PRESCRIPTION DRUGS AND CAR CRASHES
WHAT IS THE LINK?
- More than 2.5 million Americans went to the emergency department — and nearly 200,000 were then hospitalized.
- Americans annually spend over a million days hospitalized as the result of MVA.
- The lifetime medical costs of each year’s MVA’s is currently estimated at 18 billion dollars, over 75% of which is spent in the first 18 months. Hospitalized individuals paid an average of $57,000 over their lifetimes, while Emergency Room visits averaged out to $3,300.
- The lifetime cost of loss-of-work due to each year’s MVA’s is currently estimated at 33 billion dollars.
More light was recently shed on this relationship between MVA and Prescription Drugs in a recent study published in the July-August issue of Public Health Reports (Fatal Crashes from Drivers Testing Positive for Drugs in the U.S., 1993-2010). In this study, the authors stated that, “Drugged drivers who were tested for drug use accounted for 11.4% of all drivers involved in fatal motor vehicle crashes in 2010. Drugged drivers are increasingly likely to be older drivers, and the percentage using multiple drugs increased from 32.6% in 1993 to 45.8% in 2010. Prescription drugs accounted for the highest fraction of drugs used by drugged drivers in fatal crashes in 2010 (46.5%), with much of the increase in prevalence occurring since the mid-2000s.” Stop for a moment. Re-read this paragraph until the magnitude of what they are saying sinks in.
Once you begin to understand the sheer volume of Prescription Drugs (and for that matter, OTC drugs) that Americans are consuming (HERE, HERE, and HERE are a few examples), some of my ranting on this topic begins to make sense. When you look at studies like THIS ONE, you begin to see a pattern of Prescription Drug Abuse. What are some of the most commonly abused Prescription Drugs, whether we are talking seniors or adolescents? Actually, they are largely the same. They are NARCOTICS, ANTI-DEPRESSANTS, STIMULANTS (think drugs for ADHD here), and SLEEPING PILLS.
The bottom line is that drugs — whether pushed or prescribed — mess you up in numerous ways. Dr. Art Ayers talks extensively on his site about the fact that most prescription drugs have antibiotic effects that destroy GUT HEALTH. Many of the commonly used drugs are both addictive and DANGEROUS. But to answer the question posed in today’s post; yes, there is a link between prescription drugs and MVA. My best advice is to find a follow a good protocol (HERE are a few), and get off as many drugs as you possibly can. Your life will be better for it in so many different ways.
