drdĒv
05-12-2007, 08:25 AM
Help for Parents of Teens Abusing Cough Medicines
Posted 5/11/07
Many parents may not realize it, but an increasingly popular drug that teenagers are using to get high may be sitting in the medicine cabinet: cough medicines. Both in liquid and gel-cap forms, they're highly accessible and cheap and come with little social stigma attached. But, like other over-the-counter drugs, they can be dangerous when abused. For information on what to look for and how to react to cough medicine abuse, parents can tap a new resource: FiveMoms.com.
The educational campaign, launched in May by the Consumer Healthcare Products Association (which represents the manufacturers of OTC drugs such as cough medicine), features five women, including a pediatric nurse practitioner, a deputy sheriff, and an accountant, whose lives have been affected by cough medicine abuse. FiveMoms.com includes blogs by each of the moms, a social networking forum for concerned parents, and information on how to spot if your teen is using.
"It's a preventable problem," says CHPA spokesperson Virginia Cox. "Parents need to educate themselves and have conversations with their kids."
Legal OTC cough medicines like Robitussin and Coricidin, which are safe and effective if taken in the appropriate and prescribed dosage--usually 15 to 30 mg--can cause serious cognitive problems, including psychosis and paranoid delusions, when taken in high-enough quantities. Most abusers take the medicine, whose active ingredient is the chemical dextromethorphan, for its anesthetic effects--and the resulting trancelike and dissociative state. The Partnership for a Drug Free America says 1 in 10 teenagers, or more than 2 million people, have abused dextromethorphan, some taking as much as 25 to 50 times the usual dosage of cough medicine.
Christy Crandell, one of the five moms, has a son currently serving a 13-year prison term for committing armed robbery while high on both cough medicine and marijuana. Crandell cautions parents to be aware of how their kids and teens are using the Internet, as thousands of websites promote the abuse of cough medicine and offer detailed information on the ways to use the drug.
It's important to find a clinician, specialist, or addiction facility that is knowledgeable about dextromethorphan abuse and can manage its care, says Shannon Miller, an associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Cincinnati and an expert in medicine addiction. That's especially true because there are no Food and Drug Administration-approved drugs to treat cough medicine abuse and no specific treatment programs or therapies.
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/health/articl...ealth.cough.htm (http://www.usnews.com/usnews/health/articles/070511/11health.cough.htm)
Posted 5/11/07
Many parents may not realize it, but an increasingly popular drug that teenagers are using to get high may be sitting in the medicine cabinet: cough medicines. Both in liquid and gel-cap forms, they're highly accessible and cheap and come with little social stigma attached. But, like other over-the-counter drugs, they can be dangerous when abused. For information on what to look for and how to react to cough medicine abuse, parents can tap a new resource: FiveMoms.com.
The educational campaign, launched in May by the Consumer Healthcare Products Association (which represents the manufacturers of OTC drugs such as cough medicine), features five women, including a pediatric nurse practitioner, a deputy sheriff, and an accountant, whose lives have been affected by cough medicine abuse. FiveMoms.com includes blogs by each of the moms, a social networking forum for concerned parents, and information on how to spot if your teen is using.
"It's a preventable problem," says CHPA spokesperson Virginia Cox. "Parents need to educate themselves and have conversations with their kids."
Legal OTC cough medicines like Robitussin and Coricidin, which are safe and effective if taken in the appropriate and prescribed dosage--usually 15 to 30 mg--can cause serious cognitive problems, including psychosis and paranoid delusions, when taken in high-enough quantities. Most abusers take the medicine, whose active ingredient is the chemical dextromethorphan, for its anesthetic effects--and the resulting trancelike and dissociative state. The Partnership for a Drug Free America says 1 in 10 teenagers, or more than 2 million people, have abused dextromethorphan, some taking as much as 25 to 50 times the usual dosage of cough medicine.
Christy Crandell, one of the five moms, has a son currently serving a 13-year prison term for committing armed robbery while high on both cough medicine and marijuana. Crandell cautions parents to be aware of how their kids and teens are using the Internet, as thousands of websites promote the abuse of cough medicine and offer detailed information on the ways to use the drug.
It's important to find a clinician, specialist, or addiction facility that is knowledgeable about dextromethorphan abuse and can manage its care, says Shannon Miller, an associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Cincinnati and an expert in medicine addiction. That's especially true because there are no Food and Drug Administration-approved drugs to treat cough medicine abuse and no specific treatment programs or therapies.
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/health/articl...ealth.cough.htm (http://www.usnews.com/usnews/health/articles/070511/11health.cough.htm)