March 15th, 2011 
Admin A disturbing reality sheet…
Pain relievers are medicines that reduce or relieve headaches, sore muscles, arthritis or related aches and pains. There are a lot of distinct pain reliever drugs. Although some of them are prescription drugs, yet many of these are accessible over-the-counter (OTC) e.g. aspirin, naproxen (Aleve) & ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) etc. Several such non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory drugs are available only at prescribed doses. Some of the most powerful pain relievers come under the category of narcotics.
In the United States, data generated by some recent surveys on drug abuse is really disturbing. Data from the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse found that practically three million adolescents and about 7 million young adults from ages 18 to 25 had employed prescription drugs for non-medical purposes at least once in their lives.
Today teenagers are not making use of as a lot cocaine, crack, LSD, and ecstasy as the teenagers of the 1960’s. Nowadays, children have discovered other ways and means to get that high; painkillers & other prescription drugs are being abused at record levels as is aptly indicated in NSDUH data. This up coming generation of prescription drug abusers has been given the name “Generation Rx!”
Increase in prescription drug abuse is most prominent for pain relievers, but use of stimulants and tranquilizers is also rising as young folks who abuse prescription drugs are also more likely to use illegal drugs, such as marijuana, cocaine, or hallucinogens. According to a 2005 study conducted by the National Center of Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, the number of Americans who abuse or use prescription drugs illegally now exceeds the number of Americans who abuse cocaine, hallucinogens, inhalants, and heroin combined.
Abusers sometimes disrupt the time-release formula of the drug to speed up absorption, frequently chewing the tablets, crushing them and snorting the powder, or dissolving them in water and injecting the drug to get a quick high. This might cause adverse set of cross-reactions and may well prove fatal as in the rural areas of the Eastern United States, specifically in Virginia and West Virginia where various deaths have resulted due to mixing of Oxycontin with other painkillers, alcohol, and marijuana.
Pain reliever drugs can affect regions of the brain that mediate what we perceive as pleasure, resulting in the initial euphoria that many opioids produce. They can also produce drowsiness, constipation, and, depending upon the quantity taken, depress breathing. Taking a big single dose could cause severe respiratory depression or death.
Some people mistakenly believe that prescription drugs are far more powerful simply because you need a prescription for them. Even so, it’s achievable to abuse or turn out to be addicted to over-the-counter (OTC) pain killer medications too.
The dangers of prescription drug abuse can be made even worse if folks take drugs in a way they aren’t supposed to. Ritalin might seem harmless since it’s prescribed even for little kids with ADHD but when a person snorts or injects Ritalin, it can be serious. Same holds true for most of the pain reliever drugs too.
Some points to stop the abuse of prescription drugs:
•Always follow medication directions carefully.
•Don’t boost or decrease doses with out talking with your physician.
•Don’t stop taking medication on your own.
•Don’t crush or break pills.
•Be clear about the drug’s effects on driving and other every day tasks.
•Learn about the drug’s potential interactions with alcohol, other prescription medicines, and over-the-counter medicines.
•Inform your physician about your past history of substance abuse.
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