Household Items Poison Pets

Listen up pet lovers: Be super-careful with your drugs, as they top the list of toxins poisoning household pets.  From dropped pills to medication packets lying around, domestic animals can be sickened by ingesting human drugs.  One ASPCA hotline reports that it received approximately 40,000 calls last year for animals poisoned by human medication--that's in one city alone!  Dang!

Pet owners do not always know what their pets have gotten into--they just see the animals exhibiting symptoms, like lethargy, vomiting, seizures or refusing food.

The top toxins sending pets to veterinary ERs are over-the-counter meds, antidepressants, and...Ritalin!!!  Ha ha ha ha...no kidding.  Guess little Johnny ain't paying attention the way he's supposed to on the dope.  Just try watching your dog fer chrissakes.  Here are the top ten poisons taking out household pets:

1. Human medication
2. Pesticides
3. Rodenticides
4. People food
5. Veterinary medications
6. Chocolate
7. Household toxins (cleaners)
8. Plants
9. Herbicides
10. Outdoor toxins (like antifreeze and fertilizers)

So clean up your garage, put the Easter candy up high, and please...please...keep your kid's Ritalin off the floor.

Java for Junior?

Does your child drink caffeine?  How young is too young to drink "the fuel?"  As an ingredient to many children's favorites from sodas to candy to ice cream, as well as many over-the-counter pain and cold medications, it behooves parents to know just how caffeine may affect your child.

According to the Nemours Foundation--a pediatric health system and research group--here are some of the ways caffeine affects a child's body:  Can cause

• nervous and jittery feelings
• an upset stomach.
• headaches.
• trouble concentrating and sleeping.
• a spike in heart rate and blood pressure

Madness, to me, is the thought of parents giving their children full-on coffee drinks as beverages.  But hey, who am I to judge?  If it's no problem for you to handle a screaming, caffeine-amped maniac, then more power to ya.

Even worse, though, is the number of parents feeding their children liquid sugar.  If that isn't enough caffeine and sugar to whack them out physically and mentally, then throw in some Cap'n Crunch.  Be my guest...it's your kid.  My girls won't get caffeine before high school if we can help it, and maybe even college if it's entirely up to me.

But it's a tough one with caffeine and sugar permeating most popular kids' drinks.  In any case, if you are allowing your child to drink soda and coffee beverages to their juvenile hearts' content, then don't be surprised when they're put on the Ritalin at school--it's a natural progression.

Childrens' Prescription Pill Poisonings

Well surprise, surprise--pills in the medicine cabinet pose a greater threat to children than household cleaners.  This from a recent U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report stating that two out of every three children showing up at emergency rooms for poisoning were due to ingesting prescription drugs.  And you thought those orange canisters were child proof.

Poisonings being the number one health hazard for children makes it prudent to know which household items are causing the greatest harm.  Medications by far lead the pack--they are twice as likely to cause pediatric poisoning as cleaning substances, pesticides, personal care products and other toxic household substances.

Says Jay L. Schauben, a pharmacist and director of the Florida Poison Information Center in Jacksonville, Florida,

"Normally what occurs when someone is taking medicine on a chronic basis, they'll leave it out.  Any pills left out are within the grasp and reach of a child. Some of the medicine can look like candy. Some of the cough syrups are flavored and taste good. You can sort of see how that would be a disaster waiting to happen.

The drugs children most often overdose on are over-the-counter (OTC) medications, with 10% of all poisonings in children under five coming from common analgesics like Tylenol or Motrin.  Don't forget that very young children put things in their mouths all the time--they are sampling their environment.  When common OTC meds are left out, children will likely want to try them.  Further, when hosting guests, always remember that they might be on medications, too, so keep an eye out for meds left out in guest bathroom.

Fortunately, not all kids that swallow pills overdose: only 26 deaths from 1.3 million poisonings in children 5 or younger were reported in 2008.

The best thing parents can do if they suspect medication poisoning, experts say, is to first call the Poison Help hotline: 800-222-1222. That number will connect them to the Poison Control Center nearest them.

"The only time you want to call 911 first is if the child is unarousable, the child is having difficulty breathing or the child is having convulsions or seizures," Schauben said.

According to another expert, "More than 95 percent of the time, a child will be able to stay at home.  I don't think just because a child got into something, the parents should automatically pack them into the car and take them to the emergency room. We can determine who needs to go to an ER or not."

Once again,

Poison Help hotline: 800-222-1222.

Got Pain?

Oh the pain, the pain...

75 million Americans are in pain every day. So says a study published in the medical journal The Lancet. 29% of all men and 27% of all women in the U.S. suffer some sort of pain at any given time. This translates to $16 billion a year spent on pain remedies and about $60 billion a year in lost productivity for the country. Wow!

Some other interesting facts:

• poor people reported more pain than wealthier people
• less educated people reported more pain
• pain increases in intensity as people age, although it plateaus between 45-75 years old, then increases again
• $14 billion spent annually on prescription pain meds and $2.6 billion spent on over-the-counter pain medications.

Let me repeat--wow! With only 10% of the population taking advantage of chiropractic care, these numbers are truly flabbergasting. Why aren't more people seeking out physical remedies that have been shown to work wonders? If you are a chiropractic patient and you've experienced the miraculous healing powers of the art, please tell your friends. No, insist they go. It seems simple to me. In light of the billions spent on drugs every year that don't seem to be reducing the numbers of people in pain, doesn't it make sense to try something different? something natural? something effective?

We are in a period of grave concern over health care spending. Why aren't more doctors, insurance companies, and legislators touting the benefits of physical remedies like chiropractic, acupuncture, massage, or physical therapy? Why do the powers that be keep pushing the same old tired non-solution? I don't know...but we can change that. Tell your friends and your loved ones about your positive experiences--they'll listen. They'll listen because people listen to those they trust. And you've seen chiropractic work wonders for you. Pass the word and help change the world. It's that big.

OTC Statins?

In an unusual display of rationality, the FDA rejected drug maker Merck and Co.'s bid to make it's cholesterol lowering statin, Mevacor, available as an over-the-counter medication. Hallelujah! I almost can't believe it.

Statins lower blood levels of LDL cholesterol (the bad stuff) by blocking a key enzyme necessary for the production of these lipoproteins. LDLs, or low density lipoproteins, are known to be precursors of atherosclerotic plaques, which harden the arteries and can lead to such cardiovascular diseases as heart attack and stroke, our leading killers in this country. As a result of this number one killer distinction, modern medical science has championed statin drugs as the savior of American heart health.

But wait, statins are drugs, and all drugs have physiological side effects, some of which can themselves cause illness and disease. To paraphrase 16th century alchemist and physician Paracelsus, "Poison is in everything, and no thing is without poison. The dosage makes it either a poison or a remedy." Ah, so very true. Should we, therefore, really make what's currently only obtainable by prescription available to the masses at the local drug store?

Well according to some brilliant and sound-minded physicians (and one altruistic pharmaceutical company), the answer is yes. Proponents believe that everyone, not just people with high levels of LDL cholesterol should be on statins. Statins are today's aspirin, you know, the drug one celebrity doctor claims we should name a town after. Ha, ha, ha. Oh, the folly of it all.

According to one brilliant mind, the sharp intellect known as Dr. David Nash of Philadelphia's Thomas Jefferson Medical College, "You should put this drug in the drinking water." Whoa! Do you all feel as safe as I do? That's awesome. I'm so happy to see that some of our nation's most highly esteemed physicians think that mass medication is the answer to our health woes. Even better that they hold so much influence over public health policy. Effin' right aye!

But, thankfully, wiser heads have prevailed...for now. In a 10-2 vote, an FDA panel rejected Merck's bid. The panel felt that "too many of the wrong people would use the drug if it no longer required a prescription." Uh, yeah. They based their conclusions on a study of nearly 1,500 people, where many wanted to buy the drug although they were poor candidates. I guess the drug companies want to maximize profits by pushing out the middle men--namely, doctors! Call me crazy, but I still think the physician is the best person to evaluate a person's need for a potent drug--yes, even more than television commercials. I know, I'm so yesterday.

Here are some of the risks associated with statin drugs: permanent liver damage, rhabdomyolysis (read about this man's experience here), nervous system damage, neuropathy, kidney damage, erectile dysfunction, temperature regulation problems, and amnesia (careful, you'll forget to take your statins). For a more comprehensive list of dangerous side effects linked to statins look here.

Why rely on statins when blood cholesterol can be lowered most effectively through sensible diet (read my book, read my book), exercise, and supplementing with essential fatty acids. Furthermore, we know that LDLs alone are not "bad". Only when they are oxidized (mostly by free radicals) do they become sticky, leading to plaque formation on the arteries. So by taking a good antioxidant (read my book, read my book), you can seriously lower your risk of developing atherosclerosis.

Unfortunately wellness isn't as hip as mass medication is in the current health (?) paradigm. Summing up this idea is yet another proponent of mass statin consumption, New York's Mount Sinai Medical School physician and Merck consultant, Dr. Valentine Burroughs, "We're still failing to prevent this epidemic (heart disease). It's time to take bolder action, to try new approaches."

Yeah, like spiking our drinking water. Sign me up, man.

Kids Cough Less With Honey

A new study shows that a spoonful of honey goes a long way in quieting nighttime cough in children. When compared to cough syrup or no treatment at all, honey showed better results. Chalk one up for natural home remedies.

The authors of the study, which appears in the December issue of Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, believe that the honey may work by coating and soothing an irritated throat. The importance of these findings come on the heels of federal health advisories, which have recently warned that over-the-counter (OTC) cough and cold medicines shouldn't be used in children younger than 6 (129 reported deaths from these products since 1969). As a result, manufacturers are taking some products for babies off the market.

I am personally pleased by these findings, not because I'm a "natural products" guy--I think medications are necessary in many instances--but because I really believe that people run far too often to what I think are useless OTC medications. No medication can carry out the healing process--only the body does that; they are simply easing symptoms that accompany, and are necessary for, healing to occur. So give the kids a dollop of honey and let it ride, baby--just let it ride.

Baby Takes What Mama Takes

The FDA has warned that breast-feeding mothers who take prescription pain killers containing codeine may put their babies at risk of a morphine overdose. Officials became concerned last year when a breast-fed 13-day-old baby died of just that. Following a routine episiotomy, the mother took a very small dose of pain medication that was rapidly converted to morphine in her body and passed on to her child through her breast milk.

Codeine, a narcotic, is apparently converted to morphine rapidly in the body in a small number of women. Codeine is a common ingredient in prescription pain relievers and some over-the-counter cough syrups. Women who convert codeine to morphine quickly are called ultra-rapid metabolizers. Their prevalence within the population varies between 1-28% depending on who gives the estimate, but it is believed that rates are highest among North African, Ethiopian and Saudi Arabian women.

This is just another reason why new mothers should be cautious of what they take. Drugs are routinely prescribed, but it does not mean they are without risk. You are always safer minimizing the chemical substances you ingest. This does not mean you shouldn't have help if you need it, however, less is best. And knowing the latest in health information is crucial.

Now that you know that some women are ultra-rapid metabolizers of morphine, you can obtain a laboratory test through your doctor to determine if you fall into this category. Otherwise, ask your prescribing doctor what's in the drug they're recommending. If it contains codeine, ask for an alternative. And remember, sometimes it pays to just deal with the discomfort.

Amazing! And They Call This Science

Researchers at the University of Oregon have found that giving money to charities stimulates pleasure centers in the brain the same way as, get this, sex or food does. In the study, nineteen women were given $100 each and then told they had to give the money away. Their brains were scanned by MRI as the women watched automatic transfers go from their accounts to a local food bank.

The areas of the brain that were stimulated were the caudate nucleus and the nucleus accumbens - areas known for pleasure.

Here's what I find questionable: would the pleasure centers have been stimulated if the women had to give away their own money. Ha, ha, ha - and they call this science. Sheesh. Please University of Oregon, do the next study on a group of insurance adjusters, would ya? Now that would be moolah well spent.

SAY GOODBYE TO POP-TARTS

Well, Kellogs Co., the maker of Frosted Flakes and Fruit Loops, says it's going to make its cereals and snacks targeted at kids healthier or stop making them altogether. Following threats of lawsuits by parent and advocacy groups who worry of childhood obesity, Kellogs has decided to step it up and make a healthier version of these long time sugary snacks.

Now wait just a doggone minute here - I like Pop-Tarts. Geez, do you gotta change them just cuz some child abusers have been actually feeding this product to their children for breakfast? C'mon, most of us levelheads know its candy. What next - organic Abba Zaba?

SPORTS-CREAM FOLLOW-UP

As we discussed a few days ago, the consequences following the death of a young lady who had used excessive amounts of sports cream is that experts are now urging clearer warnings to be used on labels. Some are even suggesting that creams should be only used with medical supervision.

Gotta say it again: don't take the safety of over-the-counter (OTC) medications for granted. All chemicals are poisons if administered in high doses or over an extended period of time. Read warning labels and teach your children to do the same. Definitely make it your business to know what your kids are taking - and keep abreast of what's happening in health. It can save your kid's life.