There is a lot of controversy regarding stimulant medication prescribed for ADD. Many claim that Ritalin is unsafe, or can cause unwanted side effects. Sometimes the undesired side affect, allows a medicine to provide a secondary use. Diphenhydramine is an antihistamine which has a side effect of drowsiness. The drowsiness allows doctors to prescribe Diphenhydramine to patients for the use of a sleep aid.

Minor allergic reactions may only cause one to sneeze or have itchy watery eyes. A more severe response can include many systems of the body, leading to a rash, itching, hives (raised red bumps), swelling of one’s tongue or throat and difficulty breathing or swallowing.

In rare cases, an allergic reaction can be life threatening and is called anaphylaxis, or anaphylactic shock. Every year several hundred people die from allergic reactions to an antibiotic like penicillin. Yet, Penicillin is one of the oldest and widely used antibiotics even today, despite many newer antibiotics hitting the market recently.

Newer does not always mean better, when it comes to medications. Older medicines like Ritalin are the source of renewed studies to determine if there are any long-term effects on the body.

In recent years there have been several new medications approved by the FDA, released to the public, and later recalled, after it was determined the medicine is interacting with other medications adversely or causing life-threatening reactions for some people.

Seldane hit the market in 1985 with FDA approval, and Seldane was the first prescription anti-histamine that did NOT cause people to feel sleepy, yet alleviated the symptoms of seasonal allergies. However, combining Seldane with an antibiotic or anti-fungal medication causes a serious and sometimes fatal cardiac arrhythmia called QT prolongation.

Initially, the FDA mailed warning letters to physicians and patients about this adverse effect in 1997. Yet eventually the FDA decided there were other safer alternative drug therapies available and pulled Seldane off the market in 1998. The exact number of people who died or were injured using Seldane remains disputed, and lawsuits continue even today.

Other medications widely prescribed and hailed as a modern day miracle are the diet and weight loss medications fenfluramine, dexfenfluramine, and phentrimine, also known as fen-phen. Fen-Phen caused a serious heart and lung problem in many users called PPH or Primary Pulmonary Hypertension. Although fen-phen disappeared from the market in 1997, Primary pulmonary hypertension is a progressive condition, and previous users are still having complications even twenty-two years later.

Finally, there is DES or diethylstilbestrol. DES is a synthetic or human made estrogen given to millions of pregnant women from 1938 to 1971 to prevent miscarriage and premature births. Unfortunately, this drug caused many birth defects especially in daughters born to mothers who used the drug in the early months of pregnancy.

The long-term effects of DES exposure in the uterus are now becoming more apparent as daughters are becoming mothers. However, it is imperative that all children, including the son’s of mothers who may have been prescribed DES while pregnant talk to their doctors regarding the higher risk of developing certain cancers and medical problems.

If possible, check with your mother to see if she remembers using this medication during pregnancy. Mothers who used DES should also talk to their family physician regarding the own personal health and certain risks of increased medical issues showing up.

Always tell your doctor any other prescribed medications, over-the-counter medications, and herbal or vitamin supplements you use on a daily or regular basis. Your doctor needs to know if medications or supplements you are using will interact with a new medication. This is one reason to use the same pharmacy every time you fill a prescription, so the pharmacist can review the medicines you are using and can warn of possible interactions with a new medicine.