The Natural Connection

I can always tell when its time to plant my spring garden by the number of yard sales that are advertised in the newspaper. As soon as the days grow balmy, breezy enough for shirt sleeves, but still too cool for gnats, the yard sales pop up. 

When I see the roadsides cluttered with homeless salad spinners, dented baby strollers, and last year’s yellow and pink plaid golf pants, I know that spring has officially arrived and it’s safe to plant tomatoes. Who needs the Farmer’s Almanac when you’ve got yard sales? 

People much smarter than me know just when it’s time to do spring cleaning, and get out there and make a little money while they’re at it. It’s a good way to mingle and meet some of your neighbors, many of who will be having their own yard sale next week. There is a Code of Honor among bargain hunters, a silent creed that promises “if you’ll buy some of my junk, I’ll buy some of yours…”. 

I always wonder how they know where to begin. How do they know they will never need that framed velvet portrait of the Aztec chieftain standing by the volcano? What makes them think that the mate to that stunning green sequined sandal won’t turn up somewhere? And does their husband know that they are selling his favorite baseball mitt missing the thumb? After all, the other four fingers are perfectly good. 

And why, while they are turning their house upside down in a cleaning frenzy, don’t they ever make it to the medicine cabinet? 

Americans are peculiar people. They love to stockpile medications as much as they love to sell off most of their other stuff at yard sales. I’ve done a lot of thinking about this problem, and have come up with a few ideas to share with you. 

Some people hoard their medicines like baseball cards. They think that they can trade them. “I’ll trade you my arthritis pills that didn’t help my back pain but might help yours, for those allergy pills that you found useless, but could do me good”. Not smart. 

Fatal adverse drug reactions in patients admitted to American hospitals are a significant cause of death, killing annually the equivalent of the entire populations of Ware, Pierce, Bacon, Coffee, and Brantley counties. 

A report published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in April 1998 analyzed studies of over 2 million hospitalized patients in the USA. Deaths due to adverse drug reactions were estimated at more than 100,000 patients, making it between the 4th and 6th leading cause of death after heart disease, cancer, stroke, pulmonary disease, and accidents, and ahead of pneumonia and diabetes. Trading a baseball card won’t kill you, but trading medications just might. 

I find that other folks look at the issue of pharmaceuticals like they look at a buffet restaurant. “ More is better.” Not so. Studies done at hospitals across the country show that “More is More Problems”. Patients with serious reactions to multiple medications account for 18%-25% of admissions to hospitals. The problems dramatically increase when the number of medications taken is greater than six. 

There are certain classes of medications that have been found to account for a higher percentage of adverse reactions. Antibiotics, cardiac medications, cancer medications, pain relievers, and anti-inflammatory agents resulted in over 60% of admissions due to medication problems, in a study done at the Univ. of New Jersey. 

Patients on multiple medications, especially the elderly, require careful monitoring to help avoid complications from their medications. It’s also a good idea to sit down with your doctor at least once a year to determine if any medications can be eliminated or decreased in dosage. 

Companies that make toilet bowl cleaners are responsible enough to put big red warning signs on the labels that say something like “CAUTION! Do NOT mix with other cleaners!! You could gasp, choke, STOP BREATHING, and have to see a DOCTOR!!” Unfortunately, prescription medications come in little brown bottles with tiny print that most patients don’t understand. By the time the patient pries off the safety lid, most of the pills have spilled on the floor. 

However, what remains should not be mixed with any medications that you have purchased over the counter (or at a yard sale) without discussing it with a member of your health care team. Drug-drug interactions and drug-herb interactions are increasingly common. Your physician, or a knowledgeable pharmacist who is familiar with your medication history should be consulted before mixing prescription and non-prescription items. 

Lastly, while you are doing your spring cleaning, thoroughly attack the medicine cabinet. Discard all out of date medications, samples that didn’t work, pills that have turned to dust, and unlabeled pill bottles. If you find yourself suffering from minor drug withdrawal, just think of all the room you will have to store that great bargain you found along the roadside on Hwy. 84. 

For more information on medication reactions, write to The Natural Connection, c/o Pauline Bellecci, MD, PO Box 777, Waycross, GA 31502 or contact us on our website www.swampdocs.com

©2000-2003 Pauline M. Bellecci, MD