The Dangers of Modern Drugs

(Contributed by Dr. Jessica Levy)

This past week I had an eye-opener, and not a friendly one. A commonly used drug in veterinary medicine, one that I had dispensed thousands of times over my 11-year career (so far), caused an unusual, life-threatening reaction in one of my patients.

This happens periodically in the practice of medicine. Not often, but when it does happen, it sure makes me sit up and take notice.

Now, granted, out of all the animals I've treated with this drug, one of them having a bad reaction is a very, very small fraction of a percentage. But it serves as a reminder to me that drugs, on the whole, are not safe.

This is the kind of thing that prompts me to continue to pursue natural alternatives to pharmaceuticals. Of course, I am aware that not everything labeled "natural" is safe, either.

What to do, in this dilemma, but to help my adversely affected patient as best I can, and proceed with extreme caution? This is not the only bad reaction I've seen recently, and certainly every day in practice I am called upon to treat a myriad of conditions that are the result of bad reactions to diet, vaccines, and conventional medical treatments.

For myself, it's a good thing I have an autodidactic nature, as there's nowhere to learn what to do or what can happen sometimes - except in the school of real life.

But what a way to learn, through the suffering of others. It is easy to forget that with all conventional drugs a certain amount of risk is considered "acceptable". What a bummer for my patients.