More and more research is establishing the danger of common
drugs such as acetaminophen, which is the main ingredient in Tylenol. For
example, Tylenol has been available on the American market since the early
1950s with Children’s Tylenol coming onto the market in 1955. The acetaminophen
(which is also known as paracetamol) found in Tylenol is still being studied
with adverse reactions continuing to be discovered.
One of those adverse reactions can be found in the findings
reported in the Journal of the AMA – Pediatrics of a previously unknown
association between acetaminophen consumption during pregnancy and ADHD. Acetaminophen
consumption during pregnancy can lead to the child who was exposed to
acetaminophen while in the womb developing attention-deficit/hyperactivity
disorder.
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder is commonly referred to as
ADHD. The findings of this study are profound because acetaminophen is one of
the most frequently used drugs for pain and fever during pregnancy.
There is only one desired effect a drug elicits in the human
body but a plethora of other effects that may be undesirable and are commonly
referred to as “side effects.” Some side effects are relatively innocuous but
others can be very severe or even life threatening. Dangerous drug treatments
are nothing new since all drugs are known to have side effects.
But will anyone pay attention to such studies and the warnings regarding potentially life altering side effects of consuming drugs? It is unlikely. The pharmaceutical industry spends an estimated $600 billion dollars on marketing every year. Anyone trying to tell folks that a trusted pharmaceutical such as Tylenol has problems associated with its use will have a difficult time convincing them after they have seen or read numerous advertisements touting the benefits of a given drug. However, there is a better way.
Chiropractic is a healthier, drugless way to improve your
health and address some of the problems associated with pregnancy. Utilizing
the preventive health care aspects of chiropractic for your family’s healthcare
needs can help prevent many bad outcomes. Adopting an outlook on healthcare that
encompasses chiropractic care is addressed by the Patient Protection and
Affordable Care Act in that it encourages the formation of multidisciplinary
practitioner teams.
Multidisciplinary practitioner teams formed under the
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act are referred to as Patient Centered
Medical Homes (PCMH). A PCMH may be comprised solely of conventional biomedical
practitioners such as medical doctors or it may also employ the services of
Doctors of Chiropractic, psychologists, acupuncturists, naturopaths, massage
therapists, and related health oriented practices such as yoga, meditation, and
Reiki.
The concept of organizing a PCMH is based upon the model of
integrative health care focusing on preventive healthcare and treating the
whole person. Such an organizational model demands an open mind on the part of
the practitioners so they will freely refer to fellow practitioners thereby
allowing a patient to fully enjoy the holistic approach to healthcare a PCMH
offers.
An integrated approach such as the PCMH offers is bolstered
by recently instituted electronic health records systems that must be in place
by 2015 per federal dictate. Such electronic health records systems allow all
practitioners in a PCMH to access patient records and share information.
The question is whether you will choose dangerous drug
interactions or natural collaborative care. Knowing what you know now, what
will you choose?
