© 2018 Greg & Sylvia RAY

Sad tales of lost babies

In years long gone by childbirth was far more dangerous - to mother and baby - than it is in rich countries today. Not only was birth hazardous, but the early years of childhood were fraught with risk. Diseases now preventable ran rife. Without antibiotics, infections of all kinds could be extremely dangerous. Fire was used in heating, food storage and hygiene could be questionable and youngsters were often expected to do chores and tasks that exposed them to potential hazards. The first few years were the riskiest, it seems. According to Newcastle City Council (NSW),…

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Read more about the article Our troubles with midazolam: a story of death, dying and a powerful drug
Photo by James Heilman, MD. Wikimedia Commons

Our troubles with midazolam: a story of death, dying and a powerful drug

Are powerful sedatives being over-used in palliative care and aged care? Our observations of the apparent effects of the sedative midazolam on our fathers, who both died from cancer a week apart in October 2018, have left us with some questions. Midazolam is a powerful benzodiazepine drug, very widely used in a variety of medical applications. Although midazolam has no analgesic properties, it was repeatedly described to us as a “breakthrough drug”, implying that it was being used to suppress spikes in pain above the level the prescribed doses of painkillers could handle. We believe this…

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