In an investigative article from earlier this year it was estimated that the total number of people in the United States hospitalized due to NSAID bleeding at 1.7 million was higher than the total of all American casualties from all American wars combined. Now a new study adds the risk hospitalization due to acute hepatitis for NSAID users.

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDS, are a class of medication often believed to be well tolerated and are commonly used as a therapy for common inflammation. Everyone is familiar with these types of drugs with millions using them for pain relief. NSAIDs include: ibuprofen (Advil®), naproxen (Aleve®), and aspirin (Bayer®). Perscription brands include: celecoxib (Celebrex®), diclofenac (Voltaren®), etodolac (Lodine®), fenoprefen (Nalfon®), indomethacin (Indocin®), ketoprofen (Orudis®, Oruvail®), ketoralac (Toradol®), oxaprozin (Daypro®), nabumetone (Relafen®), sulindac (Clinoril®), tolmetin (Tolectin®), and rofecoxib (Vioxx®).

In the first pharmacoepidemiology study using case-crossover design of a database of liver toxicity in the real world authors publishing in Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety examined the potential risk of hospitalization due to acute hepatitis (liver inflammation) among NSAID users. The authors examined patients hospitalized with a major diagnosis of acute or sub-acute necrosis (premature death of living tissue) of the liver or toxic hepatitis using the National Health Insurance database in Taiwan.

You probably never heard of Sho-saiko-to-ka-kikyo-sekko. It's a Chinese medicine formula composed of 9 herbs (gypsum, Bupleurum root, Pinellia tuber, Scutellaria root, Platycodon root, jujube fruit, ginseng root, Glycyrrhiza root, and ginger rhizome) and it has been used for more than a 1000 years by Asian cultures.

According to the National Institute of Health, tonsillectomy is the second most common surgery performed on children; however, sometimes it is also performed on adults. The most common reason that a tonsillectomy is performed is due to repeat tonsillitis. Tonsillitis is an infection in the throat that occurs in the tonsils. It usually causes a severe sore throat and fever with swallowing becoming difficult and painful.

Although tonsillectomy is a common procedure it is not without risks. According to the International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngol hemorrhage, or bleeding, has been reported to be as high as 20%. Because of the risk associated with surgery some patients who refuse tonsillectomy seek alternatives such as herbal treatments.

A recent news article reported by Reuters showed that children with break down products from organophosphate pesticides are almost twice as likely to develop ADHD as those with undetectable levels. This type of finding is hardly surprising because organophosphates are poisonous nerve agents that kill insects by disrupting their brains and nervous systems. Studies have linked these types of pesticides to toxic effects on the nervous system and the brain in people.

"Central nervous system toxic signs and symptoms include headache; nausea and vomiting; dizziness; respiratory depression; mental status changes, including coma; and seizures ... Organophosphates have been thought for many years to be associated with subtle, long-term neurologic effects years after acute and sub acute exposure. Individual case reports first documented patients with reported headaches, blurred vision, memory, depression, irritability, and problems with concentration." (Pediatric Clinics of North America)

"Organophosphate poisoning continues to be a relatively common occurrence, especially in rural areas of the United States. Insecticides fall into four classes: organophosphates, carbamates, organochlorines, and pyrethroids. All compounds can precipitate seizures except for carbamates, which have poor central nervous system (CNS) penetration." (Pediatric Emergency Care)

What really caught my attention was that in that article the researchers determined by interviewing children's mothers or caretakers that "about one in 10 met the criteria for ADHD, which jibes with estimates for the general population." That made me wonder how anyone could determine a mental condition simply from an interview. Did this in fact make sense?

So what exactly is ADD/ADHD?

Psychiatric diagnoses are categorized by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th. Edition published by the American Psychiatric Association, better known as the DSM-IV. This document covers all mental health disorders for both children and adults.

"We're bringing up a generation in this country in which you either sit down, shut up and do what you're told, or you get diagnosed and drugged," he points out.

Breggin considers the situation to be "a national tragedy." "To inflict these drugs on the growing brains of infants and children is wrong and abusive," he contends.

The kids who get drugged are often our best, brightest, most exciting and energetic children, he points out. "In the long run, we are giving children a very bad lesson that drugs are the answer to emotional problems."

Dr Nathaniel Lehrman, author of the book, "Coming Off Psychiatric Drugs," believes that giving infants and toddlers "powerful, brain-effecting psychiatric medication is close to criminal activity."

"Giving them these drugs," he says, "has no rationale, and ignores the basic fact that youngsters are very sensitive to their environments, both social and chemical, with the juvenile brain easily damaged by the latter."

The activists, such as Jim Carey and Jenny McCarthy, presented stories where children, sometimes almost immediately, suffered some type of serious neurologic reaction after vaccination. The vaccine advocates countered that there was no scientific evidence of harm and that vaccines have enjoyed a long history of safety and effectiveness.

The mercury based vaccine ingredient, Thimerosal, was discussed. Thimerosal was once used in many vaccines exceeding the EPA safety levels of mercury for a child receiving a standard immunization schedule. Although officially removed from many vaccines, Thimerosal still remains in a certain vaccines such as the flu vaccine as well as in vaccines used outside the United States. Again, the vaccine proponents made assurances that Thimerosal was safe however the numerous studies show it to be neurotoxic where not presented.

The use of powerful antipsychotics with privately insured children, aged 2 through 5 in the US, doubled between 1999 and 2007, according to a study of data on more than one million children with private health insurance in the January, 2010, "Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry."

The number of children in this age group diagnosed with bipolar disorder also doubled over the last decade, Reuters reported.

Of antipsychotic-treated children in the 2007 study sample, the most common diagnoses were pervasive developmental disorder or mental retardation (28.2%), ADHD (23.7%), and disruptive behavior disorder (12.9%).

The study reported that fewer than half of drug treated children received a mental health assessment (40.8%), a psychotherapy visit (41.4%), or a visit with a psychiatrist (42.6%) during the year of antipsychotic use.

"Antipsychotics, which are being widely and irresponsibly prescribed for American children--mostly as chemical restraints--are shown to be causing irreparable harm," warned Vera Hassner Sharav, president of the Alliance for Human Research Protection, in a February 26, 2010 InfoMail.

Jasmine was our only daughter who we loved and thought was perfect in every way. We never had to reprimand her for anything and she would always come to us for advice. She never smoked, never did any drugs, and only had the occasional drink. She was kind and caring and she loved us all just as we loved her.

During a routine visit, Jasmine's doctor persuaded her to get the Gardisil vaccine because it would help keep her safe from developing cervical cancer in the future. Jasmine received her first Gardisil vaccine in September 2008. Jasmine was always concerned about her appearance and she was quite distressed that shortly after the vaccine she noticed dry skin and warts appearing on her hands. She complained that she thought she was losing more hair than usual and that her pimples were getting worse. On the 20th of October Jasmine visited the doctor to treat her warts and dry skin. Jasmine had 4 or 5 warts frozen off. The doctor also said that her immunity was compromised so he prescribed a multivitamin as well as Locoid cream for the dry skin. The Locoid cream didn't help the dry skin.

Jasmine received her second Gardisil shot on November 18, 2008. After the shot the warts returned as well as the other symptoms Jasmine was experiencing. In addition, she now also felt pins and needles up and down her arms. Her whole arm became so weak she could hardly use it at work and started to knock things over and she would lose her grip at times. I would like to say at this point that the doctor should not have given her the second shot as her immunity was down and because of the warts that occurred after the first shot. In retrospect, a red light should have gone up and tests should have been done first to determine whether giving the second shot was wise.