Post #52 Overkill: When Modern Medicine Goes Too Far by Paul Offit M.D.

Overkill: When Modern Medicine Goes Too Far by Paul Offit M.D.I am admittedly a huge fanboy of Paul Offit, an infectious disease guru at Children ' s Hospital of Philadelphia, one of the preeminent pediatric hospitals in the world. His latest bookOverall: When Modern Medicine Goes Too Far, is a collection of medical facts that are already known to the well-read individual, but fly in the face of wrongly-held, out-dated, commonly-believed medical concepts. The majority of the incorrect information was previously considered the standard of care, but newer and better science and studies have clearly demonstrated updated - often conflicting - medical truths.I have summarized some of the more salient facts here as a quick read for the over-worked and under-rested parent, so that they can take better care of their precious little ones without having to read the whole book (although I highly recommend it). Chapter 1: Treating Fever Can Prolong or Worsen IllnessFever-reducing medicines are found to prolong and worsen infections in experimental animals and people. Societies that use fever-reducing meds suffer a 5% increase in flu cases and deaths. Researchers have estimated that avoiding fever-reducers during a flu season would save about 700 lives in the USA and about 40,000 lives worldwide every year.In my pediatric practice I only recommend fever-reducers for two reasons:If a fever is affecting a child ’s activity level to the point they refuse to drink, fever...
Source: A Pediatrician's Blog - Category: Pediatrics Source Type: blogs