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Affects of Drugs on Children

Can drugs permanently mess up your child?

By Katy ChristensenPublished 6 years ago 4 min read
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Safe Precautions or Deadly? 

I will be discussing the effects of these specific drugs on children: Chloral Hydrate (CH), Meperidine (M), and Hydroxyzine (H) (regimen A) versus Midazolam (MZ), M, and H (regimen B). There was a study done using sixteen children I will be using as evidence to support my case. I will be rating the medication based on their effectiveness and side effects on the children. Many parents are faced with important decisions for their children in life; however, many are pressured into making the wrong decision for their children when it comes to medication. Parents are pressured by doctors and teachers to medicate their children, while only being told that it is experimental. They are not given the proper risk in the scenarios. This leads to parents making the wrong choice for their child’s well being, and it can lead to faulty practical and ethical decisions.

The brain of a child develops until they are in their early twenties. (Associated Press 2007) This would mean that all of the drugs forced upon these children could affect their brain development. According to Professor John Breeding, it can not only do this but also affect them in negative neurological ways to the point of death. This leaves parents to weigh the risk and the supposed results. They must decide whether to possibly risk their child’s life and cure them or make them progressively worse; however, they cannot make an educated decision based on the partial knowledge they are given.

In a study done by the government, they tested several drugs on children and did psychological tests every five minuets. (NCIP) The North Carolina Behavior Rating System also rated them subjectively and objectively. All of the children were twenty-four to fifty-four months of age. The drugs they tested on the children were: Chloral Hydrate (CH), Meperidine (M), and Hydroxyzine (H) (regimen A) versus Midazolam (MZ), M, and H (regimen B). (NCIP) Regimen A 93% of the time they were quietly annoyed and regimen B it was only 90% of the time; however, regimen A was 63% successful and regimen B was 56% successful with sedition. (NCIP) The triple cocktail of regimen A was 72% successful when tried with a larger audience and 84% successful when used with N2O. However, even with these favorable results there are still many risks. (NCIP)

Regimen A’s triple cocktail is still used by many even with all of its considerable risks. Laryngospasms, cardiac arrhythmias, cardiac arrest, and seizures are among the reported adverse reactions with Chloral Hydrate. (NCIP) Extensive research has shown that five out of thirteen patients retain permanent neurological damage or death. This high rate of complications is not very well known; as a result, many parents make uninformed decisions for their child’s medical care. If they were informed of these risks, they may choose to make a more practical and ethical choice.

Researchers have discovered a relatively safe alternative to Chloral Hydrate, Midazolam. Midazolam is a short-acting benzodiazepine; as a cough syrup, it had a 99% acceptance rate with an 81% success rate within thirty minuets. (NCIP) The researcher thus concluded that this substitute not only worked better but also had fewer risks.

New advances like these are being made everyday. However, it is not fast enough for some children. There are children with ADHD that are given sedatives just like these. However, it does not cure them, it makes them worse. There are multiple examples of this; however, Professor John Breeding put it best. There was a perfectly normal child who had some behavioral issues due to ADHD. The parents were advised to give him medication to help control him, and then the teachers encouraged it strongly. As a result, the little child took the medication and is now in a mental instate because the medication advanced his original condition. While Professor John Breeding was very emotional about this topic, he does hit on key moral issues with parents not being educated properly on the medications they give their children.

Doctors should always give warning of the drugs before administering them. My mother was victim to such an error while she was pregnant. The doctor told her that she had to take Ondansetron for the rest of her pregnancy. They failed to tell her that this same medication could cause permanent neurological damage to the baby. It can also cause a 30% increased risk of cardiac malformations. (Drug Watch) Such misinformation can prove dangerous and lethal to children in the womb.

The doctors who do not give the list of issues these drugs can cause do not properly consider the moral aspect of the parents. The parents may choose not give their child the medication if they know the risk compared to the cost. Parents may also choose not to give their child medication for ethical and moral reasons. In addition, the doctor is not being completely accurate and as a result many children who were fine are now neurologically scared.

Reference Page:

Sheroan, M. M., Dilley, D. C., Lucas, W. J., & Vann, W. F. (2006). A Prospective Study of 2 Sedation Regimens in Children: Chloral Hydrate, Meperidine, and Hydroxyzine Versus Midazolam, Meperidine, and Hydroxyzine. Anesthesia Progress, 53(3), 83–90. http://doi.org/10.2344/0003-3006(2006)53[83:APSOSR]2.0.CO;2

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About the Creator

Katy Christensen

Just another human trying to make a difference in the world...

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