Cold Medicine Risky for Babies

COLD MEDICINE RISKY FOR BABIES, TODDLERS

ASSOCIATED PRESS January 11, 2007

More than 1,500 toddlers and babies wound up in emergency rooms over a two-year period, and three died because of bad reactions to cold or cough medicine, federal health officials reported Thursday.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned parents not to give common over-the-counter cold remedies to children under 2 years old without consulting a doctor.

The deaths of three infants 6 months or younger in 2005 led to an investigation that showed the children all had high levels of the nasal decongestant pseudoephedrine, up to 14 times the amount recommended for children ages 2 to 12. The study found 1,519 ER cases from 2004 and 2005 involving young children and cold medicine.

The CDC said it's not known how much cold or cough medicine can cause illness or death in children under 2 years old, but there are no approved dosing recommendations by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for that age group.

The American Academy of Pediatrics first advised parents in 1997 about the risks of complications and overdose potential with certain cough suppressants. Last year the American College of Chest Physicians advised doctors not to recommend cough suppressants and over-the-counter cough medications to young children because of the risks.

Dr. Michael Shannon, chief of emergency medicine at Children's Hospital Boston, said it's common, especially in the winter, to see emergency room cases of toddlers given cough or cold medicine.

(If you recall, cold medicines were pulled several years ago for causing strokes. Looks like the new chemical they use now kills babies.)

Dr. Michael Marcus, director of pediatric pulmonology, allergy and immunology at Maimonides Infants and Children's Hospital in New York, said, " The best thing (parents) can do is support with fluids and lots of kisses and time, because lots of infections are viral and will pass in a few days. The medications have a greater potential for harm than the infections you are trying to treat."
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Dr. Marcus makes a profound statement - STAY AWAY FROM DRUGS! He is missing that these children should be adjusted to make sure that they have maximum nerve strength controlling and coordinating their immune functions as well as dietary changes; however, he understands the incredible power of the body to heal itself. He also understands the extreme dangers of all medications.

If you have read our newsletters, watched the news, or read magazine articles reporting the horrors of medication, then you are aware that none are safe. What we once considered "safe drugs," considered safe because you can get them at the corner store or online without a prescription, are no longer "safe." Cold medicines and over the counter pain relievers have all been added to the list of very deadly chemicals. Yet, despite this fact, Drug Stores remain not only open, but thriving like we have never seen, doctors keep writing prescriptions like they are going out of style, and the numbers of drug ads on T.V., in magazines, newspapers, etc. grows daily.

The Business of Disease is booming. Even though we read about the hazards of antibiotics, cold remedies, anti-depressants, pain killers, etc. every day, and these companies lose hundreds of millions of dollars getting sued for hurting people every year, the doctors keep telling you to take them and they remain on the shelf. If you go to the drug store today, there will still be cold medications there. If you ask your doctor or pharmacist about these medications, he or she will say they are fine. In fact, more than likely, they will not even know that this report on the dangers came out. If they do, they minimize it.

Notice I did not say the "Drug business is booming." Drugs are booming because we follow a disease model of living - Wait until you have a disease and then take a medication for it. It does not work, it is dangerous, and you and your kids suffer for it.

It is time to do all that it takes to follow a healthy, Maximized Living model. If you have symptoms, do what Dr. Marcus said."kisses, hugs, and time." Add to that the vital, natural ways you know of to take care of your body and let it heal itself. Anything else is Russian Roulette with a spoon, a pill, or injection.

The drug industry should be our nation's smallest business, not our largest. There is a need for emergency crisis care. However, I am 40 years old and have needed that type of care only three times in my life, and these came from rock throwing as a kid and collision sports (All the other care was antibiotics as a kid -and plenty of them).

Let us say you are unfortunate and have had a crisis or emergency in your health ten times in your life and two to three times you legitimately needed an antibiotic or pain reliever because it was an emergency and there were no other alternatives. It would still make them a minor organization. They are major because the average American uses multiple prescriptions a day!

Put the business of disease out of business. Be healthy and let the body heal.