MEDucation

Prescription medicines taken properly help heal illness, relieve pain, control disease and bring balance to your life. But when others take your medications they can be very dangerous. 

Misuse of prescription opioids, CNS depressants, and stimulants is a serious public health problem in the United States. Although most people take prescription medications responsibly, in 2017, an estimated 18 million people (more than 6 percent of those aged 12 and older) have misused such medications at least once in the past year. According to results from the 2017 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, an estimated 2 million Americans misused prescription pain relievers for the first time within the past year, which averages to approximately 5,480 initiates per day. Additionally, more than one million misused prescription stimulants, 1.5 million misused tranquilizers, and 271,000 misused sedatives for the first time. (National Institute on Drug Abuse).

According to the Nassau County Health Assessment Report, from 2014 to 2017, poisoning/overdose is the leading cause of death for those between 18-35 years old with motor vehicle accidents being second.

Some Disturbing Facts in the Massapequas:

• 33% of youth (grades 7 to 12) in the Massapequas have been treated for an injury or surgery where they were prescribed pain medication.
• Only 57% of youth (grades 7-12) in the Massapequas reported they have talked with a parent in the past year about the dangers of drug use.
• 13 is the average age of first use of pain relievers in the Massapequas (grades 7-12).

What’s in your medicine cabinet? On your nightstand or the kitchen counter? In your purse? Naturally, you keep prescription medicines and cold and cough remedies handy for you to take when needed, but they are also handy for teens to take without you knowing. Adolescents believe that since the medicines were prescribed by a doctor they provide an inexpensive, legal and “medically safe high.” In the case of OTC remedies, most children have been given these medicines by their parents for common illnesses such as fevers, colds and coughs. So, teens believe it is safe to take these drugs whenever they choose. The proliferation of pharmaceutical ads on television as well as the Internet and peer misinformation help contribute to this attitude.

More Disturbing National and Local Massapequa Facts

• More teens have been offered prescription drugs than other illegal ones except marijuana.
• Four out of 10 teens in the United States believe prescription and OTC medicines are less addictive and dangerous than street drugs.
• 51% of Massapequa youth (grades 7-12) who misused prescription medication found them at home

We often ask: Why? Teens give many reasons for abusing prescription and OTC drugs such as wanting to “fit in,” relieve depression and anxiety, help them cope with life’s stresses, sleep better or increase their alertness and concentration power so they can do better in school. Some want to control their weight with stimulants. Others want to self-medicate to relieve pain. They want to experiment. They want to be accepted by their peers. They want to escape reality or make their reality more bearable. The abuse of OTC drugs by teens is largely with cough and cold medicines that contain dextromethorphan (DXM) to get high. Some young people are also abusing laxatives, diuretics and diet pills to control their weight. Some herbal or “natural” products can be just as dangerous as diet pills because they act like a stimulant on the nervous system. 

The Most Commonly Abused Prescription Drugs

1. Pain relievers (opioids)

These powerful medications are used primarily to treat pain and can be found in some cough medicines.

Types: Morphine, Oxycodone, Codeine, Others

Prescribed For: Severe pain, coughs, mild pain, pain, relieve diarrhea

Sample Brand Names:

• Adian, MS Contin, Oramorph SR
• OxyContin, Roxicodone, Percodan, Percocet
• Tylenol with Codeine
• Robitussin with Codeine
• Darvon, Dilaudid, Demerol, Ultram
• Lomotil

Appeal to Teenagers: Can produce quick, intense feeling of pleasure followed by a sense of well being and a calm drowsiness

2. Depressants (also known as tranquilizers and sedatives)

Prescribed For: Anxiety, tension, sleep disorders, severe stress reactions, panic attacks

Sample Brand Names:

• Mebaral, Nembutal, Seconal, Soma, Phenobarbital, Klonopin, Xanax, Valium, Librium, Halcion, Ativan, Rozerem, Ambien, Lunesta

Appeal to Teenagers: Causes euphoria or relaxation and sleep

3. Stimulants (or uppers)

Prescribed For: Respiratory problems, sleep disorders (narcolepsy), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), short-term treatment of obesity, depression

Sample Brand Names:

• Adderall, Ritalin, Dexedrine, Focalin, Methylin, Conerta

Appeal to Teenagers: Increases alertness, attention and energy, feeling of extreme joy, gives them energy to stay awake, increases concentration, become more talkative, lose weight

4. Over-the-counter drug abuse with dextromethorphan (DXM) (called “robo-tripping” by teens)

Used to Treat: Cough, colds, sinus pressure (with DXM), sleep problems

Sample Brand Names: Alka-Seltzer, Contac, Coricidin, NyQuil, Robitussin, Sudafed, Theraflu, Vicks, Nytol, Benadryl, Unisom, Tylenol PM

Used to Treat: Weight control: Laxatives, diuretics, diet pills, with ingredients, such as Ephedrine, caffeine, and laxatives

Sample Brand Names:

• Ex-lax, Dulcolax, MiraLax, Alli, Apidexin, Phenphedrine, Liporexall, DecaSlim, Colovox

Appeal to Teenagers: Creates a high, relieves pain, reduces anxiety, suppresses appetite, helps them sleep or lose weight, gives them an edge in sports or school

If you suspect your teen, young adult or family members is using drugs, DO NOT WAIT TO ACT. Click here for treatment resources available in the Massapequas and Nassau County.

When your doctor prescribes medicine for you, the effects are closely monitored. But when teenagers abuse medicines that are prescribed for someone else no one is monitoring their dosage or frequency of use. They can become addicted, poisoned or even die from an overdose. All too often, teens combine prescription or OTC drugs with other substances like alcohol or marijuana, which can lead to dangerous consequences. And, sometimes they attend “pharm or rainbow parties” where various prescription medications are dumped into a bowl and randomly ingested.

Watch for These Signs and Symptoms

Drug: Pain relievers (opioids)

Short-Term Effects of Abuse:

Physical side effects: Relief from pain, lack of energy, drowsiness, constriction of the pupils, flushing of the face and neck, nausea, constipation, vomiting, slowed breathing, nightmares

Psychological side effects: Anxiety, impaired judgment, inability to concentrate and learn, apathy, agitation, depression

Long-Term Effects of Abuse:

Addiction, physical dependence, paranoia, hallucinations, dementia; severe withdrawal symptoms when teen stops taking the drug including deep depression and suicidal thoughts; need to take more of the drug or a combination of drugs to produce the same high, possibly leading to overdose; higher risk of graduating to heroin

Drug: Depressants

Short-Term Effects of Abuse:

Physical side effects: Loss of coordination, dilated pupils, slurred speech, relaxed muscles, shallow breathing, sluggishness, fatigue, dizziness, drowsiness, fever, hyperactivity, visual hallucinations.

Psychological side effects: Poor concentration, feelings of confusion, disorientation, impaired judgment and memory, lowered inhibitions, rage, hostility, depression, amnesia, paranoia

Long-Term Effects of Abuse:

Addiction, dependence, severe withdrawal symptoms, need to take larger doses to achieve the same effects, shallow breathing, clammy skin, weak and rapid pulse, seizures, overdose, coma

Drug: Stimulants

Short-Term Effects of Abuse:

Physical side effects: Decreased appetite, loss of coordination, collapse, increased heart and respiratory rates, elevated blood pressure, dizziness, tremors, headache, chest pain, excessive sweating, vomiting, abdominal cramps

Psychological side effects: Restlessness, delusions, hostility, irritability, insomnia, anxiety, agitation, nightmares

Long-Term Effects of Abuse:

Addiction, high fever, convulsions, heart failure, overdose, paranoia, aggressiveness, extreme anorexia, thinking problems, visual and auditory hallucinations, delusions, panic, suicidal tendencies, severe dental problems

Drug: Over-the-Counter Drugs

Short-Term Effects of Abuse:

Physical side effects: Nausea, headache, blurred vision, dizziness, vomiting, loss of consciousness, numbness of fingers and toes, loss of coordination, abdominal pain, irregular heartbeat, aches, seizures

Psychological side effects: Impaired judgment, restlessness, euphoria, cold flashes, dizziness, diarrhea

Long-Term Effects of Abuse:

Addiction, insomnia, panic attacks, psychosis, high-blood pressure, damage to nerves, muscles and tissues in large intestine, coma

If you suspect your teen has overdosed on any of these drugs, CALL 9-1-1 IMMEDIATELY.

Quite frequently young people merely open the medicine cabinet and there before them is a variety of drugs available for the taking: Pain pills for post surgery, sleeping pills from an overseas airplane trip, cough medicine from last season’s flu. The time to act is now. You are the key to your child’s drug-free future.

Preventative Steps

• Remove drugs from your medicine cabinet and hide them, lock them up or take them out of your house.
• Safeguard all medicines that have to remain at home by monitoring quantities and controlling access.
• Take inventory by writing down the names and amounts of medications you currently have and regularly check to see if anything is missing.
• If your child is on prescribed medication monitor the dosages and refills. Set clear rules such as not sharing and always following proper dosages.
• Warn your youngsters that taking prescription or OTC drugs without a doctor’s supervision can be just as dangerous and potentially lethal as taking street drugs.
• Supervise your child’s Internet use: Many pharmacy sites are not regulated and will sell your child medications without prescriptions.
• Consider to be trained in the administration and use of Narcan/Naloxone and its proper administration in the case of an emergency.
• To properly dispose of your prescription medication, please go to our Secure Monitor Dispose page.

• HealthyChildren.org by the American Academy of Pediatrics
• Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) Get Smart About Drugs
• Nassau County Heroin Prevention Task Force
• National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) Drugs of Abuse: Opioids
• NYS Combat Heroin & Prescription Drug Abuse
• Partnership for Drug Free Kids: Medicine Abuse Project