Substance abuse is most prevalent among adolescents. Let's see what it is, how it is treated and why it arises.
Substance Abuse: Definition of the Disease
Substance abuse is the abuse of various chemical, biological and therapeutic drugs that are not on the list of drugs. Such substances include varnish, fuel, glue, acetone and other chemical, biological and medicinal products.
Inhalation of toxic substances causes a disturbance in the somatic and mental functions of the body. Substance abuse causes a personality change and contributes to the development of persistent physical and mental dependence of a person.
Most often, the disease occurs in adolescents, but it is not associated with the influence of the environment, social status, personality traits. Substance abuse is a disease that can develop in older people, especially those who take certain medications for a long time.
The difference between drug addiction and substance abuse is only in the socio-legal factor, in the symptomatology of diseases there is no difference from a medical point of view. Identical disorders of the central and peripheral nervous system, personality change, problems in the patient's social life appear.
What inhalants are most often used
Chemicals according to their influence on the human psyche can be divided into four main groups:
- Aerosols - hair sprays, dyes, tissue processing products. The substances contained in these products affect the nervous system and brain function.
- Nitrites have an effect on the human circulatory system, cause vasodilation, and relax the heart muscles. Nitrites to some extent are stimulants of sexual activity. These substances do not cause persistent addiction to the body.
- Gases are represented by medical anesthetics. Most often, toxicomania uses nitrous oxide. The same substances may be present in lighters, cans with whipped cream and other industrial and household products.
- Volatile solvents evaporate at room temperature. It is with these funds that child abuse begins. Solvents can be represented by stain removers, some types of glue, proofreaders, refills for felt-tip pens, gasoline, washes for paints and varnishes.
Subject to the development of substance abuse are people of any gender and age. The widespread use of household and industrial products provides the unconscious development of addiction in children. Toxic addicts very rarely give preference to certain types of inhalants. More often they inhale everything that comes to hand, causing irreparable harm to their health.
Substance Abuse Classification
Types of substance abuse vary depending on the inhaled product. The disease can be classified into the following groups:
- Abuse of sleeping pills and any drugs that have a calming effect on the body. Such medicines include tranquilizers, anti-allergic drugs, sleeping pills. Pathological dependence in this case develops quite rarely, however, over time, specific symptoms begin to appear.
- Dependence on substances that stimulate the central nervous system: coffee, energy drinks and all drugs that give the body vitality, improve mood and general condition. With this dependence, a person constantly increases the dose of substances used, having no strength to refuse subsequently stimulant drugs. The treatment of substance abuse in this case requires a lot of effort.
- Dependence on anticholinergics. When these substances enter the body, they block the natural mediator of acetylcholine. The intake of substances provides euphoria and a feeling of elation in patients. After the termination of the action of the substance, fatigue, fatigue appear, often a person falls into severe depression.
- Dependence on household and industrial chemicals. This type of dependence is most often found in children and adolescents. When inhaling gasoline, paints, solvents, glue, intoxication occurs, similar to alcohol. There are disturbances in the work of internal organs and sense organs.
- Nicotine addiction. When smoking, a person's working capacity decreases, mental and somatic disorders appear.
Depending on several psychotropic substances at once, the patient develops poly-substance abuse.
Substance abuse: causes of the disease
The main reason for the development of the disease is personality characteristics, in particular:
- infantilism;
- passivity;
- demonstrativeness;
- dependence;
- emotional instability.
Inability to plan one’s own leisure, lack of interest in learning, inferior families, problems in raising children - all these factors contribute to weakening the psyche and character traits of a teenager, as a result of which substance abuse develops. This disease affects not only the physical condition of the body, but also on mental health.
When inhaling psychoactive drugs in children, hallucinations occur that look like bright and colorful dreams, they are often very pleasant, so teenagers try to resort to inhaling hallucinogenic substances again and again.
Guys, as a rule, gather in groups of several people to get the same hallucinations. The causes of substance abuse are very different, in each adolescent, the disease develops with various factors.
Symptoms
According to the characteristics of behavior, we can conclude whether a particular teenager has substance abuse. Symptoms of the disease can be expressed in varying degrees, depending on the duration and severity of the disease. Most often, with substance abuse, symptoms are characteristic:
- sharp and frequent mood swings, secrecy, irritation;
- problems with the physical state - teeth are destroyed and fall out, exhaustion develops, premature aging of the body;
- cerebral activity worsens, speech and reaction slow down;
- the person is in constant euphoria;
- a specific smell spreads from the patient, which is associated with the rapid absorption of psychotropic substances into the blood and their gradual spread throughout the body;
- in the morning the patient is accompanied by nausea, poor health, headache.
The doctor can establish a diagnosis in the case when a person constantly increases the dose of substances used, and he develops a strong dependence on them.
Effects
The problem of substance abuse is the development of persistent, severe changes in the functioning of the whole organism. First of all, the nervous system suffers from the use of toxic substances. Different complications develop depending on the type of substance abuse:
- depending on the glue, the patient develops weakness in the body, nausea, vomiting, headaches, mental disorders;
- with abuse of solvents, chronic fatigue, hallucinations, apathy, nausea and vomiting appear;
- people dependent on acetone and gasoline suffer from short-term hallucinations, mental disorders, disturbances in the vital functions of the body, health deterioration and a decrease in immunity are observed.
In adolescence, substance abuse causes severe complications. In patients, paralysis can occur, with an overdose of toxic drugs, suffocation appears and death occurs.
Depending on psychotropic drugs, patients rarely return to normal. Often teenagers switch to heavier drugs - narcotic drugs, so children completely stop living in the real world. The consequence of such dependencies in most cases is fatal.
Psychological addiction develops in drug addicts after 2-3 days. And the physical is observed after about 2-3 months. Substance abuse, the dependence on which manifests itself very strongly, is difficult to treat, since by this time a lot of pathologies appear in the body in the work of individual organs and systems.
How substance abuse affects the body
Depending on the stage of disease progression, it can manifest itself in different ways on the internal state of health. For substance abuse are characteristic:
- heart failure;
- convulsions caused by pathological electrical reactions in the brain;
- choking occurs when breathing is blocked by vomit;
- asphyxia is a consequence of the displacement of oxygen from the lungs by inhalation of solvents;
- disability - during disorientation, a person often receives serious injuries;
- coma occurs when most of the functions of the brain are upset.
The harm of substance abuse is damage to the brain centers and the development of vascular sclerosis.
Diagnostics
It is almost impossible to identify dependence on your own. To diagnose substance abuse, you need to contact a specialized clinic, where doctors, based on laboratory tests, examination and questioning of the patient, will find a possible pathology.
The patient will need to do an electrocardiogram, take an urine and blood test. According to the indicators of these studies, the doctor concludes the presence or absence of dependence.
Since outward signs of substance abuse have many similarities with other pathologies (epilepsy, atherosclerosis, heart failure, arterial hypertension, consequences of brain injuries), only a qualified doctor can make the correct diagnosis.
Substance abuse is a disease that in many cases is difficult to diagnose due to differentiation with many pathologies in the body.
What symptoms do you need to see a doctor with
Parents should sound the alarm and lead the child for examination, if he has observed:
- sharp pressure drops;
- insomnia;
- malaise;
- weight loss;
- fragility of nails and hair loss;
- sharp appearance of caries, tooth loss;
- suppuration on the surface of the skin;
- traces of injections.
It is very important to carefully monitor the environment and pastime of your child. Naturally, you should not cross the border and prevent the teenager from taking a step without parental control. It is important to choose the right tactics of communication, create trusting and friendly relations with the child, sincerely be interested in his affairs and discuss topics that concern both of you. Since substance abuse is a disease that quickly appears and develops, it is very important to be constantly on the alert.
Treatment
Any addictions should be treated in a hospital, this applies to both drug addiction and alcoholism, and substance abuse. The patient is not aware of his problem, believing that he will be able to independently get rid of dependence at the first need.
Most clinics take patients intoxicated, forcing them to treatment. All this happens only with the consent of relatives. In treatment, the psychological factor is the most important. The therapeutic course includes:
- elimination of intoxication - glucose is administered intravenously to the patient, diuretics, sodium thiosulfate and vitamin complexes are prescribed;
- work with the psychological health of the patient;
- if necessary, somatic functions are restored.
The treatment of substance abuse can only be carried out if there is constant monitoring by psychologists, and in especially severe cases, by psychiatrists. Only in this case will it be possible to push the patient to the realization of his problem and the desire to return to a normal lifestyle.
Teenage substance abuse is not stable dependence, therefore, with proper monitoring of parents and the help of specialists, this problem can be eliminated. Psychologists recommend first of all to change the environment of the child, school, and better and place of residence. It is necessary to captivate the teenager, arrange him in sports sections and normalize relations in the family.
Prevention
As preventive measures against teenage drug addiction and substance abuse, you can use only strict control over the communication and pastime of the child. It is necessary to promptly explain to the teenager about the dangers of substance abuse, since even in wealthy families this problem occurs.
If the parents have any suspicions about the lifestyle of the child, it is necessary to visit a narcological dispensary. Examination and communication with specialists will allow you to identify developing dependence in time. Since the sooner this problem is diagnosed, the more likely it is to cure the child.
Prevention of substance abuse helps to protect the child from mistakes, which will be followed by serious health problems.