Are Your Children Being Unnecessarily Medicated?
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These
days, it seems many medical doctors' first course of action is to recommend
or prescribe drugs for any patient complaint; disturbingly, this trend seems
to hold true whether the patient is an adult or a child.
An
eye-opening study published in the May issue of Pediatrics revealed
that many pediatricians have recommended the use of medication for children
who suffer from sleep disturbances. In fact, of the 671 U.S. pediatricians
surveyed, 75 percent said they had advised parents to administer an
over-the-counter (OTC) medication, and more than 50 percent had prescribed a
sleep aid. Surprisingly, antihistamines were common
OTC medications recommended, while a commonly prescribed sleep aid was
clonidine, which is used to treat behavioral problems. Neither of these
medications was specifically designed to treat insomnia; in fact, little is
known about their safety and effectiveness for treating sleep-related
problems. Moreover, they were administered to children who had difficulty
sleeping and/or awoke frequently during the night, which most would agree is
a fairly natural occurrence - especially in children.
On the flip side, many of these doctors may
be overlooking more serious health problems masked as insomnia, including
depression, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, psychological
problems, and other medical conditions. And according to the study, the
practitioners themselves expressed "a range of concerns about sleep
medication appropriateness, safety, tolerance and side-effects in children." If your child suffers from sleep-related
difficulties, ask your doctor about all the options before opting for a
"quick fix" with medication. There are many reasons for insomnia (in
children and adults); make sure your physician determines the reason behind
your child's problem - and its severity - before deciding the best manner in
which to treat it.
Reference: Owens JA, Rosen CL, Mindell JA.
Medication use in the treatment of pediatric insomnia: results of a survey
of community-based pediatricians. Pediatrics (online version), May
2003: Volume 111, Number 5, p.e628.
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