Children and Prescription Drugs

Sad to say, all is not well at the MDs office and the pharmacy counter. Physicians prescribe drugs that are not needed, have not been approved for children, drugs that have serious side effects and drugs that are toxic and can cause death. The prescription of psychotropic drugs to children is one the most deplorable aspects of medical practice. In the USA, Harris stated: “As states begin to require that drug companies disclose their payments to doctors for lectures and other services, a pattern has emerged: psychiatrists earn more money from drug makers than doctors in any other specialty. How this money may be influencing psychiatrists and other doctors has become one of the most contentious issues in health care. For instance, the more psychiatrists have earned from drug makers, the more they have prescribed a new class of powerful medicines known as atypical antipsychotics to children, for whom the drugs are especially risky and mostly unapproved. Drug makers generally spend twice as much to market drugs as they do to research them. ” (New York Times June 2007)

A well know prescription drug problem is the overuse of antibiotics to treat viral infections, allergy and other symptoms that are not improved with their use. The overuse of antibiotics contributes to bacterial resistance in the community, an increasingly serious problem. Government agencies are busy trying to control antibiotic use. They have to educate both physicians and parents that antibiotics are not required for colds, coughs, ear infections, and digestive upsets. Some viral illnesses produce alarming illnesses, especially influenza and adenoviruses that sweep through communities at least once a year. There are now limited antiviral drugs that can sometimes be prescribed but none of the antibiotics are helpful. The majority of viral illnesses resolve with nursing care, but no drugs.

Despite a long tradition of giving syrup medicine to sick kids, most of the over-the-counter syrups, capsules and pills for colds and coughs are not effective and carry some risk.
See Cough and Colds

Psychotropic Drugs

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