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TechnologyJanuary 2018
As someone who has grown up in an age of technology, it is extremely difficult to imagine my life without it. Social media and television are the two major time-consuming forms of technology that immediately come to mind. But in addition to these, I admit I have spent hours searching the internet for the quickest fix of my latest problems, typing papers on my laptop, listening to music, and even tracking my steps on my watch. All of these things have become so intertwined in my life that I believe I would be lost without them- truly LOST (because what would I do without my GPS app??) As a student, technology is used frequently in the classroom, including PowerPoint presentations, videos, and even tests! Then, after sitting through a lesson that consists of staring at a screen, what do I do? I go on my phone, of course! Someone could have tweeted something REALLY important or REALLY funny within the 30 minutes that I was not checking my social media, and I would hate to miss out. I would estimate that 2/3 of my school day is made up of screen time. I believe that I can speak for not only myself, but also my peers, that we have become so dependent on our access to technology that it feels like we are being punished when our calculators are banned on test days and our computer takes five extra minutes to load. This seems silly when you really think about it. I would like to believe that I can function on my own without the help of the Internet. For this reason, I challenged myself to go on a social media "detox" for a little while over winter break. I only deleted my Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, but, trust me, it was a challenge! At first, I was so tempted to hit "re-download", but then I realized how sad that was. I read a real book, which is something I had not done in a few years, and I felt a little bit free after not being tied down to social media for a few days. The reality is this: technology is essential for modern day life. Although there are obvious issues associated with it, technology has improved our society tremendously. Having access to unlimited amounts of information has helped me learn and grow as a student and as a person. Social media allows people to connect with one another. And companies like Google and Amazon are home to hundreds of thousands of employees. Without technology, the world would not be as advanced as it is. The different forms of technology can be great resources and pass- times. Eventually, I did re-download my social media, and that is okay. Social media is something that I enjoy to be a part of, but I do know that I shouldn't let it control my life. Oscar Wilde said, "Everything in moderation, including moderation," and I have to agree with him. My Trip to the DoctorFebruary 2018
Turning eighteen is exciting because you get to be an adult and do whatever you want... or so I thought. It turns out that the only real “adult” thing I have been able to do on my own since my eighteenth birthday is go to the doctor by myself. The other day, I went to the dermatologist by myself for the first time. The doctor, whom I had never met before, sat me down and asked me only one question: “What do you normally do to take care of your skin?” After she heard my ten- second answer, she scribbled out three separate prescriptions for me to fill out and start taking immediately. My appointment was less than five minutes long, and I was left with many unanswered questions such as: How can you tell that these are the right drugs for me to be taking? What are the major side effects? And the cherry on the top of the cake was that when I arrived at Walgreen's, I learned that one of the drugs is very expensive, and it is not covered by my family's insurance. Shouldn’t I have been informed of this before I agreed to the prescription? I am a naive and vulnerable eighteen year old girl who has never been to the doctor alone, so of course I was going to believe anything that the doctor told me! But now, looking back, I can see the red flags. After this experience, I found myself wondering if doctors are prescribing their patients with the right dosage and types of medicine. Are doctors putting patients’ health as the priority, or are they more interested in the benefits they receive from selling medicine and getting patients in and out of the door? I began to do some research on doctors who over-prescribe their patients, and sure enough, I found many instances in which this happened. It has especially become a problem with opioids. Because these drugs are so highly addictive, it is a major problem that they are being handed out frequently and in large quantities. Many people have abused prescription painkillers, and some have even overdosed. I believe that doctors need to spend more time talking to and testing their patients before they write them a prescription. Medication is a wonderful resource, but it should only be used when it is necessary. Benjamin Franklin once said, “The best doctor gives the least medicines.” Disposal of DrugsMarch 2018
I recently read an interesting article on NBC News called “Tons of drugs dumped into wastewater.” I learned that health- care facilities such as hospitals dispose of millions of pounds of drugs and other pharmaceutical waste every year. However, the data did not take into account the countless half- filled, forgotten about medications that fill the medicine cabinets of nearly every home. Intrigued, I decided to take a look inside my own medicine cabinet at home. The results were shocking. My family possesses about 60 bottles of assorted medications, yet we only ever utilize about ten percent of them. Many of the bottles near the back of the shelves contain extra pills from old prescriptions; they haven’t been touched in years, and many of them are expired. For a family that doesn’t use much medicine or receive a lot of prescriptions, I can’t even imagine what some other families’ cabinets could be filled with. This is the question that we should be asking ourselves: How should we properly dispose of extra or expired drugs? As the NBC News article points out, flushing these materials is the most common method, but it pollutes the water and the organisms that inhabit and drink it. However, other solutions also had negative effects. Burning the drugs can release pollutant toxins into the air, and tossing them in the trash causes overflow of landfills and damage to the earth. I decided to conduct further research before proposing a solution. Consumerreports.org provides readers with six options: It seems as though there is no way to stop medication from being flushed, burned, and tossed in the trash. However, we can help to reduce this amount. By taking the time at least once a year to sort through our medicine cabinets, we can make a difference. There is an excess of medicine out there, and it is doing no good to anyone by sitting on a dusty shelf. Medications that are not expired can be given to somebody who needs them. If everyone recycled their medications, then we wouldn’t need to produce nearly as many extras. Medications that are expired can still be turned in or disposed of properly. It’s time to add the medicine cabinet to our “spring cleaning” lists. Over-prescription and Its Health RisksApril 2018
In recent times, handing out a prescription seems like the easiest and fastest way to address a patient’s concerns. An article from CNN outlines the scope of the problem. It explains, “In 2010, doctors wrote enough prescriptions for hydrocodone to give every American adult a one- month supply, according to a report by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention” (Nedelman). In 2016, The US Drug Enforcement Administration took action against 479 doctors who had been found guilty of over- prescribing. I investigated a few personal stories to see what people were saying. An article from TIME read, “I got in a car accident and was in the hospital for three or four months. At first, I took [opioids] for the pain as prescribed, as needed. I started to like the buzz so I began taking more than I was supposed to. Then a family member introduced me to heroin, and I actually cried at first because I didn’t feel any pain. All it takes is one time” (Blasingame 4-5). In another case, a man, Jeff Goehring, suffered a debilitating stroke shortly after he began taking testosterone, which his doctor prescribed for fatigue even though the FDA hadn’t approved it for that use (Carr). Additionally, 91 percent of overdose survivors were still able to get another opioid prescription (Nedelman). A survey revealed that “while almost 85 percent of doctors screen for signs of prior narcotic painkiller abuse, just one-third ask about a family history of addiction. Only 5 percent offer direct help to patients when signs of abuse are uncovered, and less than 40 percent refer such patients for treatment elsewhere” (“Almost All U.S. Doctors Are Overprescribing Narcotic Painkillers, Research Suggests”). There are many dangers associated with the misuse or abuse of medication. Specifically, opioids have caused a huge epidemic. Patients must be weary of the pills they are prescribed before taking them because many of these drugs can have serious side effects, especially when mixed with other drugs or substances such as alcohol. Forty- eight million people ages 12 and up have used prescription medication for nonmedical purposes, according to WebMD. About 1.3 million people went to U.S. emergency rooms due to unfavorable drug effects in 2014, and about 124,000 died from those effects. This is according to estimates based on data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration. Additional research proposed that about half of the deaths were preventable. The problem with prescription drugs, especially pain killers, is that they are highly addictive. Research shows that “changes in the brain caused by repeated drug abuse affect a person’s self- control and ability to make sound decisions” (“Prescription Drug Abuse”). Some drugs are not approved by the FDA; even when they are, 99 percent of doctors prescribe medications that exceed the federally approved amount (“Almost All U.S. Doctors Are Overprescribing Narcotic Painkillers, Research Suggests”). |