Ask the Doctor

“What is your view of the use of antidepressants with young children?”

The answer is: Did you know that prescriptions for antidepressant medications tripled in the last ten years? This increase is one of the largest of its kind – ever - in medical history. Alarmingly the incidents of children being prescribed antidepressants is considered a “booming industry”. Yikes. This is not good news because there have been only a handful of studies as to what the negative health impacts on our children will be from the use of antidepressants on their developing bodies.  In the past decade, prescriptions for Ritalin, a stimulant medication commonly used for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), increased five-fold with 90% of all prescriptions worldwide consumed in the United States.

How much are antidepressant prescriptions increasing for America’s children?

In a study published in Pediatrics magazine, it was found that pediatric antidepressant prescriptions increased 3.6 times. Over half of the antidepressant prescriptions in this period were prescribed for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, known as ADHD. Would it surprise you to learn that chiropractic can help children with ADHD? As parents grow leery of the traditional medical approach to ADHD, chiropractors are offering promising results with non-drug treatments that focus on an all-natural approach – ridding children of spinal subluxations, making nutrition and lifestyle changes  - that affect brain activity. Before considering medicating the child, I’d encourage you to look into the positive research of chiropractic and ADHD.

We’re here to help!