Children and Prescription Medication – An Issue Spiraling Out of Control

Prescription medication rates among children and teens is becoming more and more prevalent these days.  Little scientific data can support the benefits of treating the ever-expanding litany of conditions that have previously been treated effectively without drugs in past generations.  Not only are pharmaceuticals being over-prescribed, but it is leading children down a path that causes more health problems and complications in the future. Poor lifestyle choices (little to no exercise and poor diet) in many of today’s youth are leading to an epidemic of obese children and an overwhelming number of diagnosed diabetes and high cholesterol cases.  This current situation lends itself to the medical community and gives the opportunity to prescribe more medication. In December of 2010, The Wall Street Journal reported the findings of Medco Health Solutions Inc., which determined that roughly one in four children and 30 percent of adolescents between the ages of 10 and 19 are taking medication for a chronic condition in the United States.  Nearly 7 percent of children are taking two or more drugs, according to the company’s research for 2009. An alarming trend over the last ten years is that drugs are being prescribed in large numbers for conditions that we don’t normally associate with children, such as type 2 diabetes.  Additionally other medications prescribed to kids for mental health concerns such as depression and anxiety have side effects such as extreme weight gain. The National Center for Health Statistics reports that the percentage of Americans taking at least one prescriptions drug each month increased from 44 percent to 48 percent from 1999 to 2008.  The percentage taking two or more increased from 25 percent in 1999 to 31 percent in 2008.  During that same time frame, the percentage of Americans who took five or more prescription drugs per month increased from 6 percent to 11 percent.  That’s good news for the pharmaceutical companies which collect about 300 billion dollars a year and spent 189 million dollars last year lobbying Congress to make sure it stays that way. The only way to safely protect your children from adding to these statistics is to ask your doctor about drug-free treatment options when they suggest a prescription.  A chiropractor will take the necessary steps to try to help you and your children’s bodies to heal itself naturally.  This is done by using conservative and natural options first, rather than turning to medication In most instances, lifestyle modifications such and a change in diet, weight loss, and exercise will have a far greater impact on confronting childhood health concerns than turning to medication.  Come visit us for more information.