Eat, sleep, breathe…catch a cold…pop a pill…and one more…and one more…and one more…
Recently a dear friend caught a viral infection (because she stayed a little longer on her terrace than her lungs would have permitted). When it refused to budge even after 2-3 days, she turned to allopathic medication. The medicine wrapper listed side effects such as vomiting, nausea, itching, mild headache etc…Not exactly what you want to see on a medication that you’re hoping will cure you. But what to do…it was either ingesting this with the hope that you wouldn’t encounter these side effects OR coughing and sneezing till the lungs ruptured, not to mention the potential risk of transmitting the disease to those around. She chose the former. Today, she has an entire schedule of medication to be taken through the day, each working to counteract the side effects of the other, and by the by…she is still coughing.
This is the state of affairs in the country we live in and the state of products that are supposed to promote health. I did a little research and was surprised to find a host of medicines that are sold over-the-counter which have actually been banned in the developed world! However, the doctors continue to prescribe them and authorities are yet to take any stringent action against them.
We’re living in a time, long predicted by our ancients, filled with catastrophes, calamities and outbreak of deadly diseases all as a result of playing with nature and going against it (for more, read ‘Doomsday Y?’). We, are responsible for not revolting against such criminal phenomena, because of the lure of cheaper and more attractive options that flood the market with toxins and pollutants, resulting from our own selfish nature. We undermined the warnings and the ways described by our ancients believing modern to be better than the perfect balance our ancestors preserved; and so we’re bound to suffer, unless we turn back to nature and heed their warning. Do a little experiment and count the amount of radiation and toxins you with your children, parents, friends and colleagues either consume or are exposed to (You may refer to Sanatan Kriya: The Ageless Dimension, pages 46-53). It is sure to give you sleepless nights. It is in our hands to clean up this world which is steeped in pollutants, toxins, chemicals and radiation by choosing our commodities. We can either give up or give in and take home the freebies which come along with it…
Experts caution that all over-the-counter anti-cold-cum-cough remedies like D’Cold Total, Vicks Action 500+ and Disprin (for cold and flu) come with the risk of leaving the user with a haemorrhagic stroke. The drugs also carry with them the potential to aggravate diabetes, glaucoma and prostate enlargement and should not be administered to those suffering from high blood pressure, hyperthyroidism, heart disease and those taking monoamine oxidase inhibitors. The culprit is a chemical called phenylpropanolamine (PPA). Though PPA is banned and went off the manufacturers’ list globally nearly two years ago soon after a study -“Haemorrhagic Stroke Project”, by the Yale University School of Medicine in the United States, which brought out the risks associated to the chemical, it is still used in these drugs in India with full Government approval. (The Hindu Report)
Crocin and Combiflam, readily available in India, are taken frequently to counter headaches and fever without knowing that prolonged use of paracetamol (acetaminophen) causes kidney damage and inflammation of pancreas, and an overdose can result in severe liver damage. According to Interscience.wiley.com in an article written by William M. Lee, M.D., F.A.C.P., entitled “Acetaminophen and the U.S. acute liver failure study group: Lowering the risk of hepatic failure,” Lee states, “Acetaminophen overdose is the leading cause of calls to Poison Control Centers and accounts for more than 56,000 emergency room visits.” Dr. Lee also questions the over-the-counter availability of this medication.
Analgin, a popular painkiller sold under brand names such as Novalgin and Baralgan-M, is approved in India for ‘severe pain or pain due to tumour and also for bringing down the temperature in refractory cases when other anti-pyretics fail to do so.’ Analgin remained in the market worldwide until the 1970s, when it was found that it carried the risk of causing severe fall of white cells (agranulocytosis), which is a potentially fatal condition. The US banned the drug on June 27, 1977. It also banned its use in animals in 1995. Sweden banned the drug in 1997, while France stopped sale of the drug nine years later due to negative benefit/risk evaluation. Morocco banned it in May 2000. (Times News Network Report)
There are others like nimesulide, tegaserod, placentrex, gatifloxacine, deanxit etc. that have finally been banned by the Drug Technical Advisory Board (DTAB) but continue to be sold at drug stores and used by unaware consumers.
Sanitary Napkins laced with harmful chemicals, bleaches and substances that make liquid into gel, all of which play havoc with the health of a woman, causing hormonal changes, and even altering genes. They are known to induce heavy bleeding in a woman. Often these pads are given free to gynecologists for making the patients get used to them.
