Health Blog » Addiction

Why Are Young People Across America Suddenly Into “Bath Salts”?

admin — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 11:07:39 +0000

It’s not that teens and young adults are suddenly soaking in mineral salts, it’s that there is a new synthetic drug on the market that is fraudulently marketed as “bath salts.”

It’s all about the money. It starts with a chemist who’s willing to harm others just to make money. He finds a chemical that’s not yet illicit but that will make people high if they consume it. He then needs business person to package, label and distribute that substance in a way that won’t get them arrested. As long as they aren’t concerned about who gets hurt or dies, they are in business.

And thus you have what the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) says has been marketed in Europe, the UK and the US as “bath salts.” The product could be labeled Ivory Wave, Bliss, Vanilla Sky or White Dove. The packaging clearly states that the product is not for human consumption. But as long as the sales clerk has no reason to think you are law enforcement, he or she may give you instructions on the best way to consume it: snort it, smoke it or inject it.

Vaccine against Addictive drug Heroin developed

admin — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 12:05:27 +0000

Heroin addiction worldwide debilitating epidemic (pandemic to be precise) which costs United States alone, approximately $22 billions a year, in terms of medical care, social welfare, criminal activity, loss of productivity etc. Heroin addiction, as well as addiction and abuse of other drugs is one of the driving forces of spread of HIV.

Researchers and scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have developed a vaccine against heroin addiction, which shows great and promising result after initial animal studies. The researchers involved in the research study are euphoric about the vaccine as they could prove therapeutic potential in animal models in laboratory. The study of vaccine against heroin was published in the official website of The Scripps Research Institute. The same research team has previously created vaccines (using immune molecules to blunt the effects of abused drugs) against cocaine, methamphetamine, and nicotine and at present the human clinical trials are under way for the cocaine and nicotine vaccines. Related posts:

Prognosis of Treatment of Alcoholism

admin — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 12:09:51 +0000

The prognosis of treatment of alcoholism (or prognosis of alcoholism without treatment) is mixed. Many alcoholics do well after treatment whereas many alcoholics show no improvement whatsoever despite best treatment for alcoholism and alcohol related medical condition. It is not possible to predict if an alcoholic will benefit from any (any form of treatment as there are several different methods of treatment of alcoholism and alcohol abuse) treatment for alcoholism and alcohol related medical condition. Some alcoholics even do well without any medical treatment and some shows no sign of improvement despite providing best possible management.

There are several studies, which were conducted to find out the outcome or prognosis of treatment of alcoholism and alcohol related medical disorders and alcohol abuse. A study was conducted by the “National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism” in the year 2002, to survey and find out the prognosis and outcome of treatment of alcoholism and alcohol related medical condition. Related posts:

Diagnosis of alcoholism

admin — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 11:32:42 +0000

There are several ways to detect and diagnose alcoholism or alcohol abuse. In general it is easier to detect alcoholism in men than in women. Stigmatization fear may be one reason for women to deny that they drink and suffer from alcohol related medical condition (and women usually drink alone), which is less of a problem in men who tend to drink in group and more easily accept that they drink and may have an alcohol related medical condition. As a result, it may be more difficult to detect alcoholism and alcohol related medical condition among women.

Screening to detect alcoholism:

A commonly used technique to detect alcoholism is to give a questionnaire form (known as CAGE questionnaire and named after the four questions asked in the questionnaire) to individuals. With the help of CAGE questionnaire, it is possible to quickly screen patients visiting doctor’s clinic. The CAGE questionnaire has shown to be very effective and sensitive in detecting alcohol related problems, although it has limitation in detecting alcohol related medical problems among women, college students and individuals with less severe alcohol related problems.

Epidemiology of alcoholism

admin — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 11:27:02 +0000

Alcoholism is one of the commonest (and there is no second opinion in this regard) substance abuse disorders and substance abuse disorders are major public health problem in many countries. The substance abuse disorders are more common in developed and underdeveloped (poor) nations. The developing countries have comparatively lesser problem of substance abuse, but in most developing countries also it is a major public health problem.

It is estimated that in the United States more than 10% (approximately 12%) adults suffer from alcohol dependency syndrome at some point in their life. In England (United Kingdom) the number of individuals with alcohol dependence (also called dependent drinkers) is estimated to be approximately 3 million and the number is increasing, unfortunately. According to a conservative estimate by WHO (World Health Organization) there are more than 140 million individuals (drinkers) who are dependent to alcohol, throughout the world. WHO also estimates that in United States and most European countries (the Western European countries mainly) have 10% to 20% of men and 5% to 10% of women meet the criteria for alcoholism at some point of their life. Related posts:

What are the causes and risk factors of alcoholism?

admin — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 11:25:18 +0000

It is difficult to determine the causes of alcoholism. Alcoholism is result of a complex mixture of environmental and genetic factors. It is difficult to determine whether genetics is more important cause of alcoholism or environment. There are many cases and studies that say genetics is more important and there are also studies which say environment is more important. The fact is, environment as well as genetics plays their role in causation of alcoholism.

Genetics play its role in causing alcoholism. Genes can influence the metabolism of alcohol and the role of genetics is clear from the fact that alcoholism runs in families. Individuals with genes that are predisposed to develop alcoholism tend to start drinking at an early age than individuals who are not genetically predisposed to become alcoholics. Studies have shown that, individuals starting to drink at younger age have higher risk of becoming alcoholics at later age, as more than 40% of alcoholics start drinking excessively by late adolescence. Related posts:

Guide for Treatment of Drug Addiction

admin — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 00:05:41 +0000

If you have a drug addict in your family (or a friend who is drug addict) and you are trying to get your addicted family member de-addicted, the Drug Treatment Programs of reputed and well established Drug Treatment Centers (drug de-addiction centers for treatment of drug addiction) can be good option for you. We all know about the ill effects drug addiction can have to the drug addict, family members and friends of the drug addict and to the society as well as country as a whole. In fact the effects of drug addiction go beyond the individual who is addicted to drugs. The problem of drug addiction is an international problem.

But if you have a member of your family addicted to drug(s), the most important for you, is to try to get him/her de-addicted as soon as possible and as effectively as possible. The support from family members and friends is very essential for drug addiction treatment to be successful and long lasting. Related posts:

What are the Withdrawal Symptoms of Heroin Addiction?

admin — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 11:19:46 +0000

In some European countries such as United Kingdom, Germany, Denmark, Holland etc. diacetylmorphine is available as prescribed controlled drug for long term use. It is controlled internationally under Schedules I and IV of Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs.

What are the withdrawal symptoms of heroin addiction? Withdrawal symptoms of heroin addiction start about 6-24 hours after withdrawing (discontinuation) the drug. But the amount of last consumed dose can increase or decrease the time of starting the symptoms. The symptoms are sweating, anxiety, depression, painful erection, generalized body ache, general feeling of weakness and heaviness, pain in arms and legs, runny nose, yawning, feeling sleepy, insomnia, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fever, cold sweat etc. Related posts:

Medical Uses of Heroin

admin — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 11:29:40 +0000

According to United Nations (UN) estimation the number of heroin (diacetylmorphine) user worldwide is in between 15 to 21 millions, out of total more than 50 million users of synthetic drugs. The users of heroin ranges from age 14 to 65 years of age. We all are aware about the abuse/misuse/addiction of heroin, but heroin has many medical uses also and due to this reason many countries such as UK; heroin is available as controlled prescription drug. This article is about the medical uses of heroin.

Heroin or diacetylmorphine is a strong analgesic (commonly known as pain killer medicine, as they are used in treatment of pain) medication. In the United Kingdom and other countries (such as Netherlands) where heroin is available legally with proper prescription by appropriate physician, the drug is administered by intramuscular, subcutaneous, intravenous or intrathecal (directly into cerebrospinal fluid or CSF in the spinal cord) route. Related posts:

Treat Heroin Addiction Appropriately

admin — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 11:14:24 +0000

Heroin addiction is one of the common forms of drug addiction. Heroin addiction is present in the whole world. Heroin is diacetyl-morphine, which is a semi-synthetic opioid drug and it is synthesized from morphine, one of the most powerful analgesic (pain reducing drug) available to the medical professional for treatment of pain, from cancer pain (very severe form of pain) to pain of heart attack. Regular (for few days to weeks) administration of heroin causes development of tolerance and physical dependence to the drug (heroin) and heroin is one of the highly addictive drugs available. As it is highly addictive drug the de-addiction treatment of heroin addiction should be appropriately done and followed up after treatment for long duration to prevent re-addiction to the drug, which is common unless follow up is not done, which can be done at Narconon.

De-addiction of heroin addiction (and all other addictive drugs) is an important part of healthcare delivery system in any country and more important in countries where drug addiction is common. Related posts: