a lot number PAR0362, and serial number that begins with the first eight digits: 51746517 are not authentic. Novo Nordisk has asked people to report to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in case they come across counterfeit Ozempic.

How To Check Pen's Scale For Fake Ozempic?

The WHO notes that falsified Ozempic pens may have a scale extending out from the pen when settling the dose. Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), under the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, Australia also provides photos of extended pen scale on its website.

How To Check The Label Quality For Fake Ozempic?

FDA has provided photo evidence for consumers to differentiate between a fake and an authentic Ozempic needle, by looking at its label and packaging.

What To Look For?

In Genuine Needle: The paper tab on the needle is imprinted with the needle lot number

In Counterfeit Needle: The paper on the needle is imprinted with the Ozempic product carton lot number

In Genuine Needle: The blue area on the paper tab only contains the lot number and no other text, while the inner needle cover is transparent

In Counterfeit Needle: The blue area on the paper tab has texts written on it and the inner needle cover has a blue transparent color

In Genuine Needle: The paper tab states NovoFine Plus

In Counterfeit Needle: The paper tab states NovoFine

Remember when in the Ep 8 of Season 1, Friends, Ross's 'nana' or grandmother dies and then wakes up again? Well, only to die a few moments later. However, she did rise from death. What if we tell you there is a science behind it? It is called the Lazarus Phenomenon or the Lazarus Syndrome, which we will come back later.

Few fears in history have been as chilling as the thought of waking up six feet under. Long before modern medical technology, the line between life and death was frighteningly blurry.

Without stethoscopes, electrocardiograms, or ventilators, doctors relied on mirrors held under the nose, or fingers pressed against a wrist, to declare someone dead. Mistakes were inevitable.

Accounts from as early as the 14th century suggest this nightmare was not unfounded. When the tomb of philosopher John Duns Scotus was reportedly opened, his body was discovered outside his coffin, his hands torn in a way that suggested he had tried to claw his way free. Coming back to another popular culture reference in the movie The Autopsy of Jane Doe, there is a mention of how dead bodies have bells tied to their ankle to ensure they are truly dead. This is a practice rooted deeply in history to avoid accidental burial.

READ: Medical Memoir: The Accidental Development Of The Small Pox Vaccine

Taphophobia: Accidental Deaths

Centuries ago, in 17th-century England, Alice Blunden of Basingstoke collapsed after drinking poppy tea, which acted as a sedative. Declared dead, she was buried swiftly. Days later, children heard noises near her grave. By the time she was exhumed, she was still clinging to life, but ultimately perished after a second premature burial.

Such tragedies gave rise to a cultural obsession known as taphophobia, the fear of being buried alive. The anxiety was so widespread that it inspired not only literature, such as Edgar Allan Poe’s haunting 1844 story The Premature Burial, but also a wave of bizarre inventions designed to save the mistakenly entombed.

Coffin Bells and Safety Devices

The 19th century saw one of the strangest solutions: the grave bell. In cemeteries like Cooper Cemetery in Ohio, a pipe was installed leading from the coffin to the surface, with a string tied to the corpse’s hand. At the surface, the string connected to a bell fixed to a post. If the “deceased” stirred, they could tug the string and ring for rescue.

Local historians believe this system may have inspired the phrase “saved by the bell.” Graveyards often stationed watchmen nearby, waiting to see if a bell would ring in the night. While the eerie sound must have sent shivers down spines, it was, for some, a last hope of survival.

Inventors soon took the concept further. Patents from the 1800s detail elaborate “safety coffins” equipped with air pipes, escape ladders, and signaling devices. Franz Vester’s 1868 “Improved Burial Case” included a bell and ladder for the unfortunate soul who awoke underground.

John Krichbaum’s 1882 design featured a T-shaped pipe that moved with hand motion, signaling life above ground. Others included clockwork fans for fresh air, or even battery-powered alarms to alert caretakers.

Though many of these designs were never widely adopted, they reflected the pervasive fear of premature burial in an era when medical certainty was elusive.

Accidentally Declared Dead Even In Modern Times

Even in modern times, stories of mistaken burials continue to surface. In 2011, Fagilyu Mukhametzyanov of Russia woke up during her own funeral. She opened her eyes in her casket, surrounded by grieving relatives. She screamed, was rushed to the hospital, and lived for another 12 minutes before dying of heart failure.

In 2014, Walter Williams of Mississippi was declared dead, his body zipped into a bag and delivered to a funeral home. To the embalmer’s shock, Williams’ legs began moving. He was breathing lightly and had, in fact, survived his first “death.” Two weeks later, however, he passed away for good.

These unsettling stories remind us that the fine line between life and death is sometimes blurrier than we’d like to admit.

The Lazarus Phenomenon: “Returns” from Death

If premature burial was the horror of the past, the Lazarus phenomenon, named after the Biblical figure who rose from the tomb, represents today’s medical equivalent.

Also Read: 71-Year-Old Declared Dead, But Came Back Alive: How Science Explains This Shocking Revival

Lazarus syndrome is the spontaneous return of circulation after failed attempts at resuscitation. In other words, a person’s heart restarts after doctors have already stopped CPR and pronounced them dead.

Documented only around 63 times in medical literature, it remains vanishingly rare. Most cases occur within ten minutes of resuscitation efforts ending.

Theories include:

Air trapping: Too much air pumped into the lungs during CPR builds pressure in the chest, preventing blood flow. When CPR stops, the pressure drops, and the heart spontaneously restarts.

Delayed medication delivery: Drugs given during resuscitation sometimes take effect only after circulation resumes.

Defibrillation delays: A shock to the heart may take longer than expected to trigger a rhythm.

Real-life examples are just as dramatic as tales of grave bells. In Detroit, a 20-year-old woman was declared dead after 30 minutes of CPR, only for funeral home staff to notice her breathing. In Britain, a 23-year-old man began breathing again after last rites. In Ohio, a man’s family watched in shock as his heart rhythm returned minutes after he had been declared dead.

Though survival rates are low, most patients die again soon after, just like it happened with 'Nana' from Friends.

Death: A Process, Not an Instant

What connects premature burial and Lazarus syndrome is a simple truth: death is not always an immediate event. Instead, it is a process in which organs gradually fail. Historically, without medical monitors, it was almost impossible to distinguish deep coma or catalepsy from actual death. Today, despite advanced machines, the Lazarus phenomenon shows that even modern medicine occasionally falters.

Medical guidelines now recommend waiting at least ten minutes after CPR stops before officially declaring death, ensuring that spontaneous circulation will not return. It is a safeguard rooted in the same caution that once drove inventors to attach bells to coffins.

You know Joey from the series sleeps without clothes on. Have you ever thought about it? Maybe you have, but you have been too shy to give it a try. Maybe Joey was not joking, maybe sleeping without clothes on do have some benefits.

While sleeping naked at night may not be the first thing that comes to your mind, however, it has benefits, which can surprise you.

Sleeping Naked Means Sleeping Faster

Behavioral sleep disorders specialist Michelle Drerup, PsyD, DBSM, tells Cleveland Clinic that your body naturally works to lowers its temperature or thermostat to doze off at night. This happens through circadian rhythm that regulates your body's wake and sleep cycles. So, the faster you cool off, the faster you will sleep.

Sleeping without clothes might as well help you in that.

Your bedroom temperature should be between 60 degrees Fahrenheit and 67 degrees Fahrenheit (15.5 degrees Celsius to 19.44 degrees Celsius) for optimal snoozing, not some experts.

ALSO READ: Oxford University Scientists Have Found The Reason Behind The Need To Sleep

Better Sleep

As per a 2012 study published in the Journal of Physiological Anthropology, when your body is cooled down, it also helps you sleep better. The quality of sleep significantly improves. Thus, sleeping naked is one of the many ways to achieve the desired temperature.

Good For Skin And Hygiene

A 2017 study published in journal Women's Health, titled Role of female intimate hygiene in vulvovaginal health: Global hygiene practices and product usage, cited the Royal College of General Practitioners guide on care of vulvar skin, and noted that sleeping without underwear allows better airflow, reduces moistures and prevents any potential yeast or bacterial infections.

ALSO READ: Do Feminine Hygiene Products Actually Cause Vaginal Infection?

Intimate skin is prone to have moisture trapped, and removing clothes can help your skin breathe. Since studies have proven that a lower body temperature allows you to have a better sleep quality, further studies, including a 2018 published in Journal of Applied Physiology notes that "adequate sleep" can also help you skin heal from small wound.

Improves Relationship

As per a 2015 study published in the Frontiers in Psychology, skin-to-skin contact between adults stimulates the release of oxytocin, which can play an important role in building attachments, and enhance the feeling of safety. It also thus help you sleep better as you feel less stressed and more in connect with your partner.

Great For Your Self Esteem

A 2021 study published in Journal of Sex Research found that times spent naked helps build body appreciation. This also helps one embrace themselves and self-love. Thus going to sleep naked extends the time you spend naked, and helps you boost your self esteem.

Helpful For Male Fertility

A 2018 study published in the journal of Human Reproduction also noted that sleeping naked is a good way to keep testicles cool and maintain an optimal temperature for sperm health.

The study of 656 men suggested a link between men who wore tight underwear with a low sperm count. The breezier the underwear was, the higher sperm concentration and total sperm count was in the men.

We have all been there, done that. Reaching out to Google every time we face slight discomfort sneezing, convinced that we have some serious disease. While not every ache or tickle means an emergency, some symptoms really do need urgent attention. According to ER doctors, there are a handful of red flags you should never brush off.

Here are six warning signs you should pay attention to immediately.

1. Chest Pain That Feels Super Heavy

We have all had heartburn after a cheesy pizza, but chest pain is not something to gamble with. Reports say crushing, pressure-like chest pain that radiates to your arm, jaw, or back is a huge red flag for a heart attack. Sometimes it comes with sweating, shortness of breath, or nausea. Even if you are young and otherwise healthy, do not assume it is just gas or stress. When in doubt, get checked out; it is always better to be told it is heartburn than to ignore a heart attack.

2. The Worst Headache of Your Life

Sure, headaches are common, but if you suddenly feel like someone is hammering your skull with no mercy, do not tough it out. According to the reports, a sudden, severe headache, especially if it is different from your usual migraines, could signal a brain aneurysm, bleeding, or other neurological emergency. Pair that with vision changes, weakness, or slurred speech, and you should be calling for help immediately.

3. Unexplained Shortness of Breath

Running up the stairs and wheezing like a deflating balloon is one thing. But struggling to breathe at rest or without any exertion? That is a whole different story. Experts say unexplained shortness of breath could point to conditions like blood clots in the lungs, asthma attacks, pneumonia, or even heart problems. If your chest feels tight, you are gasping for air, or your lips are turning blue, it is not something to “walk off”.

4. Sudden Weakness or Numbness in One Side of the Body

If you are holding something, and suddenly it slips right out of your hand because your arm has no feeling. Or half your face feels like it is melting. These are classic stroke symptoms, and ER doctors stress that time is everything. The quicker you get treatment, the higher the chances of recovery. Remember the acronym FAST: Face drooping, Arm weakness, Speech difficulty, Time to call emergency services. Do not wait it out hoping it will pass.

5. Uncontrolled Bleeding

A paper cut? No big deal. A deep cut that refuses to stop bleeding after 10 minutes of firm pressure? That is a medical emergency. According to the reports, that uncontrolled bleeding can mean a damaged artery or an underlying clotting disorder. If you are soaking through bandages or the blood will not stop, it is not something to ignore. Plus, losing too much blood too quickly can lead to shock and nobody wants to faint in their bathroom.

6. Severe Abdominal Pain That Comes Out of Nowhere

Stomach aches are often brushed off as bad food choices. But if you suddenly develop intense abdominal pain that does not go away, reports suggest it could be something much more serious, like appendicitis, gallstones, a perforated ulcer, or even an intestinal blockage. The kind of pain where you cannot stand up straight or move without wincing is not the “sleep it off” kind. Trust your gut, literally, and get checked.

Listen to Your Body’s Alarm Bells