Prescription drugs: their use and abuse.Prescription drugs have helped millions of people with any number of medical problems. Many people wouldn't even be alive without these medicines. Bur you've probably noticed that prescription drugs come with warnings such as: Caution: Federal law prohibits the transfer of this drug to any person other than the patient for whom it was prescribed.... Do not drive or operate machinery.... Take with food.... Avoid prolonged sunlight. "The reason these drugs require a prescription is that they are powerful medications," says Wilson Compton, MD, director of the Division of Epidemiology, Services and Prevention Research, at the National Institute on Drug Abuse The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) is a United States federal-government research institute whose mission is to "lead the Nation in bringing the power of science to bear on drug abuse and addiction. (NIDA NIDA National Institute on Drug Abuse NIDA National Institute of Dramatic Arts (Australia) NIDA Northern Ireland Development Agency (UK) NIDA Northern Ireland Dairy Association ). Used at certain dosage levels in certain forms at certain times, prescription drugs are safe and effective. Bur when they are used for nonmedical purposes, that is called abuse, and abuse of prescription drugs is not safe. Abuse of a prescription drug--to get high, lose weight, or build up muscle--can have very serious health consequences and can even be deadly. HEADS UP: HEALTH RISKS FOR TEENS Unfortunately, prescription drug abuse is on the rise. While it is important to note that most teens do not abuse prescription drugs, the current level of abuse of certain prescription drugs concerns NIDA scientists. In 2004, nearly 15 million Americans ages 12 and up--that's 6.1 percent of the population--took a prescription drug for nonmedical purposes, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. a study by the federal government's Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), an operating division of the Health and Human Services Department (HHS), was established in 1992 by the Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration Reorganization Act (Pub. L. No. 102-321). . The prescription drugs most often abused by teens are painkillers, antianxiety antianxiety /an·ti·an·xi·e·ty/ (-ang-zi´e-te) anxiolytic; reducing anxiety. an·ti·anx·i·e·ty adj. Preventing or reducing anxiety. medications (benzodiazepines Benzodiazepines Definition Benzodiazepines are medicines that help relieve nervousness, tension, and other symptoms by slowing the central nervous system. Purpose Benzodiazepines are a type of antianxiety drugs. ), stimulants Stimulants A class of drugs, including Ritalin, used to treat people with autism. They may make children calmer and better able to concentrate, but they also may limit growth or have other side effects. Mentioned in: Autism , and steroids--powerful drugs that carry real health risks. How many teens are abusing these drugs? Enough to cause a lot of concern. According to a 2004 NIDA study, 9.3 percent of high school seniors said they had abused the painkiller Vicodin in the past year. "That's a huge and frightening number," says Dr. Compton. Also disturbing news is that 7.3 percent of 12th-graders had abused benzodiazepines at least once in the last year, 5.1 percent had abused Ritalin, and 5 percent said they had abused the powerful pain reliever OxyContin Ox·y·con·tin A trademark for the drug oxycodone. oxycodone hydrochloride ETH-Oxydose, OxyContin, OxyFast, Oxy-IR, Oxynorm (UK), Roxicodone, Supeudol (CA) Pharmacologic class: Opioid agonist . Adding to concern, teens in some communities are engaging in dangerous trading sessions, where they gather whatever medications they can find--old prescriptions of their own, pills from their families' medicine cabinets--and swap them. The bar graph above illustrates abuse among teens of five different prescription drugs. HEADS UP: GET THE FACTS NIDA scientists are searching for reasons why teens abuse prescription drugs. One reason may simply be availability. The number of prescriptions being written has gone way up in recent years, especially for pain relievers and stimulants. Another reason is that abusers may mistakenly believe that prescription drugs, because they come from a pharmacy and not a drug dealer, are safer to take, even at high doses or without a prescription. And still another might be that abusing prescription drugs follows a pattern of behavior among people who abuse other drugs. HEADS UP: KILLER PAINKILLERS Just how harmful are the most abused prescription drugs? Extremely harmful. One of the most dangerous is OxyContin, a pill that is designed to deliver pain relief over a 12-hour period. After the patient swallows the pill, medicine is released into the body little by little. But some abusers bypass the time-release system by crushing or chewing the pills. That way, they get all of the drug in their system at one time, and the body responds very differently. It's like taking several doses of medicine all at once. The risk of overdose then becomes huge. And an overdose of OxyContin can kill you. To make matters worse, young people may abuse OxyContin at parties where alcohol is also on hand. This is a deadly situation because both OxyContin and alcohol can depress respiration respiration, process by which an organism exchanges gases with its environment. The term now refers to the overall process by which oxygen is abstracted from air and is transported to the cells for the oxidation of organic molecules while carbon dioxide (CO (in other words Adv. 1. in other words - otherwise stated; "in other words, we are broke" put differently , slow down a person's breathing or stop it altogether). When the two substances are taken together, the risk of serious harm or death becomes much greater than with either taken alone. Sadly, last year this combination claimed the life of a 20-year-old student at the University of California, San Diego UCSD is consistently ranked among the top ten public universities for undergraduate education in the United States by U.S. News & World Report.[3] It is a Public Ivy. [1] For graduate studies, most of UCSD's Ph.D. . Daniel died in his dorm room after he took OxyContin to get high, then drank alcohol at a party. Daniel had a 3.2 grade-point average. He wanted to be a lawyer. Prescription drug abuse killed that dream. What about Vicodin, Ritalin, and Adderall? Can they kill you? Yes, definitely--but not nearly as easily as OxyContin can. Can they land you in the hospital? Yes. But the biggest known risk--and it is a real and serious risk--is addiction. HEADS UP: LIFE OF ADDICTION? When a person becomes addicted to a drug, his or her brain is changed. Normally, the brain's pleasure center releases the neurotransmitter neurotransmitter, chemical that transmits information across the junction (synapse) that separates one nerve cell (neuron) from another nerve cell or a muscle. Neurotransmitters are stored in the nerve cell's bulbous end (axon). dopamine dopamine (dōp`əmēn), one of the intermediate substances in the biosynthesis of epinephrine and norepinephrine. See catecholamine. dopamine One of the catecholamines, widely distributed in the central nervous system. in response to positive experiences like a walk on the beach, a chat with friends, or victory in a big game. When a person becomes addicted to a drug, all those things lose their impact and diminish in importance. All that matters is finding and taking the drug that changed their brain to begin with. "That's a terrible life sentence," says Dr. Compton. "It means your life gets narrower instead of bigger." HEADS UP: USE AS DIRECTED A recent NIDA-sponsored survey found that one in four teens Four Teens is a Barbershop quartet that won the 1952 SPEBSQSA international competition. Preceded by Schmitt Brothers SPEBSQSA International Quartet Champions 1952 Succeeded by Vikings with legitimate prescriptions said other kids had asked them for pills. Students need to know that abusing prescription drugs is no different from abusing illegal drugs. If you wind up addicted to a painkiller or hospitalized because you've stopped breathing, it makes no difference whether the drugs that got you there were picked up from a legitimate pharmacy or bought from a drug dealer. Now that you have the facts about prescription drug abuse, share them with your friends and family. Everyone needs to understand that abusing prescription drugs is a prescription for disaster. For help with a drug problem or to locate treatment centers, go to www.findtreatment.samhsa.gov, or call the national hotline at 1-800-662-HELP. Prescription Drug Health Alert for Teens The following four categories show the dangers of the prescription drugs most abused by teens. Opioids Opioids One of the major classes of semi or fully synthetic psycho-active drugs that includes methadone. Mentioned in: Cancer Therapy, Palliative, Methadone opioid OxyContin[R] and Vicodin[R] are opioids. These drugs are prescribed to treat severe pain. Dangers When Abused * Extremely addictive * Slowing down one's breathing or stopping it altogether (death) * Particularly dangerous with alcohol Benzodiazepines Xanax, Valium, and Librium are examples of benzodiazepines--central nervous system (CNS See Continuous net settlement. CNS See continuous net settlement (CNS). ) depressants--prescribed to treat anxiety, acute stress reactions Acute stress reaction (also called acute stress disorder or simply shock) is a psychological condition arising in response to a terrifying event. "Acute Stress Response", was first described by Walter Cannon in the 1920s as a theory that animals react to threats with a , and panic attacks panic attacks, n.pl distressing episodes where an individual experiences palpitations, anxiety, apprehension, sweating, trembling, etc. Can last several minutes and recur unpredictably. . The more sedating benzodiazepines, such as Halcion and ProSom, are prescribed for short-term treatment of sleep disorders Sleep Disorders Definition Sleep disorders are a group of syndromes characterized by disturbance in the patient's amount of sleep, quality or timing of sleep, or in behaviors or physiological conditions associated with sleep. . Dangers When Abused * Can slow breathing end heartbeat, especially if combined with prescription pain medicines, certain over-the-counter cold and allergy medications, or alcohol * Discontinuing prolonged use of high doses can lead to withdrawal and possible seizures Stimulants Ritalin and Adderall are prescribed mainly for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. These drugs are known as stimulants. Dangers When Abused * Extremely addictive * Extremely high body temperature Anabolic Steroids Anabolic steroids A group of drugs derived from the male sex hormone testosterone, most commonly prescribed to promote growth or to help the body repair tissues weakened by severe illness or aging. Some anabolic steroids are given as appetite stimulants. Anadrol, Oxandrin, and Durabolin are anabolic anabolic pertaining to or arising from anabolism. anabolic steroid steroids with a tissue-building effect. Testosterone is an example of a natural anabolic steroid with the, sometimes undesirable, effect of causing masculinization. steroids--artificial versions of the hormone testosterone. They are prescribed in certain cases of delayed puberty Puberty is described as delayed when a boy or girl has passed the usual age of onset of puberty with no physical or hormonal signs that it is beginning. Puberty may be delayed for several years and still occur normally, in which case it is considered constitutional delay, a or muscle wasting. Dangers When Abused ** Infertility ** Breast development in males ** Facial hair Noun 1. facial hair - hair on the face (especially on the face of a man) hair - a covering for the body (or parts of it) consisting of a dense growth of threadlike structures (as on the human head); helps to prevent heat loss; "he combed his hair"; "each hair in females ** Halted bone growth ** Liver tumors ** Cancer ** Premature heart attacks * * Some of the health consequences of steroid abuse take months or years to develop, and they may occur long after a person has stopped taking these drugs. For example, people who abuse steroids increase their risk for having heart attacks et a young age. Tracking Prescription Drug Abuse Wilson Compton, MD, heads NIDA's Division of Epidemiology, Services and Prevention Research. That means he's in charge of tracking drug-abuse trends in this country, then helping figure out what to do about them. We talked with him about his job and about prescription drug abuse. Q: HOW DO YOU IDENTIFY TRENDS AMONG TEENS AND DRUG ABUSE IN THIS COUNTRY? A: We go directly to teens and ask about their use of drugs. We go to homes and interview teens personally as well as to schools to administer questionnaires. Q: WHAT ARE THE KEY RESEARCH AREAS REGARDING TEENS AND PRESCRIPTION DRUG ABUSE THAT YOU ARE INTERESTED IN TRACKING? A: How many kids are using? What are their attitudes and behaviors? Knowing this is useful in predicting future behavior and drug patterns. Also, I'd like to know where kids get these drugs. Do they get them from their friends, the medicine cabinet, the Internet, drug dealers? Q: WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO A TEEN WHO SAYS, "I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING TO WORRY ABOUT, I ONLY TAKE PRESCRIPTION DRUGS OCCASIONALLY"? A: If your friend said to you that they were only taking heroin occasionally, would you be concerned? If your friend said they were only taking crystal meth meth n. Methamphetamine hydrochloride. occasionally, would you be concerned? Prescription drugs have a lot of the same effects, and are just as dangerous as street drugs." Myths About Prescription Drugs--and the Facts! Myth: Prescription drugs come from a doctor and a pharmacy, so they must be safe. Fact: If they are not taken responsibly and exactly as the doctor intended, prescription medicines can land you in the emergency room--or the morgue morgue (morg) a place where dead bodies may be kept for identification or until claimed for burial. morgue n. . Myth: It's OK for me to use a prescription from the medicine cabinet that was prescribed for someone in my family. Fact: Just because a medication has been prescribed doesn't mean it is appropriate and safe for everyone. Many prescribed medicines are custom fit to the patient's medical history, weight, allergies, etc. Bottom line: Never take anyone else's prescriptions. It's not only unsafe--it's illegal. RELATED ARTICLE: Wake-up call: steroid abuse If you follow the news, you've been hearing a lot lately about anabolic steroids in pro sports. These drugs are sometimes prescribed to treat body wasting in patients with AIDS and other diseases that result in loss of lean muscle mass. They are also prescribed to boys or men to treat conditions that occur when the body produces abnormally low amounts of testosterone, such as delayed puberty and some types of impotence. But recently, some professional, amateur, and Olympic athletes have been accused of abusing steroids to improve their performance--to cheat, in other words. Why do some athletes take steroids? The drugs build muscle and bone mass--mainly by stimulating the muscle and bone cells to make new protein. Athletes who abuse steroids can train longer and build new muscle more quickly. But when used for this reason, steroids are dangerous. Steroids can disrupt the normal production of hormones in the body and can cause side effects Side effects Effects of a proposed project on other parts of the firm. ranging from stunted growth Stunted growth is a reduced growth rate in human development. It is a primary manifestation of malnutrition in early childhood, including malnutrition during fetal development brought on by the malnourished mother. in young people, to facial hair in women or breast growth in males, to premature heart attacks, cancer, and serious psychiatric problems. Percentage of High School Seniors Who Have Abused Prescription Drugs at Least Once in 2004 Vicodin 9.3% Benzodiazepines 7.3% Ritalin 5.1% OxyContin 5% Steroids 2.5% This data is taken from the 2004 Monitoring the Future survey, a yearly study of the behaviors, attitudes, and values of teens in America. For information on the latest findings, visit www.monitoringthefuture.org. Note: Table made from bar graph. |
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