A Pill-Popping Culture
February 17th, 2009 | Categories: Life | 17 CommentsAside from the time when I had strep throat in second grade and when I got an outer ear infection in late October 20081, I can’t remember the last time I was on any type of medication/drugs, whether it be over the counter or prescription. Other than the two aforementioned occasions, my life has pretty much been drug-free.
If you think about it, shying away from over the counter drugs like Tylenol, Aspirin, Benadryl, Mucinex, and other related drugs is quite a feat in the pill-popping culture we live in. Never have I depended on drugs or wished I had medicine to get me through whatever I was sick with2. I grew up in a household that didn’t see medication as necessary. Have a fever? Stay in bed, sleep, and drink some chicken soup. Have a cold? Get rest, carry around a packet of tissues with you, and suck it up. Headache? Drink lots of water and take a nap. Sore throat? Drink some honey lemon tea and stay away from fried or greasy foods. Can’t sleep? Wait it out for a few days, sleep will come back eventually.
Each time I was sick, I recovered from whatever was bothering me just fine with a some rest, vitamins, and hot tea, without help from any type of medicine/drug. I am a firm believer in the fact that our bodies were designed to be able to heal themselves3 without help from modern medicine. The human body has had the same “design” since before modern medicine was invented/discovered, and the body was able to heal itself long before over the counter medicine became popular. Taking medicine for things like headaches or colds aren’t necessary; our bodies know how to take care of themselves and will do so in due time. Yes, it might take a little longer to recover than if you popped a few Tylenol or Aspirin. But you still end up recovering just as well, with the added bonus of not having to dump chemicals into your system just to get better.
Some people claim that they “need” to take medicine to get rid of a cold, or to recover from a headache. Perhaps they need it now, but did they need the medicine when they first started taking it? Or is needing to take medicine something that had been borne out of wanting a quick fix for discomfort rather than letting the body do its own thing, which resulted in a dependency on the drug? Maybe any alleged “dependency” on medicine for simple ailments is psychological, and your body has been conditioned to think that it needs medication when it really doesn’t.
It’s ridiculous to think of people that depend on medication for basic functions in addition to recovering from minor ailments, such as sleeping, because sleep is one of the most basic things the human body does, yet people are resorting to popping pills left and right to try and catch some shut eye. Whenever I personally have trouble sleeping4, I usually end up getting a few hours of sleep for a few nights in a row, but it usually works itself out of my system in a few days and then everything goes back to normal. I’ll take a few sleepless nights every now and then over turning my body into a walking pharmaceutical company. Exhaustion is natural; medication isn’t.
The thought of creating a dependency on unnecessary medication scares me. A cold is a cold, a fever is a fever no matter who suffers from it, and I am sure there are countless people that see Benadryl or Mucinex as necessities and their body suffers as a result. Not only is there the risk of a dependency on the medicine, but it also prevents your immune system from fighting the bacteria that it should, and needs, to fight in order to keep you healthy. And unless I (God forbid) am diagnosed with a serious illness/disease, I am going to continue letting my body take care of itself in a way that only it knows how (with bed rest and vitamins, of course!) rather than pop pills at the alarming rate that seems to be a societal norm.
- I had gotten my second ear piercings and I was allergic to the metal used in the earring, so the piercings got infected really, really badly and even though I wasn’t really comfortable with the idea, I had to go on antibiotics to prevent the infection from spreading to other parts of my body. The holes had to close up too, which was a bummer. [↩]
- When I use the term “sick” in this entry, I mean ailments such as fever, cold, sore throat, etc. I do not mean serious illnesses such as pneumonia, bronchitis, respiratory infection, or other illnesses, nor do I mean diseases such as cancer, hepatitis, or diabetes. I am fully aware that serious illnesses and disease often do require drugs and medication, and without it, people can die. [↩]
- Again, this is only about minor ailments and not serious illnesses/diseases. See this footnote for more details. [↩]
- My opinion about sleeping issues does not cover insomnia, it only covers poor sleep quality. I’m not well-informed enough about insomnia, nor have I experienced it, to make a judgment about it. [↩]
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Hi, I'm Manda. I'm a college student studying communications and languages. I like to read, shop, bake, and travel. I have a tendency to listen to my favorite songs on repeat for hours on end. Sometimes I catch myself thinking in a language other than English. 
My boyfriend is an insomniac himself, so he takes sleeping pills to help him sleep. He told me that I should try them. I told him that I will never do the sleeping pill thing.
The only pill I take on a regular basis is my mood stabilizers. I feel a difference from when I wasn’t taking it and when I do take it and miss a dose. I suffer from terrible migraines, but luckily for me, caffeine counters that and I don’t need a pill for that, although there have been moments where I popped a couple of Excedrin when caffeine failed.
But those are the only two situations where I’ll resort to pills.
Sleeping pills freak me out. Sleep is such a complicated process; your body shuts down and you go into semi-paralysis as your body advances through the different sleeping stages (can’t remember the exact terminology, I haven’t studied bio/psych in over a year!) If I ever mixed sleep with pills, I fear I would never wake up.
To an extent, I agree with you. Being dependent on drugs to cure every little ache and pain is far from a good thing. But I also think that if you’re suffering and they’re something that can help cure you faster, there’s nothing wrong with that. That’s why medicine exists. Yes, our bodies are capable of recovering and taking care of themselves without it. But if you’re in pain whether with a terrible headache, or good old time-of-the-month cramps and they’re crippling your ability to go about your day to day routine, then there’s nothing wrong with taking a Tylenol or what have you. I can see what you mean about humans from the beginning of time coping and recovering from illnesses, but you also have to consider that life in this day and age is a lot more fast-paced and stress-filled.
That’s just my two cents anyway. I figure, if I’m suffering and there’s something that can help alleviate the pain, why sit around in agony when I don’t have to? The drugs that can help in that situation wouldn’t be available over the counter if they were dangerous. (That’s not to say some people don’t seriously abuse them, of course). ;)
I understand what you mean about modern life being more fast-paced and stress-filled than in previous eras, but I still maintain the fact that headaches, colds, sore throats, etc are something that the human body is meant to suffer no matter what environment it is in, so I believe taking a Tylenol here or an Aspirin there is unnecessary. Yes, over the counter drugs are readily available and aren’t meant to be dangerous. But how can we be sure of that? For instance (and I know this is not entirely related cause this is about a vaccination and not a drug), the chicken pox vaccination is linked to causing shingles in later adult life. Was the public aware of that when the chicken pox vaccination was first made public? No, because even the scientists that developed the vaccination were not aware of it. And yes, some might want to get the shingles vaccination in later life to prevent the possible development of shingles as a consequence of getting the chicken pox vaccination when they were younger. But that’s two vaccinations too many in my opinion, and from there it can only get more out of hand, just like it can, and has, with over the counter drugs. :)
Hm. I agree with you on the dependency our nation has on cold/headache/etc meds. It’s absolutely ridiculous to think that we’re drugging ourselves like mad with all these pills/syrups/etc. I personally try not to take any more meds than I can, seeing as I am already on enough daily prescriptions.
That brings my question: what do you think about prescription medications for psychological/emotional issues? I know a lot of people are against them, so I was wondering if you feel the same about psychological meds as you do regular over-the-counter drugs. :)
I think prescription medication for psychological/emotional issues are useless. The mind is such a powerful thing, and I don’t think anyone will be able to understand the mysteries and the depths of the intricacies of the human mind and how it functions. Therefore, I don’t see how any chemicals can alter my mental state because I don’t believe that scientists (or anyone else) truly know how the brain functions, and what makes it tick. When there are substances out there, legal or illegal, that can alter my mood and/or state of mind, that freaks me out. Also, I distrust the benefits of prescribed medication for psychological/emotional issues because sometimes it can have the opposite effect – one of my best friends was prescribed antidepressants, only for the medication to trigger an even deeper depression and suicidal thoughts. I have never forgotten that, nor will that experience with my friend ever not affect my judgment and opinion of medicating psychological/emotional issues.
I don’t think I’ve ever had to use medication, either, apart from a few sore throats over the years. But then, I can’t actually take pills because of my fear of having them stick in my throat and stop me from breathing. xD I’ve lived so far without them, however I do wish sometimes I hadn’t turned down some of the remedies for depression, health etc that the doctor had advised me to take; how will I know now if that stuff would’ve helped? Meh.
I agree with you in that I don’t like the idea of taking drugs for everything, and I try to do it as little as possible. But I don’t think that just because I don’t like the idea of something, then it means that it’s bad. Who am I to say that someone shouldn’t take pills when they make his/her life easier, especially when it’s not (proven to be) dangerous? For the most part, approved drugs and medications have improved quality of life. I recently had a cold, and although I usually avoid popping pills, Tylenol helped me deal with the annoying symptoms that were really ruining my day…
I totally agree with this post… a lot of times we take advil or tylenol way too quick and easily whereas taking a short break or a nap would help our health. But this society is too fast-paced and no time-for-ourselves that it’s often looked upon if you’re sitting there and idling with nothing on your plate.
I’m trying to ease off of it and trying to go back to being au-natural.
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I agree with most of this post, honestly. When I get a cold, I let it run its course. I really hate when I’m sick and my parents (or whoever) constantly says to me, “did you take anything? You better take something!” A cold goes away on its own, and I’ve found that taking medicine for it doesn’t really help me anyway.
As for headaches, I usually let those go away on their own if I’m at home. Laying my head down on a nice pillow usually helps. However, If I’m at work, I will sometimes take an ibuprofen, but only if it’s a really bad headache. That’s because if it’s a bad headache, I usually get some nausea with it too.
I personally think sleeping pills are pretty unnecessary, unless you suffer from insomnia. Taking them too often isn’t good for you. I’ve only taken a sleeping pill to help me sleep once in my entire life. The reason was that I didn’t get off work until late and I had to be back up at 6 am to go back to work. I wasn’t tired at all so I took a sleeping pill to help make me tired and fall asleep. It helped me fall asleep alright, but staying asleep was another problem. I was up every hour with trouble going back to sleep. Someone else I talked to said they had the same problem when they took sleeping pills too. I personally sleep much better without them.
One thing that I absolutely will take a pain reliever for is menstrual cramps. I know it’s just a natural part of being female, but cramps are awful. I’m on the BC pill though so my cramps are very mild now. I usually just let them go or use a heating pad (if I’m at home). Every once in a while they will flare up and I will take something for it. Especially if I’m at work, because it’s hard for me to function properly when I’m in pain. Before going on the BC pill, I used to get really bad cramps. I had to take quite a bit of ibuprofen to relieve the pain. One time the pain was so severe that it actually made me throw up a couple times (which is one of the bodily reactions to severe pain).
Basically, I think medicine should be used in some cases, and totally unnecessary in others. I don’t think people realize that taking medicine a lot can actually be bad for you. Some pills and such are hard on your liver.
I’m actually undecided as to whether or not I think taking medicine for cramps is “okay” or not. Part of the reason why I don’t have a fully-formed opinion on this is because when cramps get bad enough that you start throwing up then, well, even though cramps are natural, something is amiss when vomit is involved. Also, I have been fortunate enough to not have bad cramps (I mean, I get them, but they’re generally manageable, so it’s not a huge inconvenience) so unlike colds, headaches, etc, I’ve never experienced them, and therefore don’t know enough about it to judge. :/
My opinion is almost exactly the same as Britney’s. I hate medicine. I don’t take it when I get a cold. I hate the idea of sleeping pills, but I will take Aleve for menstrual cramps. Sometimes, my cramps are okay, but… Other times, I cannot function (I cannot do anything, but sit in bed and fight tears) if I don’t take medicine. So, I take it.
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I agree with you for the most part. I don’t take medication unless I absolutely have to. I take medicine for a cold when I need to work and the symptoms are too much. Medication doesn’t even shorten or cure your cold, it just lessens the symptoms so that you can get on with your day. Viruses must run their course. Best thing to do is rest, drink lots of water, and let it do what it does best. I am currently on antibiotics, because I have strep throat. I’m not taking anything for the cold I currently have, though. When I get a headache, a nap usually does the trick. If it doesn’t and it’s a really bad headache, then I resort to medication.
It’s best not to take medication unless you feel it’s absolutely necessary. I feel as though medication can seriously mess your body up if you take too much all the time. Taking medicine for every ailment you have just doesn’t seem right. Your body can take care of itself for the most part.
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I don’t really take medicine when I’m sick, unless I’m doing really badly. I try to ride it off at first.
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I agree that often medicine isn’t neccesary but I don’t think the body can always heal itself. The only time I really take medicine is paracetemol for tummy pain (and only then when it’s at it’s worst) and if I am seriously ill. I think colds etc don’t need much, maybe sometimes a throat sweet is good for a sore throat. I think that medicine is something you take if absolutly neccesary but if there are other alternatives, or if it’s not serious/affecting you’re daily life then it’s pointless. (maybe unrelated but I don’t believe when people tell you to stop taking medicine and use herbal alternatives, because medicine is designed to help us when we need it.)
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If you notice my second footnote, you’ll see that I do not think the body can heal itself in every situation either. As for herbal alternatives, they were designed to help the body as well, but in a more natural way than medicine (hence the slower results).
[...] of Everyone’s At It best, and I really like the message of the song. Like I’ve said before, we live in a pill-popping culture, and it’s becoming a bigger and bigger [...]