OVERDOSING POSES THE GREATEST RISK TO THOSE STRUGGLING WITH DRUG ADDICTION.
OVERDOSING POSES THE GREATEST RISK TO THOSE STRUGGLING WITH DRUG ADDICTION.
Drug addiction, also called substance use disorder, is a disease that affects a person's brain and behavior and leads to an inability to control the use of a legal or illegal drug or medicine. Substances such as alcohol, marijuana, and nicotine also are considered drugs. When you're addicted, you may continue using the drug despite the harm it causes.
Drug addiction can start with the experimental use of a recreational drug in social situations, and, for some people, drug use becomes more frequent. For others, particularly with opioids, drug addiction begins when they take prescribed medicines or receive them from others who have prescriptions.
The risk of addiction and how fast you become addicted varies by drug. Some drugs, such as opioid painkillers, have a higher risk and cause addiction more quickly than others.
As time passes, you may need larger doses of the drug to get high. Soon you may need the drug just to feel good. As your drug use increases, you may find that it's increasingly difficult to go without the drug. Attempts to stop drug use may cause intense cravings and make you feel physically ill. These are called withdrawal symptoms.
What Is An Overdose?
An overdose is a biological response when the human body receives too much of a substance or mix of substances. An overdose can be intentional or accidental. People can overdose on illicit drugs, alcohol, prescription medications, and many other substances. In many cases, overdoses are fatal, although most individuals who have overdosed can be saved if medical treatment is provided quickly enough. In terms of drugs, there are a few different ways your body can become overwhelmed by substances. However, the most common cause of death during any chemical overdose is respiratory failure.
Depressant Overdose
Depressants that affect the central nervous system, (CNS), include Opioids, Benzodiazepines, and alcohol. Drugs that are CNS Depressants will lower blood pressure and body temperature, and slow the heart rate and breathing. This is why these drugs cause sedating effects, which in turn results in the reduction of anxiety and an increase in a calm and euphoric effect. When too high dosages of Depressants are used, it can lead to adverse side effects, such as respiratory failure, overdose, coma, or even death.
Opioid Overdose
Opioids are one of the easiest substances to overdose on, given how they function once consumed. The human body has Opioid receptors in several different areas, including the brain, central and peripheral nervous systems, and the gastrointestinal tract. When someone uses an Opioid, these receptors are activated and slow the body down. When the body becomes overwhelmed by Opioids, all of these receptors are blocked, and it can’t perform other functions. This will then lead to a high risk of overdosing, which may slow down a person’s breathing to the point of stopping it. Different Opioids can be more or less severe. Where it may take a few minutes for someone who just took Heroin to feel the effects of an overdose, someone who uses Fentanyl will feel it within seconds. These powerful opioids are a reason for the Opioid epidemic.
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What Is Naloxone?
Naloxone, popularly sold by the brand name of Narcan, is an Opioid agonist that can block the effects that Opioids have on the body. If someone experiences an overdose, depending on the severity, one to several doses of Narcan can actually stop it in progress, and save someone’s life. Narcan is available without prescription across the country.
Drug Abuse Prevention – Education is Key
Drug abuse prevention begins with education, and spreading the word regarding the dangers of drugs to oneself and to the community. These programs are just the beginning. The information provided is most effective when it is followed up with continued support. Drug prevention programs seek to involve the family, community, or workplace in the prevention process. To be effective, communities need to sustain progress. This often requires continued leadership and financial support.
Important Facts
Drug abuse has a pervasive effect on an entire community. Understanding drug use risk factors and spreading the word through prevention programs is the best defense against drug abuse.
Parental monitoring has been the most effective way to slow the expansion of drugs in family situations. School drug prevention programs serve a valuable purpose for first-time users aged 12-17.
Schools with strict compliance rules and counseling support have been successful at reducing usage.
National Campaign Against Drug Abuse (NACADA) has found that gains resulting from community drug prevention programs far outweigh the financial investment by the community.
Programs should make sure to address all aspects of drug abuse. This includes underage use of legal drugs such as alcohol and tobacco, illicit street drugs, and inhalants, and the inappropriate use of legal drugs such as prescription and over-the-counter drugs.
These programs must also be tailored to the specific needs of the audience. Having specialized programs for different genders, ages, cultures, and ethnicities only make the programs more effective.
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