Overkill

FDA Warns Against Prescription Drugs With High Levels of Acetaminophen

When I first saw this story, it was the banner headline at the top of CNN''s web site (now, I can't even find the story).

 I was alerted to the story later by my progressive former classmate out west who stridently called for anyone taking Tylenol or acetaminophen painkillers to stop immediately and seek out another pain medication.

I called him on that reaction in a comment on his Facebook page, and he proceeded to advise me that he was a Registered Nurse (who is not practicing nursing at the moment - he helps run a gaming software company) and started spouting some figures about the number of people treated for side effects.

Having laid that foundation for context, let me say: Has my old classmate lost his flipping wig?

First, his reaction is one that absolutely amazes me, especially coming from one who is supposed to have a modicum of medical knowledge. I don't profess to be an expert, but even I know that EVERY drug has potential side effects ... often serious if not fatal. All drugs, substances, etc., no matter what - period - potentially will produce an adverse reaction in the human body. That is the risk we take when we use the substance and if we are not aware of that, then we really are acting pretty silly and didn't listen to Momma when we little.

I am reminded of the little orphan's cry is some war movie I saw way back when: "No Momma. No. Poppa. No Uncle Sam." Only in this case, we always have Uncle Sam to fall back on or so it seems he believes.

You see, I am one of those people who realize that there is no "zero defect" solution to life (unless you are God and that I surely am not, nor do I suspect is anyone else in the human race who isn't crazy) and that everything comes with adverse effects of one order or another.

Granted, each individual is important and a valued person, but at the same time that individual also is expendable. I guess that is the old soldier in me coming out. Not everyone is going to live (in fact, if  you really look at it - none of us are), so the point is that we not waste those who die or take away the dignity of their death. We do the best we can, and then we move on.

To deprive the 99.97 percent of adults in the United States (if I did my math right) of the benefit of something because .03 percent may get seriously ill (and .015 percent may end up in the hospital) seems to me to be a little out of whack, but then I will let you be the judge.

Secondly, my brother (the surgeon) once said at a symposium where I was sitting in the audience a very profound observation: The Enemy of Good is Better.

Now, that might seem a bit odd at first glance, but it actually makes a whole heck of a lot of sense after I thought about it ... and I had been applying the idea all my life (I guess we learned it from our Momma or sumptin')

The point being that if you don't use the good when you can, while you are in the quest for the better, then you are denying yourself, and others, the value of the good. Since there is never enough good to go around, we best not waste any of it and every little bit helps.

It is sort of like the pep talk I used to give my copy editors: What we do tonight is not engraved it stone. We will do the best we can, knowing that it not be perfect and hope that it will be good enough, because tomorrow night the paper we slave over tonight will be wrapping fish or lining Polly's cage. Keep it in perspective folks.

Or another point I made after the Persian Gulf War in 1991. There was some criticism that the Patriot missile was not a perfect defense against Iraqi SCUDs. I thought that criticism was extremely shortsighted and rather ignorant. There were some 85 SCUDs launched during the war, with about half landing in Israel and half in Saudi Arabia. I know that at least one warhead was destroyed, because I saw it happened, but the reports after the war ranged from 80 percent of the warheads were intercepted down to about 30 percent.

The criticism was that there were leakers, warheads that got through. Well, speaking as a grunt on the ground, if the Patriots intercepted one, and it was headed in my direction, then I am extremely grateful that Patriots worked even that limited amount because I could have been a casualty if it hadn't been there to do its job.

So, the missile defense was not perfect ... but it was better than no defense at all. It was the triumph of good over better.

Acetaminophen is not perfect ... but its good outweighs the bad in my estimation, but then I am not a progressive who expects perfection and that silly people can be protected against their own silliness by Uncle Sam and the FDA.

People, we can abandon the good things can do, in our quest of the perfect solution, or we can accept that some people won't be helped - in fact might get hurt - while we try to help as many as we can. It is what doctors and nurses do in triage and what generals and admirals do when they send their airmen, marines, sailors and soldiers in harms way.

We know that some will not make it, but we hope that the good will be worth the price. And sometimes waiting for the perfect solution or overkill is not worth the price.

Anyway, that is my view on the situation ... you are welcome to yours.