Who is abusing prescription drugs?

Could your teen be abusing prescription Drugs?

Warning Signs

Dangers



Who is abusing prescription drugs?

Although teens are turning away from street drugs, now there’s a new threat from the family medicine cabinet: the abuse of prescription (Rx) and over-the-counter (OTC) drugs.

Kids as young as 12 are trying or using prescription and over-the-counter drugs non-medically—to get high or for “self-medicating.”1 Prescription drugs are much more readily available to this age group than illicit drugs or alcohol. These drugs can be easily acquired at home, from friends or other family members—often in the medicine cabinet.

According to a 2008 survey, about 1 in 5 teens (19%) or 4.7 million reports abusing a prescription medication at least once in their lives, and 1 in 10 teens (10%) or 2.5 million teens reports having abused a prescription pain reliever in the past year. About 7% or 1.7 million teens have reported OTC cough medicine abuse in the past year. The prevalence of and attitudes behind this behavior are cause for ongoing concern. PATS shows 41% of teens mistakenly believe that abuse of medicines is less dangerous than abuse of illegal street drugs and 61 percent of teens report prescription drugs are easier to get than illegal drugs, up significantly from 56 percent in 2005.1

Many teens also feel that taking prescription drugs is safe because they are prescribed by doctors and have a specific uses. They don’t realize that taking them without a prescription to get high or “self-medicate” can be as dangerous—and addictive—as using street narcotics and other illicit drugs.

In addition to the accessibility of these drugs, teens who abuse prescription medication are often seeking psychological or physical pleasure, or they want to fit in with groups of friends and are in search of acceptance and bonding.

If you want to read more about Prescription Drug Abuse and teens, click here to read Prescription for Disaster: How Teens Abuse Prescription Drugs, a guide from the DEA.

Could your teen be abusing prescription drugs?

It’s important to take precautionary steps that would eliminate the availability of these drugs. Be sure to secure any prescription drugs you have, and throw away any old medication. Also, keep the lines of communication open and talk with your teens often.

If you do suspect your child may be abusing prescription drugs, notice changes in their behavior or suspect their friends may be using, talk with your child and seek help immediately.

Teens are abusing a variety of prescription drugs to get high. For more information, click here.

Warning Signs

  • Fatigue, red or glazed eyes and repeated health complaints
  • Sudden mood changes, including irritability
  • Negative attitude, personality changes
  • General lack of interest in hobbies or activities
  • Secretiveness and withdrawing from family
  • Decreased or obsessive interest in school work
  • Missing prescription medicines from your medicine cabinet. Check frequently!
  • Additional filled prescriptions on your pharmacy record that you did not fill

Dangers of prescription drug abuse

It is very important to know the serious health risks that are a result of abusing prescription medication Educating yourself is the fist step in prevention in detection. The hidden dangers of prescription medicine abuse include:

  • Addiction
  • Effects on motor skills, judgment and ability to learn
  • Hostility
  • Paranoia
  • Breathing difficulty
  • Slower brain activity
  • Irregular heartbeats
  • Dangerously high body temperature
  • Heart failure
  • Lethal seizures
  • Death

The abuse of OTC cough and cold remedies can cause:

  • Blurred vision
  • Nausea
  • Vomiting
  • Dizziness
  • Coma
  • Death

It is reported that many teens are mixing prescription drugs, OTC drugs and alcohol. This is a very dangerous combination that can cause respiratory failure and death!

1 The Partnership for a Drug Free America – 20th Annual Teen Study (2008). One positive note from the study: teen attitudes toward the abuse of OTC cough medicine have improved with the number of teens who agree that “taking cough medicine to get high is risky” significantly increased from 45% in 2007 to 48% last year.