Europeans turn up noses at drugs for kids
I've always believed in a pretty basic health principle – if science proved that something was really good for you, people would be doing it everywhere. So, why, in this age where America's children are being put on psychological drugs at an alarming rate, are the Europeans not following suit?
Surely their doctors are looking at the same science ours are. And drugs in many European countries are cheaper than they are in the United States. Sometimes they're free. So, again, why aren't these European kids being loaded up with Ritalin, anti- depressants and God knows what else?
The answer is pretty simple. European docs are concluding – and rightly so – that the rush to put so many kids on serious psychological drugs is in most cases pure nonsense.
A new study found that American children are much more likely to be treated with psychotropic medications for conditions such as bipolar disease and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), compared to European children. The study found that 6.7 percent of U.S. children were taking psychotropic meds, compared to 2.9 percent in the Netherlands and 2.0 percent in Germany.
And — surprise, surprise — children in the United States were more likely to be taking multiple psychotropic drugs.
I have a hard time believing that our children are two or three times more in need of these meds than a typical European. The big difference is that these drugs are being mass- marketed to American parents and to doctors, who are only too happy to write little Jimmy a prescription when mom complains that he won't do his chores.
Big Pharma – and the medical profession in general – ought to be ashamed. If you have a child or grandchild on one of these meds, get a second opinion. Find out if it's really necessary. In most cases, it's not.
And give children a chance to try cognitive therapy first. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report recently underscoring how effective this therapy can be in treating kids with emotional problems. But let's stop turning our kids into guinea pigs for the drug companies. The long-term effects could be devastating.
