Skip to main content

How Parents Can Prevent Prescription Drug Abuse



Recent surveys show that teens are abusing prescription medications in record numbers. According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 70 percent of children age 12 and older say they got prescription drugs, not from a drug dealer, but from a friend or relative.

For teens, peer pressure or wanting to escape emotional stress can lead to experimentation, which can in turn lead to abuse, addiction and sometimes to a drug overdose.

“Each day, more than 2,000 teens begin abusing prescription medications, believing that doctor-prescribed medicine is safer to experiment with than illegal drugs,” says Steve Pasierb, President and CEO of The Partnership at Drugfree.org. “Prescription medications can be very helpful when used as directed, but misusing or abusing these drugs can be dangerous and even deadly.”

Parents, teachers and other adults who influence teen behavior stand the best chance of recognizing and dealing with these dangerous behaviors. “Parents and grandparents take great pains to prevent poisoning in young children by keeping household chemicals out of the reach,” according to Pasierb. “The same approach needs to be taken to safeguard medications in the home.”

The first step is to get informed about the dangers and know how to intervene when you suspect or know that a child is abusing drugs. The web site www.RxSafetyMatters.org provides information and resources to parents and community groups on how to prevent prescription drug abuse.

Tips for parents include:

• Learn to recognize the signs of abuse. Warning signs include sudden mood swings, changes in social circles, secretive behavior, excessive sleeping and a loss of interest in appearance or hobbies. Symptoms often occur in clusters.

• Monitor your medications. Keep a detailed record of which prescription drugs you have in your home and the remaining number of pills. Store your medications in a secure location. If you have medications that you no longer need or have expired, dispose of them properly.

• Educate others. Talk to your relatives, neighbors and other parents in households where your children spend time. Grandparents’ homes are frequently a source of pills, simply because older people take more medications. Talk to the PTA at your teen’s school, and encourage others to take preventive steps to prevent prescription drug abuse.

• Talk to your children, and listen for clues. Make sure your children understand the dangers of misusing prescription medications – but avoid providing information about which drugs are popular to abuse. Listen to your kids, and always ask these questions: “Who are they meeting, what will they be doing, and where will they be?”

To learn more about how to prevent prescription drug abuse, download the free Parents Guide to Understanding Prescription Drug Abuse at www.RxSafetyMatters.org. Purdue Pharma L.P. developed www.RxSafetyMatters.org as a public service to help combat prescription drug abuse.
Thanks: NewsUSA

This may be the time to consider Logo Design Services in Singapore. Think over!! You may also like Skrikingly
Labels:
Location: Singapore

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Surprisingly, Older Americans Are Coping Best During the Pandemic

( NewsUSA ) – Older Americans have actually been coping far better than younger ones during the coronavirus pandemic, according to new research.The Edward Jones and Age Wave Study goes where few have ventured before in focusing exclusively on how different generations have held up emotionally and financially in the months since all the lockdowns began. And some of its findings are at least as startling as how quickly even 70-year-olds came to love Zoom."COVID-19’s impact forever changed the reality of many Americans, yet we’ve observed a resilience among U.S. retirees in contrast to younger generations," said Ken Dychtwald, Ph.D., the founder and CEO of Age Wave, a leading research think tank on aging, retirement and longevity issues.While acknowledging upfront that the virus itself disproportionally struck aging adults, the five-generational sampling of 9,000 people age 18 and over revealed more than a few surprises. Among them:* While 37 percent of Gen Zers, 27 percent o...
Post a Comment
Read more

Audiobook Service Helps Blind Vets Recover Independence

In December 1967, a young soldier lay in a hospital bed after sustaining severe eye injuries from a land mine in Vietnam. Tom Miller, now executive director of the Blinded Veterans Association (BVA) in Washington, D.C., was blind, and his mind raced over all of the things he’d never be able to enjoy again. “I’ve spent the past 44-plus years erasing that list, or finding new things I can do.” Miller says he owes many thanks to the talking-book program of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS), part of the Library of Congress. “The program is a godsend,” he says. Veterans—and any U.S. resident or citizen living abroad—are eligible to become NLS readers if they are blind, have low vision or have an illness or disability that prevents them from handling a book or printed material. According to a 2011 report by the National Alliance for Eye and Vision Research, 16 percent of the wounded soldiers evacuated from Iraq and Afghanistan battle zones have suf...
Post a Comment
Read more

Take Time for A Moment That Matters: Tire Safety

Have working batteries in your smoke alarms? Done. Has your oil been freshly changed in your car? Done. Is there a new water filter for your refrigerator? Done. But when it comes to regularly checking your tires? Like most people, there may be some room for improvement. As fall travel and winter weather loom, taking a moment to check your car tires can make a difference in keeping you safe on the road. This year, Cooper Tires is encouraging drivers to mark Labor Day weekend on their calendar (and the first of every month) as a tire check safety moment, to make a habit of checking tires, especially as seasons change. “Just as we regularly take a moment to check our smoke detector batteries when we change our clocks in the fall and spring, we need to designate a moment to check tire safety as well,” says Jessica Egerton, Director of Brand Development at Cooper Tire & Rubber Company. Ensuring the overall condition of your tires is easy and important for your safety on the r...
Post a Comment
Read more