drdĒv
03-09-2007, 02:21 PM
Heed the warning signs of over-the-counter abuse
3/9/2007 8:02:43 AM
Q: What's the newest drug abuse problem among teens?
A: While community anti-drug prevention efforts have reduced illicit drug use among teens by 23 percent during the last five years, the latest teen drug abuse problem is creeping across America. There are code names for it: Skittles, Robo, Triple Cs, Dex, Tussin, Vitamin D, to mention a few. It is the practice of getting high by taking excessive doses of over-the-counter cough medications. These are the same remedies that we commonly stock in our medicine cabinets and that are readily available in drugstores and grocery stores everywhere.
The "high" is caused by dextromethorphan, known familiarly as DXM, and is an active ingredient in more than 100 nonprescription cough syrups, tablets and gel caps, like Dimetapp DM, Robitussin, Sudafed and Vicks 44. A normal dose of cough medicine is 15 to 30 milligrams. Kids looking to get "high" are sometimes ingesting 25 to 50 times the recommended doses.
DXM when used as directed, has a long history of being safe and effective. However, when taken in large doses, it can produce an hallucinogenic high, along with dangerous side effects, caused by the DXM itself or other active ingredients in the medicine. Among them are stomach pain and heart problems, as well as delusions, depression, high blood pressure, hot/cold flashes, loss of consciousness, nausea and vomiting numbness, rashes, and seizures.
Those of us who work in prevention usually try not to publicize specifics about how to use chemical substances. However, national chemical abuse prevention leadership currently has the perspective that while kids know about the youth misuse/abuse of cough syrup, adults generally do not.
It is vital that adults, particularly parents, be aware of the possible signs of abuse. Red flags include the arrival of unexpected packages in the mail (Internet ordering); frequent purchases of over-the-counter cough medicines from the same or different stores; finding hidden cough medicine bottles in a bedroom; and any changes in behavior that are signals of any kind of drug use, such as declining grades, a loss of interest in friends and activities, or extreme and/or prolonged physical or mental illness symptoms.
Adults need to be vigilant about medicine cabinets. Know what's in them, keep track of medicines and discard over-the-counter and prescription medications that no longer are needed. We never can be too educated or too careful about the risks of adolescent drug use. While our children make up only 25 percent of our national population, they represent 100 percent of our future.
http://www.postbulletin.com/newsmanager/te...p?z=28&a=287045 (http://www.postbulletin.com/newsmanager/templates/localnews_story.asp?z=28&a=287045)
3/9/2007 8:02:43 AM
Q: What's the newest drug abuse problem among teens?
A: While community anti-drug prevention efforts have reduced illicit drug use among teens by 23 percent during the last five years, the latest teen drug abuse problem is creeping across America. There are code names for it: Skittles, Robo, Triple Cs, Dex, Tussin, Vitamin D, to mention a few. It is the practice of getting high by taking excessive doses of over-the-counter cough medications. These are the same remedies that we commonly stock in our medicine cabinets and that are readily available in drugstores and grocery stores everywhere.
The "high" is caused by dextromethorphan, known familiarly as DXM, and is an active ingredient in more than 100 nonprescription cough syrups, tablets and gel caps, like Dimetapp DM, Robitussin, Sudafed and Vicks 44. A normal dose of cough medicine is 15 to 30 milligrams. Kids looking to get "high" are sometimes ingesting 25 to 50 times the recommended doses.
DXM when used as directed, has a long history of being safe and effective. However, when taken in large doses, it can produce an hallucinogenic high, along with dangerous side effects, caused by the DXM itself or other active ingredients in the medicine. Among them are stomach pain and heart problems, as well as delusions, depression, high blood pressure, hot/cold flashes, loss of consciousness, nausea and vomiting numbness, rashes, and seizures.
Those of us who work in prevention usually try not to publicize specifics about how to use chemical substances. However, national chemical abuse prevention leadership currently has the perspective that while kids know about the youth misuse/abuse of cough syrup, adults generally do not.
It is vital that adults, particularly parents, be aware of the possible signs of abuse. Red flags include the arrival of unexpected packages in the mail (Internet ordering); frequent purchases of over-the-counter cough medicines from the same or different stores; finding hidden cough medicine bottles in a bedroom; and any changes in behavior that are signals of any kind of drug use, such as declining grades, a loss of interest in friends and activities, or extreme and/or prolonged physical or mental illness symptoms.
Adults need to be vigilant about medicine cabinets. Know what's in them, keep track of medicines and discard over-the-counter and prescription medications that no longer are needed. We never can be too educated or too careful about the risks of adolescent drug use. While our children make up only 25 percent of our national population, they represent 100 percent of our future.
http://www.postbulletin.com/newsmanager/te...p?z=28&a=287045 (http://www.postbulletin.com/newsmanager/templates/localnews_story.asp?z=28&a=287045)