Notes from the Nurse- B K RNC, BSN

Cough and Cold Medicine Abuse

It seems that we have a lot of students with colds this season. Although they may need medicine please be aware that some teens take cough medicine for the wrong reasons. Chugging cough medicine for an instant high certainly isn't a new practice for teens, which have raided the medicine cabinet for a quick, cheap, and legal high for decades. But unfortunately, this dangerous, potentially deadly practice is on the rise. So it's important for parents to understand the risks and know how to prevent their kids from intentionally overdosing on cough and cold medicine.

Risks

Taking mass quantities of products containing DXM can cause hallucinations, loss of motor control, and "out-of-body" sensations. Other possible side effects of DXM abuse include: confusion, impaired judgment, blurred vision, dizziness, paranoia, excessive sweating, slurred speech, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, irregular heartbeat, high blood pressure, headache, lethargy, numbness of fingers and toes, facial redness, dry and itchy skin, loss of consciousness, seizures, brain damage, and even death.

Prevention~ Being on the Lookout

You can help prevent your teen from abusing over-the-counter medicines. Here's how:

• Lock your medicine cabinet or keep those OTC (over the counter) medicines that could potentially be abused in a less accessible place.
• Avoid stockpiling OTC medicines. Having too many at your teen's disposal could make abusing them more tempting.
• Keep track of how much is in each bottle or container in your medicine cabinet.
• Keep an eye out not only for traditional-looking cough and cold remedies in your teen's room, but also strange-looking tablets (DXM is often sold on the Internet and on the street in its pure form in various shapes and colors).
• Watch out for the possible warning signs of DXM abuse listed above.
• Monitor your child's Internet usage. Be on the lookout for suspicious websites and emails that seem to be promoting the abuse of DXM or other drugs, both legal and illegal.

Above all, talk to your children about drug abuse and explain that even though taking lots of a cough or cold medicine seems harmless, it's not. Even when it comes from inside the family medicine cabinet or the corner drugstore, when taken in large amounts, DXM is a drug that can be just as deadly as any sold on a seedy street corner. And even if you don't think your teens are doing it, chances are they know kids who are.