A Nagging Case of Hypochondria
May 29th, 2008 by Diane Cordell
The New York Times recently printed an article in its Health section that I find deeply troubling. Evidently some parents whose young children experience “a nagging case of hypochondria” are being advised to use a placebo pill.
The message is clear: if you don’t feel well, there is some type of medication that will cure you. It doesn’t take much imagination to see the logical extension of this philosophy. If your life is not going well, if you’re unhappy, if you’re bored or tired or out of sorts - there’s a pill or drug to fix you up.
It’s never easy to see a little one unwell or in pain. But to condone administering placebos - fake pills - just seems wrong to me. When their illness is a minor one, comfort your children with kisses and hugs. Rock them and cuddle them and let them know they are loved. But don’t give them the message that drugs are the answer to all problems.
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I completely agree with you, Diane!
My kids love to ask for medicine if they don’t feel good, and I always try something else INSTEAD first. Like a cool washcloth on the head and a lie down in a quiet room for a headache, rather than Tylenol right away. Or a humidifier and several pillows to prop you up and a glass of water for a stuffy nose, rather than a dose of cold medicine, as long as it’s a fairly harmless sniffle.
Why doctors can’t recommend parents just treat their kids like kids, and not like a new experiment, is beyond me.
Agree. There is a deeper problem…
Lauren Vargass last blog post..Not So Zany: The Future of PR
Oh that is sick & twisted. What are they thinking? And I wonder how many parents will fall for it?
Lady wth 6 daughterss last blog post..Thank God I Didn’t Buy THAT House
Rachael, Lauren, Lady with 6 daughters,
While I am a firm believe in the miracles of modern medicine, creating a pill where none was needed strikes me as very, very wrong.
Mommies have always known how to comfort with a hug and a kiss. There’s something very cold about foisting your child off with a bogus “cure”.
If the child is in need of more professional assistance, take them to a doctor and/or a therapist. Don’t feed them a sugar pill.
diane
Diane Cordells last blog post..Connections