Ten Over The Counter Medicines Abused By Teens
Normally when parents worry about their teenage children using drugs, their concerns focus on the places where drugs are typically found: at school, on the street or at parties. The culprits are normally drug dealers or even friends who have a bad influence on your child. But what if you found out that your child was able to get all the drugs he or she needed to get high right in your own home—and you were the one buying them? Teenagers, especially between the ages of 13 and 16, commonly abuse over-the-counter medications. Despite the fact that these substances are legal for purchase and can even be bought without a prescription, many of them are still capable of producing a high, and abuse can lead to potentially life-threatening side-effects. Take a look in your own medicine cabinet to see if you have any of these widely abused over-the-counter drugs:
Pain Relievers
Acetaminophen and ibuprofen are two of the most commonly sold medicines, and the largest brands—Tylenol, Advil and Motrin—are household names throughout the United States. As pain relievers, they can easily become habit-forming, especially for student athletes and others who experience pain on a regular basis. Users will commonly begin taking more than the recommended dose in hopes of getting a more powerful effect and to make the drug work faster. This can cause stomach bleeding and a heightened risk of cardiac complications, in addition to the possibility of eventual failure of the kidneys and liver.Diet Pills
The news headlines were filled several years ago with reports on the dangers of certain stimulant-based diet drugs, and though these were banned, many diet pills still pose a health risk to users. They are capable of producing a “buzz” if taken in large quantities, but this also comes with the danger of high blood pressure, heart arrhythmia or heart failure, stroke, and death. Others can cause insomnia, digestive problems, hair loss, emotional disturbances such as irritability, anxiety or paranoia, dehydration, kidney problems and blurred vision. Two to be especially alert for are bitter orange and the Chinese herb ma huang.Sexual Performance Medicines
Beyond the fact that your teenager’s use of sexual performance medications should raise concerns over the potential for unprotected sex, there is also the consideration that many of these drugs can also cause heart problems. This risk is especially great when taken in the context that teens who use the drugs normally do so in order to counteract the effects of drinking on sexual performance: mixing them with alcohol increases the risk of heart complications.Caffeine Medicines
Caffeine-based energy shots like 5 Hour Energy and pills such as NoDoz seem to give one a tremendous surge of energy, but this is not actually the case. They actually work by interfering with normal chemical processes in the brain, and when taken in excess they can cause heart irregularities and panic attacks. The Drug Abuse Warning Network recently reported that the number of emergency room visits involving energy drink consumption more than doubled between 2007 and 2011, and the Food and Drug Administration is currently investigating reports of death related to the drinks.Laxatives and Herbal Diuretics
This class of medication is not used so much with the goal of getting high, but rather to lose weight. Image-conscious teenagers are prone to resort to drastic measures to control their weight, and if they have access to laxatives and diuretics they may use them excessively and end up dehydrated and depleted of minerals which are vitally necessary for proper health and functioning of the body.Dextromethorphan
More than 100 cough and cold medicines contain dextromethorphan as their main ingredient, and its function is to serve as a cough suppressant. Abuse of the drug is commonly known as robotripping, in reference to Robitussin. Common aspects of the dextromethorphan high include sound and color distortions, euphoria and even out-of-body experiences. Side effects include blurred vision, impaired judgment, loss of muscle control and seizures. Dextromethorphan is addictive, and overdose can be fatal.Motion Sickness Pills
Two of the common ingredients in motion sickness pills—Dramamine and Benadryl—are capable of producing a high that comes with hallucinations. In order to get this high, it is typically necessary to take enormous quantities of the drug, in the range of dozens of pills, but this also poses the risk of overdose which may result in heart attack, coma or even death. If taken regularly over a long period of time, the drugs may cause depression and memory loss, as well as physical side effects such as abdominal pain, itchy skin, and liver or kidney damage.Herbal Ecstasy
This drug ephedra in the form of a Chinese herb known as ma huang, a substance which is banned unless it is sold as a diet pill. It is commonly available in gas stations, drug stores, nightclubs and even in many grocery stores, and it is taken as a way to get a “legal high” which is essentially similar to the MDMA form of ecstasy. The sought-after effects include increased awareness and sexual sensation. Due to the fact that it is difficult to know exactly how much of the drug will be necessary to get high, it is easy to overdose and end up with serious complications such as increased blood pressure, muscle spasms or seizures, heart attacks and strokes or even death.Other Herbals
In the same way that cannabis is an herbal drug, so can many other plants cause a user to get high when consumed in certain ways. One of them is salvia, which when consumed or smoked is capable of producing hallucinations. Another is nutmeg, which when consumed as a paste is known to cause hallucinations, euphoria, and giddiness. These drugs are currently legal, but there are many serious side effects associated with their use, such as numbness, heart palpitations, blurred vision, violent behavior, psychosis and hallucinations which may last as long as 24 hours.Pseudoephedrine
Commonly sold under the brand name Sudafed, this drug is chemically similar to amphetamine and is therefore used in clandestine drug labs for the manufacturing of methamphetamine. Its advertised purpose is as a nasal decongestant, but it is also capable of being abused as a stimulant. Side effects such as heart palpitations, arrhythmia, and even heart attack are associated with pseudoephedrine, and it may even cause paranoid psychosis if taken in combination with other drugs.Source:
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