Opinion-Corner.net » Addictions

Know About Health Effects of Cocaine

Sean — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 13:23:12 +0000

People take drugs in the forms of snort, injection and smoke. Cocaine is powerful nervous system stimulant. In all cases brain’s processing of dopamine is affected. Crack is cocaine hydrochloride powder which is processed to make a rock crystal and generally it can be smoked.

Short term effects:
When cocaine is taken, it gets involved in the reabsorption of dopamine, chemical of brain is associated by movement and pleasure, it produces a joyful effect. As soon as person takes cocaine a person may experience these symptoms.

Blood vessels compressed.
Dilated pupils
Increasing body temperature
Increasing heart rate.
Higher blood pressure.

After taking cocaine the euphoric period it can last up to 30 minutes. User will be experience hyperstimulation, mental alertness and reduced fatigue. And some persons also may feel irritability, restlessness, anxiety.

If a person takes this cocaine repeatedly then users may feel irritability, increasing irritability and paranoia. This may lead some users to paranoid psychosis and with disconnection reality, hallucinations.

Long term effects:

Heart attack
Irregular heart beat.
Respiratory failures
Chest pain
seizures and headaches
abdominal pain and nausea.

Continuous cocaine users can become thin because the ability of drug to reduce hunger. Persons have to face many problems by taking cocaine, it spoil the health physically and mentally.

An overdose of cocaine may lead to death because cocaine effects the respiratory system and heart especially when a person takes drug by injection or smoke.

The Classification of Legal and Illegal Drugs

Sean — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 11:01:33 +0000

Drugs changes the behavior of the human being. It changes the body conditions and the functioning of the brain. These also have potential to improve human health. A prescription medicine improves the health and cures the diseases. There is no difference between the prescription (legal) and recreational (illegal) drugs. It is the amount of the dosage that makes actual difference; because drugs used for recreational purposes are also used for medicinal uses.

Depending on the dosage they are classified into two types. They are: legal and the illegal. Legal dugs doesn’t mean that they are safe to use. A legal drug means which are not banned by the government. Some of them are to be used only through prescription of the physician for curing any ailment. But some of them like alcohol, nicotine which are not banned by the government and drugs that are not suggested by the physician are not safe for the health.

Illegal drugs are not prescribed by the physicians. The drugs which are being abused are called as the illegal drugs. Illegal drugs like depressants, stimulants, hallucinogens, anesthetics, narcotics, steroids, Inhalants are being abused for recreational and for rapid increase of fitness. Each and every illegal drug has it own disadvantages which spoil the health, finally end up with loss of life. Most of the illegal drugs makes the person drowsy and calm, reduces tension for the short term cases and even increases the blood pressure.

The addiction to the illegal drugs makes the person weak in both the cases of physical and psychological ways. In some cases some of the legal drugs also result in the same situation.

Myths About Drug Addiction Treatment

Sean — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 10:23:52 +0000

Many people are not aware of the benefits of drug addiction treatment and have wrong notions regarding drug addiction treatment. Few myths and facts regarding drug addiction treatment are:

Myth: If you’ve tried one doctor or treatment program, you’ve tried everything.
Fact: Every doctor or program may not be the correct fit for a person seeking treatment. For most of the people, recognizing a way which is personally efficient for treating their addiction can signify consulting many different doctors and treatment centers before a correct match is acquired between patient and program.

Myth: People don’t require treatment. They can terminate using drugs if they really desire to.
Fact: It is very difficult for people addicted to drugs to negotiate and maintain long-term avoidance. Research reveals that long-term drug use will alter a person’s brain function, making them to intensely desire the drug and making it extremely difficult to quit.

Myth: Treatment just will not work.
Fact: Studies found that drug treatment decreases drug use by 40 to 60 percent and can extremely decline criminal actions during and after treatment. It was also found that drug addiction treatment decreases the risk of HIV infection.

Myth: You can’t force drug addict into treatment.
Fact: Treatment need not to be voluntary. People compelled into treatment by the legal system can be successful as those who take treatment voluntarily. Sometimes they preform better, because they are more likely to stay in treatment longer and to finish the program.

Myth: People abuse drugs after treatment are hopeless.
Fact: Drug addiction is like a chronic disorder and occasional relapse should not be considered as failure. Psychological stress caused by work or family problems, social acts, or their environment ( associated with drug use) can easily provoke relapse.

Short Term Effects Of Systemic Steroids

Sean — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 10:54:04 +0000

Oral and injected steroids are medications, which are used to treat infection in the body. When they are taken in oral or injected forms, the course of regulation is referred as systemic. These medicines are widely used to treat variety of diseases, like systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, and many other autoimmune diseases. Systemic steroids are also used for the treatment of asthma attacks, and sometimes, severe allergic rhinitis symptoms.

Many people use systemic steroids for few days and suffer from temporary side effects like increase in appetite, sleeping problems (insomnia), fluctuations in mood and behavior, face becomes red, and short term weight gain as a result of increased water retention. These side effects generally disappear after few days when intake of steroids is stopped.

People suffering with diabetes mellitus can observe an increase in their blood sugar levels, people with high blood pressure will observe rise in their blood pressure readings. People with glaucoma will suffer from increased pressures in their eyes. People with congestive heart failure suffer from retaining of water and this worsens their condition. So, if a person with any chronic disease consuming systemic steroids then their physician must closely monitor.

Impact Of Drug Abuse On Employer

Sean — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 06:37:33 +0000

As per the employer’s health plan the cost involved in substance abuse treatment might be less, but the drug and alcohol problems cost the United States approximately $276 billion per year. Most of these expenses are produced due to lost work productivity related to substance abuse (including absenteeism and poor job performance) and health care costs associated with substance abuse.

Studies revealed that substance-abusing or drug-abusing employees work for about two thirds of their capability and they are three times more likely to be late for work. Moreover, employees who have family members abused to substances or drugs have lower productivity compares to other employees. Employees who are abused to drugs are twice as likely to request early permission to leave or time off and are also two and a half times more likely to have more absences.

Substance abuse employee can be responsible for many disability claims at work place and are also associated with family and workplace violence. Employees who abuse drugs are three and a half times more prone to be involved in a workplace accident than other workers. Moreover, employees who are abused to drugs are five times more likely to register a workers’ compensation claim than those who do not use drugs. So, all these effects are factors have a huge impact on employer’s turnover.

Related Links:
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Smoking Impacts Women More Than Men

Sean — Thu, 14 May 2009 14:19:09 +0000

Smoking is injurious to health whether it may be women or men. Health is important for very one. Heart diseases are common for those who smoke. Women usually get heart disease much later than but not in case if they smoke. In a recent study, it was revealed that smoking causes more damage for women than men.

Women are suffering heart diseases more than 12 years earlier than men by smoking and men, smokers get heart diseases about six years earlier than men who don’t smoke. Women should realize they are loosing more than men by going for smoking. The study revealed that women get first heart attack at age 81 if they didn’t smoke but by smoking women get first heart attack at age 66.

Researchers found that the difference for women and men is about 14 year for women and 6 years for men. Unless women stop or quit smoking, the risk of getting terrible diseases is more than men and at an earlier stage.

Safety warnings turn adverse for prescription drug growth

Sean — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 10:18:55 +0000

People have now become very smart. (I don’t mean they weren’t smart before; they grew smarter). They have increased starting looking for safety before using some drugs prescribed a doctor, blindly, as they used to do it before.

When you are prescribed a drug, it is likely that many of us will look out or confirm with the side affects before using them. No matter, even a very experienced and well-practiced doctor prescribed them. These concerns over drug safety have decreased the national spending rate on prescribed drugs.

According to the Centre of Medicare and Medicaid Services, the retail spending on prescription drugs have accounted for a low growth (4.9 percent) in 2007. This growth rate the slowest one compared to the growth rate since 1963.

This growth rate was peaking in 1999 with 18.8 percent. In 2006, it suddenly fell to 8.6 percent and rather decreased in 2007.

How Effective Is Work Place Drug Testing?

Sean — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 08:59:58 +0000

Though employee drug testing has many benefits, the program has always been controversial between employers and employees. One of the more controversial employment practices is the testing of job applicants and employees. It might be the privacy issues or accuracy issues, but employee drug testing isn’t liked by many people, especially the employees. And this often results in a question on how effective is it to conduct drug testing program in work places.

There will be no second thought on the employer having right to sustain a drug-free work place. It is estimated that employed drug abusers cost their employers about twice as much in medical and workers’ compensation claims as their drug-free coworkers. But the need for an employer to tackle the employee drug testing program very carefully without hurting the privacy issues of the employee, is very important. An employee obviously feels a bit queasy when he is asked to provide a urine specimen for a drug test at work. This in turn results in an adverse affect on employee-employer relationship.

Accuracy of the Drug Test

Sean — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 12:25:28 +0000

There are different kinds of drug tests are their, to detect the drug abuse of the people. How many different types are used? What is the accuracy for the different types? The detailed information is discussed below.

There are several different types of tests given to detect drug use. If current drug use is suspected, a blood or breath test often is administered. If previous drug use is suspected, a urine or hair test or saliva drug test may be used. These tests look for chemical metabolites, or traces, that the drug leaves behind after it is eliminated from the body.

While hair tests are usually used as a secondary test or in cases of criminal offenses, there are a growing number of schools and businesses that are using hair tests instead of urine tests. If the method is hair testing, it is much more likely that a nonuser will test positive, especially if the test subject is a person of color. Just walking through a room where there is marijuana smoke could result in a positive hair test. Coarser hair absorbs and maintains the tell-tale signs much more than fine hair. The accuracy of a given drug test is determined by the following

The technology used in the test (accuracy varies considerably among types of tests)
The chemical nature of individual drugs (varies considerably from drug to drug)
The skills and abilities of the testing organization.
The procedures used to ensure proper handling and processing of samples.

To overcome from the drug abuse a drug test kit put your mind at rest and allow you to either put the question of whether or not drug use is occurring in your house behind you or take the next step in getting drug testing.

How people get addicted to smoking?

Sean — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 08:38:26 +0000

In general people get addicted to bad habits easily than to the good ones. This is human psychology. Smoking is a serious issue in terms of addiction. People don’t take smoking addiction as serious as drug addiction because they don’t feel that it will create some serious impacts on health like other drugs does. In fact smoking is more serious than drug addiction. The main reason for this is that people don’t treat it as a serious problem at all. The main factor for smoking addiction is the nicotine in it. Nicotine is a highly addictive psychoactive chemical. Most smokers have a special fondness for the first cigarette of the day because of the way brain cells respond to the day’s first nicotine rush. Nicotine, particularly taken in the first few cigarettes of the day, increases the activity of dopamine, a chemical in the brain that elicits pleasurable sensations, a feeling similar to achieving a reward. The nicotine has a potential for psychological dependency. This dependency is more intense than other drugs like cannabis, caffeine, cocaine, heroin, or ethanol. Tobacco increases the release of dopamine in the brain, specifically in the mesolimbic pathway, the same neuro-reward circuit activated by drugs of abuse such as heroin and cocaine. This suggests nicotine use has a pleasurable effect that triggers positive reinforcement. Knowing about the addiction is probably the best way to stay away from getting addicted.

Related Links:
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Nicotine drug test