The dangers of adhd medications are often cited by a number of parents especially given the number of reports that are doing the rounds regarding, in particular, Ritalin which is oftentimes prescribed to ADHD children. If your child has been diagnosed with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Ritalin has come into the conversation regarding a treatment option you need to stop, consider, and then make your decision whether you want your child on this medication or not.

It is generally well known that Ritalin is a very strong stimulant medication that is often prescribed to children who have ADHD but it is not the only one. Other drugs that you might hear about are:

1. Adderall

2. Dexedrine

3. Strattera

4. Concerta

Some of these medications have even been banned in other countries such as in Canada. They banned Adderall because it was linked to the deaths of twenty patients who were prescribed the drug. Even the Food and Drug Administration in the United States has confirmed that Concerta has been linked to deaths as well.

Of course there are many manufacturers of natural remedies that have jumped on the bandwagon regarding the negative publicity that adhd medications have received over the last few years. Very often the suggestions and treatments that they sell are simply ineffective in controlling or managing the symptoms of ADHD. While it is true that 186 children lost their lives in the decade between 1990 and 2000 due to taking Ritalin one needs to place this figure in perspective even if you run the risk of sounding callous. For instance, in 1990 more than nine hundred thousand kids were on Ritalin. Today that figure has ballooned to more than five million. That means that for every 48,000 kids who took the drug only one died. The others might suffer from other side-effects but they will not die because of the drug. While this is by no means a precise calculation it does indicate the risk as being very, very small. Nevertheless for those parents who lost their child the risk was all too real. One could be forgiven for arguing that one death is one too many.

However one needs to bear in mind that death from taking one of these adhd medications is just one of the associated side-effects. Those in support of these medications will list the advantages for the ADHD child and these are by no means dismissible. For instance a study was conducted regarding the number of ADHD children who were also involved with illicit drug use. It was determined that those who routinely took their meds were no more inclined to associate with illicit drugs than their peers were. However kids who did not take their meds had three times as much drug abuse issues by the time they reached their teens.

No parent wants to have to choose to place their child on one of the above mentioned drugs for the treatment of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder especially if there is the chance that the child does not even have the disorder in the first place. Nevertheless it is sometimes necessary and if your child is already currently on one of these medications and there has been a positive improvement, you should probably allow them to continue taking the drug. On the other hand if your child has been diagnosed with the disorder but as yet remains un-medicated it might be worthwhile to first check out other alternative ways of combating and reducing the symptoms of ADHD. For instance natural homeopathic treatments are known to produce excellent results and carry far fewer risks since only natural active ingredients are used. Changing the child's diet can produce excellent improvement in their behavior as well and is certainly to be considered before resorting to medications.