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Drugs washing into waterways may be impacting fish populations.
What happens when anti-anxiety drugs which were intended for the human population end up in the food supply of other living creatures?
One group of researchers from Umea University in Sweden analyzed just such a possibility based on the imperfections of sewage treatment plants in removing one hundred percent of contaminants (meaning, what comes in must eventually go out and down the drain). Researchers specifically looked at the affects of an anxiety drug called oxepezam, or Serax as it is marketed, on perch in amounts they would encounter in a European river.
Though there were only trace levels in the test study they discovered that fish behavior was affected. The fish grew hungry, bold, and less social. With a limited food source available, this could have unfortunate repercussions. Nobody likes a mean fish. However, in the wild there are many other elements affecting fish interaction, which have yet to be tested (Ashutosh Jogalekar, “Anxiety Drug Makes Fish Bolder and More Asocial,” Blogs.ScientificAmerican.com, February 14, 2013).
When God commanded human beings to dress and keep the earth, He intended for us to try to keep it in good condition. With more technologies and information available to us, humankind often leaps before looking and reaps unintended consequences. Ironically, medications (antibiotics in particular) only work well if we don’t have to take too many of them, too often, otherwise our bodies or the bacteria they fight grow used to them and they cease to be as affective. Likewise, whatever we don’t absorb is eventually flushed into the precipitation cycle of the earth.
The first line of defense for good health are our dietary habits, lifestyle habits, and reliance on God’s intervention. However, in many cases medical treatment is indeed needed, and should be sought. Be a wise consumer, seek the best practitioners available, and ask pertinent questions, particularly if you take many medications. Make sure they are absolutely necessary for you and not simply a generic approach given to everyone.
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Keywords: prescription drugs environment and drugs
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