Health and Wellness
Home Care • Hospice Care • IV Care We care not only for the mind, body and spirit of patients, but of their family and loved ones too. Contact us anytime, or ask your physician for a no-obligation referral.
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Overmedicated and Undereducated Maribeth Twerdok
In this country a typical scenario plays out like this: a person has a physical complaint—a cold, an ache, or a pain—and immediately schedules an appointment with a physician. We live in a quick fix society; people want instant results, and expect to leave the doctors office with a prescription to take to their local pharmacist. Almost all of us have used prescription or over the counter medications. Unfortunately, we have become a nation that is overly dependent on the temporary relief that comes from the drugs that we keep in our medicine cabinets. Very often, we do not recognize that what we are taking may negatively impact our health. Each year, 2.2 million people in the U.S. experience adverse reactions to prescribed drugs while hospitalized, resulting in approximately 106,000 deaths.* Dr. Marc Micucci, of D&M Chiropractic and Therapeutic Rehab in Upper St. Clair, states, ”Most people don’t realize what an extreme statistic that is. It’s the equivalent of a plane crash everyday, with a loss of 290 lives.” Many more unreported drug
reactions occur at home. In one alarming study, the average senior citizen was given 25 prescriptions a year from multiple doctors and used multiple pharmacies to obtain the medications. In those situations, dangerous errors often occur, and it also becomes increasingly difficult to separate drug side effects from disease symptoms. Some of the drugs with the worst side effects have been determined to be NSAIDS (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications such as ibuprofen), selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (antidepressants), and calcium channel blockers. Patients are often given antibiotics, even though they are ineffective against viral infections, and numerous studies have documented concerns about the risks of hormone replacement therapy. Certainly, modern medicine has improved the quality of our lives to some extent, but when does it go too far? The pharmaceutical industry is huge and wants us to believe there is a pill for everything. They increasingly use advertisements to influence consumers. Interestingly, New Zealand and the United States are the only Fall 2009
two countries worldwide that are permitted to advertise prescription drugs on television. In addition, the FDA does not review all ads before they are released and does not allow only the safest and most effective drugs to be promoted for public use, as many believe.* Our bodies possess an incredibly efficient immune system and ability to heal. Of course, in some cases of severe injury or illness, certain medications are necessary. However, patients are too often overmedicated and undereducated as to the dangers of prescription drugs. We should not become complacent about the medicines that we take; we should instead look at ways to reduce our reliance upon them. In many instances, there are more effective ways to handle pain, and to be proactive in our health. Most of us know about the importance of a healthy diet and exercise, and regular dental visits. It is equally important to take care of our spines. Ideally, early childhood Continued on page 80
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