Teens often get the notorious reputation that they know it all.  Unfortunately, even well-meaning teens can hold some dangerous beliefs.  A significant amount of teens have some very misleading beliefs about prescription drug use.  If you have a teen in your family, please read on to learn more about these myths.

Everyone Has Done Or Is Doing Prescription Drugs

Children and teenagers often misrepresent how commonly some activities are done, especially among their peers.  They often use the words “everyone” because that’s what it may seem.  They sometimes fail to predict that almost always there are some kids who choose not to participate.  Not everyone has sex before they graduate from high school.  Not everyone will end up having a date to the prom.  And not everyone will do drugs.

This assumption of “everyone” doing it is often part of the peer pressure either directly put on kids by others or taken on by themselves.  More than just about anything, teens want to fit in somewhere.  If they perceive that “everyone” is or has at some point tried prescription drugs, they may feel like they need to as well to be part of “everyone”.

Prescription Drugs Are Not As Dangerous As Illegal Drugs

According to a recent study on teen drug use, four out of ten teens believe that prescription medication is much safer than illegal drugs.  What an astounding misbelief!  Simply because it is prescribed by doctors, a greater sense of safety is assumed.  What teens fail to recognize is that these prescription medications are all in the same family of narcotics that heroin is.  It may look different and might not be injected, but the strong addictive nature is absolutely there.

Teens are especially susceptible to addiction because of their generally less stable emotions and their body chemistry.  This myth of safety surrounding prescription drugs can get teens hooked before they realize anything is happening.  Drug treatment may be the only way to stop the addiction from possibly killing them.

Prescription Drugs Are Not Addictive

Even though prescription medications are generally narcotic in nature, almost 30% believe they are not-addictive.  Again, an astounding assumption that could be based on simply not understanding the active ingredients in prescription pain pills.  This belief may also come from the experience of seeing friends try pills and not appear to be addicted.  Perhaps they only see a fraction of the time their friends take pills, which could lead to a misconception that these teens only use once in a while with no addiction.

The teens actually addicted to the drugs may minimize their use to others as well, either not understanding or not wanting to admit that they are addicted.  This belief may also stem from the previously discussed belief that prescription medication is simply safer than illegal drugs.

Myths About Prescription Drugs Can Lead To Drug Abuse

It’s true that a teen may use prescription drugs a few times and not become addicted.  However, prescription drug use is much more common now than it used to be.  So many adults are being given prescriptions, teens are able to get their hands on them much more easily.  A teen using prescription pain medication is at risk for addiction and may end up needing drug treatment.  Narcotic medication can be very difficult to stop using without professional help at a drug rehab center.  Your teen needs to know the truth about prescription medication.  Tell them the facts before they go too far with prescription drugs.

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Meth mouth - maybe you haven’t heard about this yet.  It is a distinctive physical result of someone using methamphetamine heavily.  Teeth become weak, discolored, and break or fall out.  The damage can range from mild discoloration and gum irritation to teeth that look black and rotted.  Current dental research has looked at this very specific oral disease and how it can affect meth users down the road.

Causes of Meth Mouth

Some of the damage also results from a meth user’s general decline in oral hygiene.  According to a Meth Awareness and Prevention Project of South Dakota website, meth mouth is caused by both the ingredients in meth and the method of use.

Many of the key ingredients in meth are corrosive and toxic, which can easily erode tooth enamel when smoked or inhaled.  Also, meth users often consume lots of sugary drinks leading to increased chances of tooth decay.  Meth dries out saliva glands, leaving bacteria free to grow and teeth unprotected against acidic substances.

Long Term Dental Problems

When meth mouth amounts to mild gingivitis (gum disease), the effects can usually be reversed when a person immediately stops their drug use.  Unfortunately, this symptom of meth use often goes on past the reversible point as the person uses the drug more heavily.  And in many cases, users miss regular dental checkups when they are living a drug lifestyle.

Meth users also have a generally higher level of oral disease and dental problems than other healthy people of the same age.  This could prove to be problematic for even a recovering meth user who has been through drug treatment.  They must be extra vigilant about their dental health and vulnerability to oral disease throughout their life.

Meth Detection Could Improve With Dentists Involvement

Meth can be so quickly addictive and so much physical damage can occur to a person’s entire body in a relatively short time.  Also, many meth users have a very challenging time getting and staying sober.  However, dentists could prove to be significant players in early detection of meth use.  They might be another clinical connection between meth users and drug treatment programs.  This may be motivating for users ready to give up the drug lifestyle and prevent further identifiable dental damage.

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Methamphetamine is a horrible street drug being used across America. It is one of the most quickly addictive and highly damaging drugs around. Meth addiction in a pregnant woman hurts two lives. Let’s take a look at some of the problems a pregnant woman can expect if she uses meth.

Meth Harms Women’s Health

Meth does many things to harm a woman’s health. “Meth mouth” is the rapid decay of the teeth. Meth causes dry mouth, cravings for sugar, teeth clenching, and poor dental hygiene. This can make it difficult to eat well, and important responsibility during pregnancy.

Drug addiction leads to a fairly unhealthy lifestyle. Irregular eating, irregular sleep, an increased chance of being a risky situation, and an impaired ability to plan ahead. Considering what a mother must do to provide a healthy environment for her child, meth addiction puts everyone at risk.

Meth Addiction Harms Babies

Meth can also harm an unborn baby in several ways. It can affect the development of major organs such as the heart, lungs, liver, and brain. Meth also increases a baby’s risk of being born with birth defects such as clubfoot or cleft palate. A baby may also have difficulty breathing when it is first born, which can increase a baby’s risk of dying as an infant.

A study from Canada has shown possible risk to an unborn baby from just one meth use. While further research needs to be done firm such a risk, that research finding shows the stunning impact methamphetamine can have.

Drug Treatment Gives Pregnant Meth Addicts Hope

Drug treatment is absolutely essential for an addicted pregnant woman or an addicted woman who has a strong chance of becoming pregnant soon. No child should have to pay such a high price for someone else’s addiction. Pregnant women who go through drug treatment do more than just help themselves. They ensured that they will be prepared to give their baby a safe home. They can also protect their baby against any more meth going through their system.

All-female drug rehab centers are ideal for pregnant women with meth addiction. The nurturing environment can help her understand what her baby needs.  New mothers need help caring for themselves as well.  a pregnant woman addicted to meth may feel like she’s totally alone in the world. A close circle of caring women is the best place she could be before having her baby. If you know a pregnant woman needing drug rehab for meth addiction, contact your local drug rehab center and get information to her right away. You could be saving two lives by getting the facts.

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The thrill of a drug rush keeps drug addicts coming back for more.  The fuzzy edges of reality keep alcoholics drinking beyond control.  These effects from drug and alcohol are signals from the body’s nervous system.  Eventually, this vital system of neurons and neurotransmitters suffers significant damage.  Because this is an important method of communication within the body, damage eventually affects many bodily functions we take for granted each day.

How Neurotransmitters Work

The messages traveling along your nervous system in the blink of an eye.  What’s more amazing is how complex the mechanisms are that allow it to work so well.  Your nerves don’t zing messages in a straight line like electricity along an enclosed wire.  Instead, they jump across hundreds and thousands of little gaps or “synapses” between your nerve endings.

The chemicals in these synapses are called neurotransmitters.  They transmit the messages from one nerve to the next at breakneck speed.  Several different neurotransmitters do this job over and over throughout the body.  Each neurotransmitter fits into certain spots on the nerve endings like a key fits into a lock.  These locks are called neurotransmitter receptors.  Some of commonly known neurotransmitters are dopamine, serotonin, and histamine.

How Drug Addiction Affects Neurotransmitters

Dopamine is a big player in drug and alcohol addiction.  It is involved with feelings of pleasure and pain, emotions, and controlling bodily movement.  When drugs and alcohol get into the bloodstream, they fit themselves into the dopamine receptors.  This artificial connection can either make a message happen or prevent a message from happening.

This is where drugs and alcohol can be so disruptive.  As a person uses drugs and alcohol more and more, the body adjusts to this and becomes more attached to the drugs than the natural dopamine.  The body “forgets” how to use it’s own dopamine receptors in the normal way.  When the drugs and alcohol disappear from the blood stream, the body revolts with uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms.  Consistent excessive drug use has set up the body to rely on something external to function properly.  This makes recovering from addiction so difficult to do without drug treatment or alcohol rehab.

Recovery From Drug Addiction

After years of hard drug use or alcoholism, the efficiency of nervous system can really suffer.  Scientists are not certain if neurological damage from drug addiction can be reversed.  Certainly, if a person stops using drugs and alcohol and transforms their lifestyle to complete sobriety, future damage can be prevented.  Drug treatment can help a person safely and somewhat comfortably get the drugs out of their body and begin a sober lifestyle.   For more answers about drug addiction recovery, contact the drug rehab centers in your
area today.

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Perhaps the last thing a woman with an addiction wants is for everyone to know about her problems.  Yet at the same time, this hurting woman wants to be a part of a caring group.  These opposing forces can make it difficult for a woman to get started in drug rehab.  But once she understands the value of group interaction in drug treatment, she can begin a better life connected with others.

Shame And Embarrassment With Drug Addiction

It can be bad enough dealing with the problems of life.  Drug addiction can make things so much worse.  A woman with a drug addiction is on the run from problems, trying to stay ahead before they swallow her whole.  Once an addiction catches up to her, it’s time to face the music in her mind.

The truth about drug addiction can be devastating to face.  Not only have things been going badly, but she’s dug herself a hole with drug use.  She can get caught up in just the shame of having let herself get in the grips of something terrible and socially out-casting as an addiction.

It’s important to help a woman very carefully as she’s coming to that point of truth.  The shame of admitting to an addiction can make her want to retreat, even from genuine offers of help.  Her mind may know she needs help, but she may not be able to bear the thought of facing others with that truth.  Spilling her guts in a group treatment setting may be the last thing she wants to think about.

Privacy And Sharing in Drug Rehab

Even with this strong conflict between publicly sharing and privately hiding, a woman gets much of her personal value from social groups.  She may be too caught up in her own pain to realize that everyone else at drug rehab is going through a difficult struggle like her own.  Other women may be just as hesitant and ashamed of their addiction story as she is.  Yet, each woman needs the connection and caring support of a group.

Each woman will gain much more by joining and sharing than she will by hiding and withdrawing.  It takes courage to take this leap of faith.  And women who do are usually well rewarded by improvement in their well being, their self respect, and their sobriety.

Group Drug Treatment Many Benefits

Everyone needs to feel like they belong somewhere, but women particularly need a social network for her personal mental health.  Drug rehab centers that focus on just women know how to maximize the value of these connections.  Women in drug rehab can experience long lasting bonds with women who understand them like no one else.

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