The Overmedication of American Children Essay

ADHD children have trouble in school with reading, handwriting and paying attention to what is important. They constantly fidget and squirm and can't express their thoughts into words. Detecting ADHD is a complicated matter since there are no blood tests or evident genetic tests to confirm this syndrome.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most common neurological disorder and is mainly diagnosed in childhood, although it can carry on into adulthood. ADHD often occurs in more in males than females. A child with ADHD might daydream, forget or lose things, fidget, talk too much, and having trouble socializing. School can be very challenging for a child with ADHD. A child with ADHD may have trouble concentrating in school, have difficulties reading and writing, and have trouble making friends and socializing.

Commercialized on TV as the only solution to our numerous problems, Big Pharma preys on people who struggle through life. Although seemingly meant to heal, pharmaceutical drugs have destroyed countless American lives instead because gullible patients rush to their doctor demanding prescriptions. Want to lose weight? Give me a pill. Want more intense sexual encounters? I need a pill. Want to grow longer, shinier hair? Hey, I’ll just pop a pill. Although some medical conditions do require medication, not every case of discomfort should be treated with highly addictive prescription meds nor should those drugs be trafficked via commercials that target a hypochondriacal nation of couch potatoes too lazy to put forth the time and effort to prevent disease. Instead, far too many Americans simply find a quick fix at their local pharmacy. These prescriptions lead to addiction and in the end death. Therefore, if I could take away any one invention from mankind it would be the crass commercialization of pharmaceuticals.

People with Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder have physical differences, our brain chemistry is different than people without ADHD. If you look at this brain scan from ADDitude you can see that difference. Children with ADHD tend to have lower dopamine levels. Some studies have also shown that ADHD might affect the prefrontal cortex; “If the areas of the prefrontal cortex ...are impaired, a person with ADHD may have symptoms such as inattention or impulsive or hyperactive behavior.

In the modern age of technological and medical advancements such as organ transplants and robotic limbs, Americans have developed unrealistic expectations about prescription drugs. The false belief that the right pill in the right dosage can cure all has led to a national epidemic: over prescription. Since the 1970s, the average American’s expenditure on prescription drugs has doubled because not only are new treatments for almost every ailment now available, but they are also aggressively advertised on television, the internet, and social media. At the same time that the American population confronts health issues associated with rising age, obesity, and stress levels, prescription drugs promise a quick fix for everything from depression to acne to insomnia leading to a one pill fix all.

Not only are patients impacted by this issue, but so is the healthcare system. Consumer reports estimates that “$200 billion per year is spent in the U.S. on the unnecessary and improper use of medication, for the drugs themselves and related medical costs, according to the market research firm IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics” (Carr, T. 2017). America’s health care is very expensive and we can save

Pharmaceutical drug dependency is not a new craze sweeping the nation. Although it has progressed, it is something that has been a noticeable issue since the early twentieth century. For starters, there is a pill for everything; pregnancy, being over-weight, pain, sneezing, and much more. When you have a variety like that, it’s hard not to take the easy way out. The latest generations of prescription drugs compensate conditions such as depression, gynecological disorders, hyperactivity, impotence, sleeping problems and more. We are waist deep in a pill culture. According to Tennent, a reason for this up-rise in patients being so eager to take up prescription drugs is that new and more sophisticated drugs have reduced the severity of accompanying side-effects. (Tennent) However, this is a gamble and something one could not be sure of. There are medications prescribed for less

It is estimated that between 3 and 12 percent of the population has to deal with conditions known as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) or Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). This equals approximately 3 million children in the United States alone. Both of these disorders (ADD and ADHD) exhibit the same traits leading them to be lumped together. Children affected by ADD or ADHD have behavior and emotional problems. Trouble concentrating on simple tasks, a short attention span, failing to give attention to details, and disruptive behavior are a few of the problems resulting from

Prescription medication is one of the most common methods used to treat various physical and psychological ailments. As the pharmaceutical industry grows in the wake of successful pharmacological treatments, there is also growing concern regarding the overuse of medication. Evidence of overprescribing is supported by the increase of reported negative side effects associated with prolonged overuse of medication. In addition, overprescribing is also supported by the growing rate of deliberate medication misuse in the United States for purposes of abuse and profit. Similarly, the rise in funds allocated for direct-to-consumer and physician-focused advertising reinforce the perception

Children with Inattentive symptoms may be described as “day dreamers” or “spaced out” often, these children are more socially withdrawn and have more frequent problems with mild anxiety than children with other types of ADHD. Symptoms of inattentiveness may be difficult for others to detect, and many children especially girls with the inattentive type of ADHD are diagnosed much later or are never identified. These children are unable to pay attention or making careless mistakes in tasks, being easily distracted, forgetting to do daily activities, often losing items needed for daily life, seem unable

The National Institute of Mental Health (2016) describes Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) as a neurodevelopment disorder that has an effect on someone 's functioning or development. ADHD affects the way someone functions because of the chronic conditions of inattention and hyperactivity-impulsivity. However, it is possible that while some people with this neurodevelopment disorder experience both hyperactivity and inattention, that others may only experience one of the behaviors. Although Attention-Deficit Disorder (ADD) is not a term used in the medical field anymore, I will still explain the difference. ADD is a type of ADHD that is also a brain disorder that has an effect on someone 's functioning, but without the hyperactivity or impulsivity behaviors (Kinman, 2015). When a student has the symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity associated with ADHD and ADD, then it may cause learning challenges in the classroom that will impact their academic success. Therefore, it is crucial for teachers to know and understand how to identify ADHD in their students, what to do when they suspect that one of their students may have ADHD, and what teaching strategies will be beneficial to that student.

The United States occupies 4.34% of the world’s population, but accounts for 42% of global prescription drug spending, mostly because it is one of only two countries that allow direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertisements. However, these ads are targeting mostly healthy U.S citizens rather than citizens who will benefit from the drug, creating potential risks for many healthy individuals and thus, should be considered to be banned. For example, as with all commercials, the purpose of prescription drug ads is to persuade their viewers to buy the product, which includes targeting healthy people feel ill in order to make them in need of the product. In addition, a FDA survey of U.S. physician, 28% reported often feeling pressured to oblige

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder affects 11 percent of school children, according to CHADD. This disorder causes children as well as adults to be inattentive when working or talking because of their high-functioning brain. This usually hinders the completion of daily tasks and takes a big part in how they live their everyday lives and the certain modifications they have to make to be successful with their daily tasks. Most parents think that their child needs to be put on medication because they will not listen or cannot pay attention to anything, but in most cases, little kids not listening is normal. This disorder affects mostly boys, and it is less likely for adults to be diagnosed

Children being prescribed drugs at the innocent age of two, over three quarters of adults in America on a prescription drug, highly addictive drugs being abused by the elderly, the list goes on. An Injustice that nearly everybody will experience in their lives involves pharmaceutical corruption. Most everybody in the world is faced with some sort of medication. Pharmaceutical corruption has overpowered the world with it army of doctors. The pharmaceutical industry does not create cures, it creates customers. People see ads and commercials for drugs and medications all of the time and never think twice about it. This type of advertisement is creating unhealthy habits that overall lead to abuse. Over the past decade the accessibility of pharmaceuticals has become so relevant in everyone 's daily lives that most of the population is or has been on a pharmaceutical drug. Whether it be a pain medication, anti depressant, or any other pill, the pharmaceutical industry has done this in the way that there is a pill for everything. People become so dependant of just relying on a pill it can ruin their lives. Just listen to the long list of side effect that comes with every bottle of medications. For most medications it goes something like this, “Common side effects include, nausea, vomiting, severe stomach pain, etc. And in some cases death.” Why someone would take a pill that could potentially harm or kill them is unbelievable. Corruption in the

Due to the corporate competition between large pharmaceutical companies and their purpose as a business to “make money,” modern medicine is often characterized by the overuse of chemical drugs. Under current US law, it is perfectly legal to pay doctors to promote drugs. Big Pharma, the collective group of big pharmaceutical companies, continues to pay billions of dollars to doctors promoting and prescribing their drugs. The common assumption when one goes to the doctor is that he or she is going to get the best medication to cure his or her illness or disease. Sometimes, the medicine fixes the problem in the short term, but it does not target the underlying cause. On top of this, the drugs may aim to fix one problem but can cause unwanted side effects in the process. This creates the never-ending cycle of dependency on chemical drugs as patients are often prescribed more drugs to deal with the new problems that are created.