If you have a child or know someone who does (that should be all of us, right?), you need to read this article. It has some really sobering facts about children and medication. Make sure you read the top article from Yahoo News and Journal of Pediatrics, and then go down to read Mercola's additional information.
Some of the stand-out quotes for me were:
In 2004 and 2005, adverse drug events were the third leading cause of nonfatal injuries among infants treated in hospital emergency departments.
Another study, published in 2002, found that medications given to children and mothers during pregnancy, labor or while breast-feeding, played a role in 769 deaths and close to 6,000 side effects in children under 2 years of age between 1997 and 2000 in the U.S.
Perhaps even worse, the greatest disparity between supported and unsupported off-label uses is found among prescriptions for psychiatric uses, where only 4 percent of drugs have strong support, versus 96 percent having very limited or no support whatsoever from medical studies! Considering the fact that the use of psychiatric drugs in children as young as two has skyrocketed in the past decade, it’s nothing short of an uncontrolled mass-experiment.
- One-fifth of drugs that work in adults are ineffective in children
- One-fifth of the drugs were being prescribed at the wrong dosage
- One-third of the drugs caused unexpected side effects, some of which were potentially fatal
Two out of three babies receive antibiotics by their first birthday.
Treat fevers the right way -- A fever is actually a good thing. High fevers are especially good as they are far better than any immunization at building an authentic, life-long immune response. When you suppress these fevers with Tylenol or another medication, you can cause far more harm than good. (I advise avoiding most all of the anti-fever medications unless your child is absolutely miserable or the fever is over 104 degrees F.) A tepid bath can be a soothing and effective alternative.
READ THIS ARTICLE. It is not "granola" news. This is NATIONAL NEWS! Click here to read the information on Yahoo News.
People, we need to WAKE UP and stop giving our kids drugs every time they have the slightest sniffle. I know it may make you feel better to think you're helping them; however, in most cases you are impeding the process of them getting well or even worse, making them sicker...ALL IN THE NAME OF LOVE!
