The Overmedication of Todays Youth - Essay Example

?The Overmedication of today's youth Pat Hartman has pointed out that, “children as young as one year are on psychoactive medications because of ADHD” (Hartman). Today’s children and adolescents are equally vulnerable to mental problems such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Bipolar disorders, delusions, hallucinations, anxiety etc. Obesity is another major physical health problem which haunts children and teenage community at present. Changes in life styles and food habits are major suspected reasons for the increased rate of health problems among children and teenagers. For majority of the current doctors, healthcare is a profit making industry rather than a service industry. So, they do not hesitate to treat even small children with heavy doses of medicines in order to earn the trust and confidence of parents. The negative consequences of overmedication may not be visible immediately. However, health problems may develop later in the lives of children and teenagers because of the overmedication they received in the past. This paper explains the reasons for over diagnosis and overmedication and also the negative consequences and possible alternatives to this problem. Current children and teenagers are not getting enough love and care from their parents because of various reasons. Parenting of present era and that of past era are entirely different. Parents in the past were ready to hear the problems of their children whereas the present parents are not getting enough time to do so, since they are busy with personal and professional commitments. As a result of that, children and teenagers are struggling to find solutions to their problems, especially psychological problems. During adolescence, children undergo many hormonal changes that may create lot of psychological problems. Parents were ready to help children to solve such problems in the past. Children in the past were able to get enough advices from their parents about how to solve or manage teenage problems. On the other hand, current parents are not getting enough time to listen and solve teenage problem. For each and every teenage health problem- serious or simple- parents are seeking the advice of a doctor. Doctors on the other hand, know the psychology of the parents very well. They know that current parents are always interested in getting quick relief to their children. So, they will prescribe heavy doses of medications even for minor health problems in order to make the parents satisfied and also to run their business successfully. For example, anxiety is a major psychological problem developed by current children and teenagers. It is easy to manage anxiety problems without medications. Deep breathing exercise, Yoga etc can help teenagers to get rid of this problem permanently. However, current parents have not many beliefs in such remedies and they are more interested in treating their children with medications. Life is moving much rapidly now and people are looking for shortcuts to solve problems. Overmedication is a shortcut used by parents and healthcare professionals to get rid of physical as well as mental problems of children and teenagers. Overmedication may help children and teenagers to overcome their problems temporarily; however, they may develop many side effects in future as a result of overmedication at younger ages . Hartman has pointed out some of the side effects associated with overmedication such as; “insulin resistance, narcolepsy, tardive dyskinesia, agranulocytosis, accelerated appetite, vomiting, allergic reactions, uncontrolled blinking, slurred speech, diabetes, balance irregularities, irregular heartbeat, chest pain, sleep disorders, fever, and severe headaches etc” (Hartman). Ritalin is a medicine commonly prescribed for children with ADHD. Armstrong Williams (2004) has mentioned that “Ritalin has addictive qualities and cardiac side effects similar to those of cocaine. Nonetheless, doctors, school counsellors and misinformed parents continue to push the stuff to kids”(Williams). Concerns about increasing use of antidepressant drugs by children came into focus in 2003 when health officials in the United States, Britain, France, and Canada issued warnings that the popular selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) paroxetine (Paxil) might increase the risk of hostility, mood swings, aggression, and suicide in children and adolescents (Should children take antidepressants?). In short, overmedication may bring more harm than good in future as far as health and wellbeing of children and teenagers are concerned. Minor health problems can be treated effectively with the help of home remedies. For example, normal fever and headache can be treated without any medicines. Adequate rest and sleeping are enough to come out from such problems. However, current parents seek medical advice even for solving such minor health problems of their children. Paracetamol tablets are used extensively for treating fever and headache. “Modern studies clearly proved that paracetamol can cause side effect such as generalized rash on the chest, back, arms, legs or faces of the children” (Goldenholz). It should be noted that the diagnosis of ADHD like diseases are often been done by school counsellors who have less knowledge about this problem. ADHD can be confirmed only after a medical examination. School counsellors are not qualified enough to conduct such medical examinations. In short, over diagnosing of many of teenage and child problems are happening because of the involvement of less competent people such as school counsellors in the diagnosis process. “Dr. Mary Ann Block, an advocate for the treatment of ADHD without drugs, warns that most of the schoolchildren labeled ADHD "have never had a thorough medical exam to rule out any health problems causing the symptoms” (Williams). Different modern psychologists are of the view that minor psychological problems can be treated without medications. Medications are necessary only in the cases of people with chronic mental problems. Majority of narcotic medicines used for treating mental disorders can develop side effects in future. Instead of using narcotic medications; cognitive behavior therapy, psycho analysis etc can be used effectively to solve most of the mental problems among children and teenagers. It should be noted that these therapies do not use any mediations and therefore the possibility of side effects is out of question. Good parenting is another way of avoiding over medication among children and teenagers. Good parenting helps parents to realise the problems of children and teenagers properly and to help them in solving such problems. Children get basic lessons of problem solving from their parents. Parents have huge life experiences and therefore they can advise children about stress management techniques and problem solving methods. To conclude, parents should show more interests in solving minor teenage problems at home itself, instead of bringing them to hospitals for treatment. Overmedication may cause more harm than good in future. Instead of medication, it is better to practice home remedies to solve minor health problems. Works Cited Goldenholz,Shira. “Side Effects Of Paracetamol In Children”. 2010. Web. 07 December 2011 Hartman, Pat. “Are Kids Overdiagnosed and Overmedicated Into Obesity?”. 2011. Web. 07 December 2011. “Should Children Take Antidepressants?”. 2003. Web. 07 December 2011. Williams, Armstrong. “The Drugging of America's Children”. 2004. Web. 07 December 2011. Read More