There are many forms of child abuse, all of which are treacherous, in my opinion. But, what do you call drugging children to make them be more relaxed, quiet and sleepy? There was an article this week about his very subject, which stated that it’s an “unrecognized form of child abuse”. I’d say that I have to agree.

Giving babies cough syrup, or even more popular, Benedryl, to calm them and make them stop crying, is not only dangerous, but just plain wrong. The article talked about a woman who gave her infant cough syrup to put the child to sleep.

The baby wound up in the intensive care unit and almost died. The article went on to say “in this case, it was not an intentional overdose, it was a lack of information”. I’m sorry, but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that you probably shouldn’t give cough syrup to an infant. It clearly states on the label how old a child should be to administer it. Plus sleep is not its intended used.

Unfortunately, there are some “uneducated” folks out there who are practicing this same type of medicating to “soothe” their children. I read another article a little over a month ago about a couple who continually gave their 14 month old baby methadone (a synthetic drug usually prescribed to heroin users to help in the process of overcoming their addiction) to help the baby sleep. And, the outcome; the baby died.  And by the way, this isn’t the only article that I’ve come across about parents giving their babies methadone.

This isn’t limited to babies though, it can happen with older children as well. Some people are experimenting with the effects of marijuana on children who have been labeled autistic as well as obsessive, compulsive disorder (OCD). Hello? Really?

Let’s NOT drug our children to shut them up. If they’re crying and upset, there’s something wrong. It’s an alert to us as parents that we need to fix something for them, or perhaps just soothe them. And, if it takes a label like “child abuse” to stop parents and get them educated on the harmful effects of drugging children, then I say so be it. Not to mention the path it could lead a child down as they get older and figure out that there are other drugs out there and start abusing them. Then the only hope will be a good drug treatment center.

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People from all walks of life can very easily get sucked into a life of drug and alcohol addiction. It’s not a problem that any one group of individuals is more prone to experiencing. But, have you ever thought that your own doctor could be addicted to drugs or alcohol?

Unfortunately physicians can also fall into the grips of addiction. They not only wreck their own personal lives and those of their families, but what do you think this does to their ability to effectively treat patients? Scary thought, huh? I certainly wouldn’t want a doctor who is high on drugs managing my health, especially if I was sick with a major disease that required critical thinking. And what about surgeons who are operating on patients?

There was a recent survey done that showed some pretty alarming information, most notably, that doctors are not likely to report their colleagues if they know about or suspect drug abuse. The survey found that only one in three doctors would report the problem. The reasons being that they feared retribution by the offender or that they would be getting their colleague into trouble.

In Florida, a program has been put in place for this type of scenario to be avoided. They offer a reporting program for doctors to be able to report their colleagues or themselves, with a solution to the problem being offered, rather than revoking their license and turning them away. Doctors have the opportunity to clean up. They are required stop practicing medicine and attend a drug or alcohol rehab program, but once they’re clean, they can go back to practice.

What a concept! Why is this only available for doctors? Most of the time, you not only lose your job, but chances are, you could wind up in jail if you’re doing drugs. This gives people a great opportunity to regain their lives and live sober again. I’m in full agreement and think this is a great program. Give people a chance to make the right choice!

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A California judge is fed up with Lindsay Lohan’s inability to comply with her probation requirements. Lindsay got into trouble in 2007 for a number of offenses. She drove drunk twice, had cocaine in her system and drove recklessly.

Lindsay is no stranger at this point to the world of alcohol and drugs, or the court system. She was put on probation for a three year period and has been wearing an alcohol-monitoring ankle bracelet since May, and well before that, ordered by the court to attend alcohol treatment classes. But, she keeps pushing her luck. She’s been caught drinking with the alcohol bracelet on and she’s missed several of her treatment classes.

Well, it looks like her luck ran out. She’s been sentenced to 90 days in jail and has to go to an in-patient drug rehab program. When the judge came down with that sentence, Lindsay started to cry and plead with the court not to do that to her, but it was too little, too late. The judge basically looked at the apology as insincere and the tears as those of a crocodile.

News has also surfaced about Lindsay being prescribed a very strong painkiller called Dilaudid. This is a drug that has been compared to morphine and even heroin. She’s also prescribed Ambien (to help her sleep) and Adderall (to combat anxiety). There are too many bright, young stars being prescribed whatever drugs they want with tragic outcomes like overdose and death.

Honestly, I think the judge is doing right by Lindsay to up the ante in terms of her consequences. So far, probation and an alcohol-detecting ankle bracelet haven’t worked. And, with doctors being willing to prescribe whatever drugs she wants, coupled with the idea that she’s basically untouchable, she obviously doesn’t have a clue about responsible behavior and moral values. If she’s not willing to help herself, the law will.

Hopefully she actually dives into the drug rehab program portion of sentence and gets a clue. It would be awful if she wound up dead like so many of our favorite celebs and singers in recent years.

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This weekend, a lot of people in the US will be celebrating Independence Day (July 4th). There will picnics and barbeques and fireworks, you name it! There will also be drinking at those get-togethers, and not just for adults over the age of 21, but by minors who shouldn’t be partaking in alcoholic beverages.

There was a study done across hospital emergency rooms in the US and it showed that kids who wind up in the emergency room for underage drinking dramatically spikes during this holiday weekend. It was an 87 percent increase, to give you an idea of what I meant when I said “dramatic increase”.

In addition to kids visiting hospital ERs for alcohol, injuries, arrests and embarrassment can all be attributed to them making the choice to drink. And, to make matters worse, about 5000 people under the age of 21 die each year with alcohol related to their cause of death.

Do you know what your kids have planned for this weekend? It might not be such a bad idea to find out, or to make sure to include your children and their friends in your plans. If they’re going out with their friends, have a talk with them about the dangers of drinking alcohol. Most people chock it up to “kids being kids”, especially if they drank underage. It’s incorrect. It’s not a good example and kids should not be allowed to drink. Oh yeah, and it’s actually against the law.
Let’s vow to lower that dramatic spike in ER visits this weekend by helping our kids learn the facts and dangers about alcohol abuse. It could save their life!

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