Positive Health Online

My father is 86 and my mother 90 years old. They live in sheltered accommodation which is very hot and has no ventilation except for the obligatory ventilation grill in the kitchen. My mother has had occasional illnesses throughout her life but overall she has kept reasonably well although has always been regarded as having to be looked after. She has taken a two hour sleep every afternoon since I was two years old and the rest of her time was spent housekeeping. My father's health has been good until about ten years ago when he had a heart attack. Since then my parents have followed a bland, fatless diet which in my view has created extreme deficiencies in vitamins, nutrients and essential fatty acids. It has also taken away the pleasure of eating while introducing concern over eating the right diet. Although it was only my father who had had the heart attack, the diet has been followed by both my parents.

Previously, their meals were never fried or high in fats or sugar and they had followed quite an abstemious lifestyle while not including foods such as garlic, olive oil, fatty fish (except kippers on occasion). So to cut back on their oil consumption while not really being shown how to substitute other foods could have brought them to where they are now. The dietary information was followed rigorously and unquestioningly because it came from their doctors and was based on all the research that has been carried out. My parents have become weaker and in particular my father, who has suffered from polymyalgia, causing him severe pain and making walking very difficult.

Over the past three years my mother has suffered from recurrent bouts of cellulitis, causing swelling and redness in her right leg along with severe pain, vomiting and rigours. On these occasions she is taken into hospital, given a course of antibiotics and a glucose drip and on improvement is sent home. These occurrences cause anxiety for both parents other members of the family. The most recent case has resulted in my mother being in hospital for six weeks although initially she was admitted because the painkillers prescribed for pain from gout had damaged her kidneys. For the recurring cellulitis she has been given four different antibiotics in as many weeks, despite the fact that this not only does not cure the problem, but actually weakens her immune system making a recurrence even more likely. No vitamins, such as vitamin C, have been administered.

On investigating the medicines my parents are prescribed on a regular basis along with the side effects and the symptoms my parents have, it can be seen that a connection could easily be made. Below I list the medicines with the side effects relevant only to my parents' symptoms:

Father:
Warfarin sodium haemorrhaging;
Digoxin loss of appetite, weight loss, diarrhoea, fatigue, confusion, should be administered with caution to those who are elderly;
Paracetamol prolonged use may result in liver dysfunction;
Prednisolone sodium and water retention, potassium loss, muscle wasting;
Atenolol gastrointestinal disturbances, poor circulation in the extremities, fatigue, heart failure in susceptible patients.

Mother:
Beconase nasal spray sneezing and dryness, irritation of the nose and throat, candidiasis;
Bumetanide lowered blood levels of potassium, sodium, magnesium, abnormally low blood pressure, raised levels of urea in the blood, skin rashes;
Salbutamol lowering of blood potassium levels, palpitations, itchy rash;
Paracetamol see above;
Atenolol gastrointestinal disturbances, poor circulation in the extremities, fatigue, heart failure;
Nitrazepam impaired gait particularly in the elderly, salivation changes, rashes, gastro intestinal disorders;
Mebeverine hydrochloride no relevant side effects, but given for muscle spasm in the gastrointestinal tract, which causes abdominal pain and constipation (see above for possible causes of such pain and spasm);
Aqueous Cream and Oilatum Emulsion see above for need to prescribe cream for itchy rash.

From looking at the possible side effects and the symptoms, my father's muscle pain and weakness could be related to prednisolone, plus vitamin and mineral deficiencies. No suggestion of vitamin and mineral supplements has been made. I persuaded them to take one course last year but they did not continue. My mother has itchy skin and three of the medicines she takes have this as a side effect. I obtained this information from a readily available book so I see no reason for such information not to be cross-checked. When a doctor has come to the flat, often without patient notes, there has been no cross-checking for side effects and cumulative side effects. My parents have gone, and are going through, pain and suffering because of this. They have been brainwashed into believing that the only way to deal with disease or even a slight problem, is to go to the doctor. They can see no other way. I have offered information on water consumption, vitamins, minerals, tinctures such as echinacea, garlic capsules – simple ways to boost their immune systems and help their bodies to heal and fight against disease instead of recourse to medicines, but to no avail. The doctor would have to tell them this was suitable.

While the medical profession continues to insist on being the sole provider of health care then innocent people like my parents will suffer. Yet there is little sign of care in the hospital. The floors are dirty and the smell of urine is almost unbearable. Little help or love is given to the elderly who must try as best they can to fend for themselves.

The possible side effects listed are only a few of those for each medicine and some effects are less serious than others. Compared to the side effects (if any) of the herbal medicines, tinctures, vitamin and mineral supplements that are being to severely scrutinized and could be banned, the EU Directives seem ludicrous. The money spent on medicines and hospital beds exceeds the cost of supplements which could improve health, rather than adding to toxic overload in already weak bodies.