Can you believe that?
In 1912 Beyer marketed Heroin as a cough suppressant.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heroin – mediaviewer/File:Bayer_Heroin_bottle.jpg
We do NOT recommend any commercial over the top cough syrup for kids. If you must, try honey (for kid > 1 yr) or turmeric milk.
Generic drugs, both over-the-counter and prescription medications, are very strictly regulated by the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) rules for generics. Regulations include:
· A generic’s active ingredient, dosage, and strength must be the same as its brand-name equivalent.
· Generic drugs must be "bioequivalent" to brand-name drugs, meaning they have to show up as the same in the bloodstream and work in the exact same way.
· Manufacturing, testing, and packaging sites are subject to the same FDA regulations, whether the product in question is a brand name or a generic. (About half of generic drugs are actually made by the same companies making the brand-name versions.)
In the end, the variation in performance between brand names and generics is about the same as the variation between brands.
So, do Doctors buy generic?
Source: Bronnenberg et al
YES!
Now, you decide.
Americans are swallowing antidepressants like Zoloft and Paxil at four times the rate they used to, according to the latest statistical report on the nation’s health, released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
One main reason: Per a recent research, two-thirds of a group of 5,000 that had been diagnosed with depression did not meet the conditions for an antidepressant.
Beware of Pharma marketing!
A new government survey has found that 1 in every 13 child is taking at least one medication for emotional or behavioral problems.
Of these, 81 % of the children on medication had been diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) at some point.
Now sit back and think for a minute…….
Aren’t children meant to be full of energy and unfocussed?
Do we want them growing up like robots that follow instructions precisely?
Isn’t the act of growing up fundamentally an act of developing patience, focus, and self-confidence?
If so, why do we rush to put them on psychotropic drugs?
Note that only 55 % of parents reported that these psychiatric medications are helping their children.
Does this sound right to dose young growing mind with drugs that impact their hormone level and brain functions?
Have we truly exhausted all non-chemical options before we medicate our kids?
Before you open the next Ritalin bottle, just think for a minute.
A recent article in Salon makes a good read and incisive point on ADHD. (read more here: http://www.salon.com/2014/03/01/the_truth_about_adhd_over_diagnosis_linked_to_cause_championed_by_michelle_rhee/)
ADHD diagnosis has increased over 40% in the last decade. The CDC now estimates that 12 percent of school age kids, and as many as 20% of teenage boys have been diagnosed with ADHD.
A new book, “The ADHD Explosion,“ by Stephen Hinshaw and Richard Scheffler points out that based on the most recent survey, from 2011, a child in Kentucky is three times as likely to be diagnosed with ADHD as a child in Nevada. And a child in Louisiana is five times as likely to take medication for ADHD as a child in Nevada.
TOP 5 STATES
The five states that have the highest rate of diagnoses — Kentucky, Arkansas, Louisiana, Indiana and North Carolina.
BOTTOM 5 STATES
Nevada, New Jersey, Colorado, Utah and California
BOOK’S SURPRISING FIND
What the team found was that high rates of ADHD diagnoses correlated closely with state laws that penalize schools when students fail.
TAKEAWAY:
Don’t be quick to label. Understand the subtle social pressure that may be influencing you. Seek alternatives before you put your child on brain altering drugs.
A NEW TREND IN ADDICTION AMONG KIDS
STUDY:
A study from Drugfree.org suggest that only 14% of the parents have discussed abuse of prescription drugs with their kids. One in four teens in the study said they had misused or abused a prescription drug at least once. One in eight teens report misusing or abusing the drugs Ritalin or Adderall. Some parents didn’t see a significant risk in teens misusing prescription drugs. More shockingly, some kids are having “skittles parties,” where the teens throw all the pills they poach from home into a big bowl, mix them up and then take a few without knowing exactly what they were ingesting.
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
Talk to your kid about the dangers and risk of prescription drugs. They are just as potent and in some cases, more deadly a chemical than street drugs.
Lock away unsafe drugs in a cabinet and keep track of it.
Keep an eye on your kid’s habit and know their friends. As the famous saying goes “You are, the company you keep”.
For more read “The Partnership at Drugfree.org”
A recent article in the newspaper screamed that ADHD diagnosis is rising in the US. 11% of the kids have ADHD.
The article points:
A.D.H.D. has historically been estimated to affect 3 to 7 percent of children. These new rates reflect a marked rise over the last decade and could fuel growing concern among many doctors that the A.D.H.D. diagnosis and its medication are overused in American children. About two-thirds of those with a current diagnosis receive prescriptions for stimulants like Ritalin or Adderall.
And even more teenagers are likely to be prescribed medication in the near future because theAmerican Psychiatric Association plans to change the definition of A.D.H.D. to allow more people to receive the diagnosis and treatment. the new rates suggest that millions of children may be taking medication merely to calm behavior or to do better in school. There’s a tremendous push where if the kid’s behavior is thought to be “abnormal “— if they’re not sitting quietly at their desk — that’s pathological, instead of just childhood.
So who benefits:
The pharmaceutical industry. Sales of stimulants to treat A.D.H.D. have more than doubled to $9 billion in 2012 from $4 billion in 2007, according to the health care information company IMS Health.
And what is worse, parents don’t even realize that they are being manipulated. Several doctors recently mentioned that advertising from the pharmaceutical industry played off parents’ fears — showing children struggling in school or left without friends — encouraging parents and doctors to call even minor symptoms A.D.H.D. and try stimulant treatment. A pamphlet for Vyvanse, for example, shows a parent looking at her son and saying, “I want to do all I can to help him succeed.”
What can you do about it?
Resist the urge to find quick fixes. ADHD is not a life sentence. And once you put your child on medicine, it harder to wean them off. ADHD medicine can also lead to addiction, anxiety and occasionally psychosis. So, think thrice before you start medicating your kid for ADHD.
