“US panel calls for research into effects of Ritalin”. This is the title of an article appearing in the December 5th 1998 issue of the British Medical Journal. The article goes on to say that the National Institutes for Health consensus panel called for “urgent clarification of the diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, (ADHD) and research into the long term effects of treatment with Ritalin.” This article typifies a growing trend of scientific and commentary articles revealing the dangers of using Ritalin.

Prescriptions for Ritalin have increased six-fold over the past ten years, raising the question of over-diagnosis and treatment. Peter R. Breggin, M.D., a psychiatrist and editor-in-Chief of a professional journal entitled Ethical Human Sciences and Services, lists several disturbing facts about Ritalin and its dangerous effects.

Decreased blood flow to the brain, an effect recently shown to be caused by cocaine where it is associated with impaired thinking ability and memory loss.

Disruption of growth hormone, leading to suppression of growth in the body and brain of the child

Permanent neurological tics, including Tourette’s Syndrome

Addiction and abuse, including withdrawal reactions on a daily basis

Psychosis (mania), depression, insomnia, agitation, and social withdrawal

Possible shrinkage (atrophy) or other permanent physical abnormalities in the brain

Worsening of the very symptoms the drug is supposed to improve including hyperactivity and inattention

Decreased ability to learn

An organization of concerned parents has formed called PARENTS AGAINST RITALIN (PAR). They have a web site, which can be found at: www.p-a-r.org . This web site host valuable information on the subject of Ritalin. The following excerpt was taken from their web site, “According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, Ritalin is considered a Class II Drug and a controlled substance, a fact not widely known. Other drugs in this category are those such as cocaine, methamphetamine and methadone. A drug becomes a controlled substance when it has the potential for abuse and /or addiction. It is not uncommon in many classrooms today to find the percentage of children on Ritalin to be 25% or greater and the numbers are climbing.”

The following was excerpted are from the 42nd Edition of the Physicians’ Desk Reference*, on the drug Ritalin:

WARNINGS

Ritalin should NOT be used in children under six years, since safety and efficacy in this age group have not been established. Sufficient data on safety and efficacy of long-term use of Ritalin in children are not yet available. Although a casual relationship has not been established, suppression of growth (i.e., weight gain, and/or height) has been reported with the long-term use of stimulants in children. Therefore, patients requiring long-term therapy should be carefully monitored.

ADVERSE REACTIONS

Nervousness and insomnia are the most common adverse reactions but are usually controlled by reducing dosage and omitting the drug in the afternoon or evening. Other reactions include hypersensitivity (including skin rash, urticaria, fever, arthralgia, exfoliative dermatitis, erythema multiforme with histopathological findings of necrotizing vasculitis, and thrombocytopenic purpura); anorexia; nausea; dizziness; palpitations; headache; dyskinesia; drowsiness; blood pressure and pulse changes, both up and down; tachycardia; angina; cardiac arrhythmia; abdominal pain; weight loss during prolonged therapy. There have been rare reports of Tourette’s syndrome. Toxic psychosis has been reported. Although a definite casual relationship has not been established, the following have been reported in patients taking this drug: leukopenia and/or anemia; a few instances of scalp hair loss. In children, loss of appetite, abdominal pain, weight loss during prolonged therapy, insomnia, and tachycardia may occur more frequently; however, any of the other adverse reactions listed above may also occur.

According to a new nationwide US government survey, 38 percent of adults in the United States use some form of what the study called, Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM). The survey conducted by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) was released on December 10, 2008. In older adults ages 60 to 69 the percentage is slightly higher with 41% using some form of CAM procedure.

Josephine P. Briggs, M.D., director of the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), part of the NIH, defines CAM by saying, “CAM covers a wide range of therapies and practices not currently considered part of conventional medicine. Thus, its important to be well informed if you are considering using any.”

Of those non-medical procedures considered “CAM”, one of the most used and most accepted is chiropractic. Although not entirely accurate by chiropractic standards, the National Institutes of Health senior website explains chiropractic by saying, “The goal of chiropractic medicine is to help the body heal by correcting its alignment. Doctors of chiropractic, who are also called chiropractors or chiropractic physicians, use a type of hands-on therapy called manipulation, or adjustment, as their main type of procedure. Adjustments are done to increase the range and quality of motion in the area being treated.”

Dr. Robert Braile, a chiropractor in Georgia and past President and Chairman of the Board of the International Chiropractors Association notes that chiropractic usage continues to be on the increase. He states, “We are in an economy where times are tough, and nearly 50 million Americans are without health care insurance. Certainly many of these people are going to look for more affordable ways to deal with their health care concerns. Chiropractic has always represented an affordable and safe alternative to more expensive and risky forms of medical care.”

NCCAM Director Dr. Josephine Briggs noted the reasons why more Americans are turning to non medical forms of healthcare by saying, “The most common reason why people turn to complementary and alternative medicine in our survey results is chronic back pain – far and away, the leading reason to use complementary and alternative medicine,” she says. “Neck pain, joint pain, headache: All these other conditions are also given as common reasons. But chronic back pain is the leading reason, a very common and difficult condition to treat.”

In a December 12, 2009 release by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), they also noted that an increasing number of older Americans are turning to the Internet for health information. They noted that 68 percent of online seniors look for health and medical information when they go on the Web.

A case study published in the March 2010 issue of the scientific periodical, the Journal of Chiropractic Medicine, documented a case of a woman who was suffering with Mnire Disease and was helped with chiropractic.

According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, (NIDCD), Mnire Disease is, “an abnormality of the inner ear causing a host of symptoms, including vertigo or severe dizziness, tinnitus or a roaring sound in the ears, fluctuating hearing loss, and the sensation of pressure or pain in the affected ear. The disorder usually affects only one ear and is a common cause of hearing loss. Named after French physician Prosper Mnire who first described the syndrome in 1861.”

Both the NIDCD and the authors of this study note that Mnire Disease is characterized by a triad of symptoms including recurrent and spontaneous vertigo (dizziness), hearing loss, and tinnitus (ringing in the ears), and may also be accompanied by a sensation of fullness in the ears.

In this case study a 40-year-old woman came to the chiropractors office with a 2-month history of vertigo which made her feel like the room was spinning. Additionally she complained of left-sided hearing loss and tinnitus for 16 months. She described the tinnitus as a loud “ringing tone” mixed with a sensation of “swooshing” or a fullness in her left ear. In addition to these primary problems, the woman also reported that her symptoms included chronic, left-sided neck and TMJ pain, along with intermittent headaches.

Chiropractic care was initiated with the woman’s visit frequency being 3 visits per week. After only 2 weeks of care, the woman’s TMJ pain, headache frequency and intensity, and vertigo symptoms had improved, and her tinnitus had completely resolved. She also noted that her neck pain was greatly reduced and her neck motion was improved.

On a follow up three months after she began chiropractic care, the woman reported only 2 minor episodes of “light-headedness” which only lasted several minutes. Also impressive is that the woman reported that she did not need to use any prescription or over-the-counter medications during the entire course of her chiropractic care. The case study further reported that two and a half years later, the woman only experienced occasional symptoms of ear fullness or mild light-headedness (not severe enough to be classified as vertigo) about 2 to 3 times per year.

The April 26, 2011, issue of the scientific periodical, the Journal of Pediatric, Maternal & Family Health, published a case study documenting the case of an adolescent girl with headaches and night terrors who was helped with chiropractic care.

The study notes that several previous studies on the subject of headaches and children showed that a high number of children who suffered from headaches also suffered from sleep disorders such as sleep walking, nightmares, and leg movement.

In this study, a 10-year-old girl was brought to a chiropractor suffering with daily headaches that began when she was two and a half years old. She was also suffering from sleep disorders including sleep walking.

The young girl’s medical doctors tried to find the cause of headaches by ordering blood work and an encephalograph (EEG) to rule out seizures. The encephalograph and blood results were normal. Since reading seemed to trigger the headaches, the medical determination was that she was reading too much.

Her sleeping problems began when she was 7-years-old. According to her mother, every night her daughter would wake up several times screaming and would sit up in bed or be found walking or running through the house.

Chiropractic care was initiated for correction of subluxations that were shown to be present upon examination. Postural evaluations performed before and after each visit showed immediate improvement in the girl’s posture after care was initiated. Thermography and Surface EMG studies were performed on a regular basis, and verified nerve system function improvement as care continued.

On the girl’s first reassessment, she reported that the headaches were greatly reduced in frequency and severity. She also reported that she was sleeping better. The study notes that after a month of care, there was a significant reduction in headache symptoms, and complete resolution of the girl’s sleep disorders and night terrors.

In their conclusion, the study authors, Danita Thomas Heagy D.C., and Candice Warren, B.S., wrote, “Resolution of headaches and sleep disturbances presented in this case study suggest that chiropractic adjustments may be beneficial in adolescents who suffer from similar symptoms. Reduction of vertebral subluxations, in this case, were effective in the reduction of headaches, sleep disturbances, and musculoskeletal abnormalities.”

The above headline comes from a November 23, 2011 article on the Healthland section of the TIME website. This is just one of many articles which include headlines like, “Popular painkiller can be deadly even in small overdoses” (CBSNews), “Sneaky Killer: Just a Little Too Much Tylenol Can Be Deadly” (Fox News), and “Too much acetaminophen over time may damage liver”, (USA Today).

The articles are based on a study published in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology in the November 22, 2011 edition. The USA Today article starts off with an ominous warning, “Taking slightly too much of the pain reliever acetaminophen (best known by the brand name Tylenol) over time can lead to an overdose that can cause liver failure and death.”

Dr. Kenneth Simpson, an author of the study explained in the USA Today article that taking just a little more than the recommended dosage over time can cause serious liver failure and death. He explained further in the Journal’s press release, “They haven’t taken the sort of single-moment, one-off massive overdoses taken by people who try to commit suicide, but over time the damage builds up, and the effect can be fatal.” The term that the researchers used to describe this kind of repeated mini-overdosing was “staggered overdoses.”

The study looked at 663 patients who had been hospitalized at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh between 1992 and 2008 with injuries caused by acetaminophen. Of these patients it was determined that 161 of them had staggered overdoses from, according to researchers, taking the drug for things like headache, toothache, muscular pains, and abdominal pains. Dr. Simpson explained the real danger these people were facing by reporting, “On admission, these staggered overdose patients were more likely to have liver and brain problems, require kidney dialysis or help with breathing and were at a greater risk of dying than people who had taken single overdoses.”

The article in TIME reports that “Acetaminophen is one of the most commonly used drugs in the world, with 28 billion doses purchased in the U.S. in 2005 alone.” They go on to explain that because it is such a common drug, being the main ingredient in Tylenol, that people might think that it is safe. However, they note, “Tylenol overdose is the leading cause of acute liver failure in the U.S., leading to 26,000 hospitalizations and nearly 500 deaths annually, according to the Food and Drug Administration.”

In a number of different articles backpack safety has become a big issue. One article from the September 1, 2006 Ancaster News from Ontario, Canada, reports that more than 7,000 people required a trip to the emergency room in 2001 due to backpack-related injuries. These numbers were reported by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Several other interesting facts were noted. Among children age 12 to 18 it was stated that 75 percent suffer from some form of back pain with backpack weight being a large contributor to this statistic. According to an Italian study, one-third of school children regularly carried more than 30 per cent of their body weight in their backpack.

In The Sunday Times from Ireland was a similar article on September 03, 2006 that also covered this issue. In this article they noted that international guidelines suggest that children should carry no more than 10 percent of their total body weight in their backpack. Virginia Cantillon of the Chiropractic Association of Ireland warned, “We see more kids with problems and a lot is attributable to the weights they are carrying. They are having neck problems, mid- and lower-back pain. They are candidates for back pain down the road.”

Single shoulder bags may not be a solution, and may even make matters worse, according to a September 5, 2006 article from Montreal, Quebec, Canada in the “CBC News”. The article notes that these new single shoulder bags are fashionable, but are a bad idea according to the British Columbia Chiropractic Association. Dr. Don Nixdorf, executive director of the B.C. Chiropractic Association, warns those who use these new bags, “You’ll start to have some pain around the neck, which can also lead to headache, and movement is going to be mechanically impaired.”

Another article appearing in the September 2, 2006 Ottawa Sun, also notes that “Overloaded packs can lead to damaged backs.” In this article Dr. Dean Wright, president of the Ontario Chiropractic Association (OCA) states, “Carrying a poorly designed or overloaded backpack can place excessive weight on a child’s growing spinal column.” He continued, “This kind of daily stress and strain can lead to serious back pain, changes in posture and gait, and potential irritation and injury of the spine, joints and muscles.”