General Board

I think they're a BIG mistake on many levels.

Posted By: Vickie <midwife@abundancemagazine.com> (63.28.217.196)
Date: Friday, 1 September 2000, at 1:52 a.m.

In Response To: Drug Commercials… (Marcelline)

 

Oooh, I wish I had time to do this justice, but I'll just touch on some of my concerns.

Not surprisingly, these ads are popular and obviously they work.

Drug manufacturers have figured out that consumers are getting more and more involved in their health and are capitalizing on that. And since as a culture we're in love with the concept of the magic bullet, these advertisements no doubt garner the drug mavens HUGE bucks. Instead of waiting for a doctor to prescribe a medication, the patient can now to go their doctor and demand treatment. While anyone who knows me knows that I'm all for health care consumers being informed and in charge of their own health, I think this attitude can cause big problems. (Truthfully though, putting your health in the hands of a pharmaceutical company is hardly being in charge, if you think about it).

Example: Why are so many American children allergic to antibiotics? Because when they get ear infections the parents take them to the doctor and DEMAND antibiotics. Even though more than half of ear infections are viral. Even though the VAST majority of both bacterial AND viral ear infections clear up on their own in a couple of days. Even though antibiotics kill the intestinal flora which is necessary for the breakdown of foods, thereby causing proteins to enter the bloodstream, leading to allergies and MORE illness.

Even though.

Why does this happen?

Because American parents are very frustrated with having a sick kid (actually that's probably universal) and go to the physican demanding SOME kind of treatment. The doctor, wanting to placate the parents, prescribes antibiotics, usually amoxicillin. Eventually after a few courses of that, it's not unusual to have an allergy develop -- or, if it's not taken properly (and even when it is), resistant strains develop, requiring better and stronger antibiotics. And, because the lifecycle of a bacteria is much shorter than ours, they mutate quicker than we do.

But do the antibiotics work? Maybe.

Yes, the infection goes away. Sometimes. More often than not though it will come back, leading to more, stronger antibiotics, eventually leading to more drastic procedures like putting tubes into the kids' ear, which, if you really want to create a breeding ground for middle ear infection, that's an excellent way to go about it.

I speak from some experience on this. I was on the antibiotic treadmill with Gareth for the first year of his life. He was on stronger and stronger antibiotics, with longer and longer courses. He had a systemic yeast infection, several allergies developing and was a MISERABLE kid. The docs finally broached the subject of tubes in his ears and that's when I said "enough".

I took him to a naturopathic doctor in Seattle and that's when my passion for alternative medicine began. First of all they treated his ear infection with herbal ear drops; it was gone within days and he's NEVER had another one since. Then they treated the candida and allergies with vitamin supplements. His allergies, including asthma, went away.

Gareth is probably the healthiest 13 year old I've ever seen. If he gets sick once a year it's a big deal. In fact, he just came home from his dad's with a bad head and chest cold, and it's his first in YEARS. This is the kid who spent the first year of his life on antibiotics, decongestants and asthma medication.

Now imagine if antibiotics were advertised in Women's Day!!!! Or during commercial breaks on Oprah!!!

Now as far as other medications are concerned, you may ask, what's the harm? To which I must ask a question of you: How many people read the fine print in those slick two page ads? We're seduced with these beautiful, Disney images of how our life will be better by taking these drugs. The downside, which can KILL you, are swept under the carpet. And human nature being what it is, we don't imagine that will happen to US! And if they do read the fine print, do you think they'll understand exactly how "permanent liver damage", as an example, will impact their life? Probably not. I know I'm just beginning to understand the complexities of the human body and I've been studying it for awhile.

In my opinion, the large number of people abusing antidepressents is in part due to direct advertising. Yes, antidepressants are LIFE SAVING, when used properly. And yes, there are lots of us out there with demonstrated seratonin deficiencies, just as there are lots of diabetics. But the difference is you don't see too many diabetics doing self diagnosis and demanding a particular medication. My fear is that people will go through a rough spot in their life and, rather than work through it, demand medication because it's easier. And you know what? Now they're finding out that long term use can burn out the seratonin receptors. Oops.

Let's be real here. Many of us would take a pill if it would make us thinner, if it had no side effects, right? I know I would.

Unfortunately, what's happening in America is that people are doing this with ALL of their so called ailments. A guy reaches mid life, maybe doesn't feel as sexy as he used to, and demands viagra. Even women now are taking it. Feeling kinda blue? Take Zoloft. Can't sleep? Now we've got some great new sleeping meds on the market. Which are WONDERFUL for treating symptoms. Your kid kinda bummed because of school, or your work schedule? Put 'em on Paxil. Or, maybe your kid's too hyper because of all the sugar you feed them? Give 'em Ritalin. (Did you know that many cases of juvenile delinquency and hyperactivity in boys can be CURED by taking dairy out of their diet??)

But what about treating the whole person?? What about looking at people holistically, and not just a collection of symptoms?? What happens to the body's innate sense of homeostasis when we subject it to these powerful drugs? (And don't be fooled -- they ARE powerful. How do you suppose Lipitor magically reduces your cholesterol?? It ain't the tooth fairy, folks). I'm beginning to think that we need to look at drugs with the same caution that we look at surgery, because they can have the same profound, long term effects that surgery can.

Now we even have a bunch of doctors saying that women don't "need" periods (sorry, guys) and that those women taking birth control pills don't need to stop and have a period but just keep taking them. What do you suppose the long term effect of building up a uterine lining has on the body?? The answer: we don't know. And isn't THAT scary! But hey, we must know more than our bodies, right? I mean, what about the wisdom that create our bodies, allowing them to thrive for a long, long time, without Pfizer. Or Merck.

Then of course there are the weight loss meds like PhenFen which caused heart problems in a large number of people. Have we learned NOTHING from all those people's illnesses??? Is it really worth having your HEART damaged to be thinner. For awhile.

Now we have people abusing herbal remedies to lose weight. "Herbal speed" is still speed. It still has a pharcological affect on the body and therefore is still potentially dangerous. But many people are lulled into a false sense of security that, because something is "natural" that it's somehow safe. Well guess what? Deadly nightshade is natural and it is anything but safe. This is, in my opinion, a real downside of the explosion in popularity of herbal supplements. People don't treat them with the respect that they ought, take them out of their biological context, and they can get hurt. Or, if they're lucky, just lose a few bucks. Please, folks, I love herbal remedies, but if you're going to take herbs, get an herbal PDR and do some RESEARCH. I got mine at Costco for cheap and it has paid for itself over and over, as many of you who've asked my opinion about different things know.

Oh boy, I'm really ranting here. I'd better stop.

So, suffice to say, dear Marcelline, I think advertising to the public is a Bad Idea. Really though, it's just a symptom of an ailment that our culture has, which is the hope of a quick fix. But thanks for bringing up the topic. Ya got my blood boilin'.

Hugs,

Vickie

 

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