1. ‘We don’t perform trials over the course of 10 years to see what our [drug] decisions now mean for later.’
— 1 Drug or 2? – Parents See Risk But Also Hope, New York Times, November 15, 2014
Why not? And if we haven’t until now, what is the excuse for not starting immediately? I get that when short-term testing indicates a new pain drug might save lives the FDA and the medical community are anxious to use it — in many cases it might be cruel not to use it. But is it unreasonable to ask, no, to demand that all drugs undergo long-term testing from the minute they are released to the marketplace? And informed consent for patients means telling them what isn’t known!
2. ‘The authors note that the pattern of liver damage associated with bodybuilding products is consistent with what might be expected if the products were contaminated with anabolic steroids.’
— Side Effects of Your Supplement May Include Liver Failure, Science Based Pharmacy
Above we have one of my personal nightmares verified as a realistic possibility by experts. My son is an “all natural” body builder. But he has taken over-the-counter supplements bought from mainstream stores like GNC and off the internet (“but there are like 1,000 positive reviews!” he wails when I toss them.) I’ve explained we don’t know for sure what’s in them and I’ve floated the idea that steroids might be illegally added to “all natural” supplements to make them impossibly effective. Previously he’s scoffed. Hope he’s reading this.
3. ‘One of my most haunting fears is that in trying to protect my child, I’ll harm her: that her sunscreen, say, will turn out to be toxic. Resistance to vaccination is a dramatic manifestation of this kind of fear.’
— Fearful Parenting is Contagious, A thoughtful book review of On Immunity, by Eula Biss, Boston Review, November 5, 2014
Sometimes a book review is so well-written that I go on to read the reviewer’s work rather than the book. This is one of those reviews. The vaccination issue is central to maintaining and increasing the well-being of every person in our society. We all need to develop our own, informed decisions.
4. ‘Myth #1 – Prescription pain medications should work immediately’ …
‘Myth #3 – Prescription pain medications will take away all of the pain
— Hit and Miss Understanding Prescription Pain Medications, Net News Ledger
Most pain doesn’t go away quickly and some pain can only be alleviated, not eliminated. The demand for a pain-free life can be unrealistic. After all, we will all have a headache at one time or another. The possibility of over medicating in a quest to eliminate all pain is dangerous.
