A new report from the Food and Drug Administration is causing some to rethink the way that certain medications are given to children.
The report, which was published in a journal known as Pediatrics, looked at the number of prescriptions that were issued to children since 2002, a ten year timespan. What the FDA found was that there was a drop of 14% in the amount of antibiotics that were prescribed to children from the beginning to the end of the study. It’s believed that doctors have been prescribing fewer and fewer antibiotics due to worries that extensive use would lead to children becoming resistant and thus susceptible to more serious illnesses.
Another interesting fact that was turned up is that prescriptions for drugs meant to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder increased by nearly 50%, a fairly staggering figure. Improvements in the medications that fight ADHD could have led to the jump, as could heightened numbers of diagnoses.
However, a doctor with Texas Health WNJ warns about the danger that might be hidden within these statistics. This individual, an internist, said that there could be a tendency toward over-diagnosis. She advised that any diagnosis should be seconded by a professional with additional experience regarding this particular issue. Plus, parents should be wary of chemicals and hormones in their children’s food, as an abundance of these could potentially lead to ADHD.