Many People Do Not Understand Why Individuals Become Addicted to Drugs Or How Drugs Change

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Drug and Alcohol Abuse

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Contents

Drug Addiction...... 3

Introduction………………………………………………………………3

Definitions………………………………………………………………..4

Causes of Drug Addiction, Abuse and Dependency……………………..4

Classification of drugs addiction………………………………………....5

Treatment…………………………………………………………..……10

Nursing management……………………………………………………11

Complication of drug addiction…………………………………………15

Alcoholism...... 16

Introduction………………………………………………………..……16

Definition…………………………………………………………….…17

Symptoms……………………………………………………………….17

Risk factors……………………………………………………………...18

Causes………………………………………………………………...…18

Complications…………………………………………..……………….19

Type of alcoholisms…………………………………………………….20

Alcohol Withdrawal………………………………………………….…20

Alcohol tolerance…………………………………………….……….…21

Physical dependence………………………………………….…………22

Psychological dependence………………………………………………22

Treatment……………………………………………………..…………23

Nursing care…………………………………………………………..…25

References……………………………………………………………....26

Drug Addiction (Drug Abuse)

Introduction

Many people do not understand why individuals become addicted to drugs or how drugs change the brain to foster compulsive drug abuse. They mistakenly view drug abuse and addiction as strictly a social problem and may characterize those who take drugs as morally weak. One very common belief is that drug abusers should be able to just stop taking drugs if they are only willing to change their behavior. What people often underestimate is the complexity of drug addiction—that it is a disease that impacts the brain and because of that, stopping drug abuse is not simply a matter of willpower. Through scientific advances we now know much more about how exactly drugs work in the brain, and we also know that drug addiction can be successfully treated help people stop abusing drugs and resume their productive lives.

Definitions

Definition of Drug Abuse

Drug abuse is using a drug excessively, or for purposes for which it was not medically intended.

Note: Drug abuse lead to drug dependence or addiction.

Definition of Physical Dependence

A physical dependence on a substance (needing the drug to function) is not always part of the definition of addiction. Some drugs (for example, some blood pressure medications) don't cause addiction but do cause physical dependence.

Definition of Psychological Dependence

Other drugs cause addiction without physical dependence, for example Morphine, Heroin and Cocaine.

Definition of Drug Addiction

A drug addiction is a person who takes excessive amount of drugs for prolonged periods and without medical indications, develops tolerance, and shows symptoms of withdrawal if he cannot get the drugs.

Most addicts have shown abnormal psychopathic traits before becoming addiction, and it is unusual for mentally normal person to become an addict, except possibly to barbiturates. Any drug with sedative, stimulating or hallucinogenic properties can become a drug of addiction.

Causes of Drug Addiction, Abuse and Dependency

Causes of drug addiction, abuse and dependency not unknown, but we can a list down them as factors:

1.  peer pressure

2.  Emotional distress

3.  Anxiety

4.  Depression

5.  Environmental stress

Classification of drugs addiction

Upon this assignment, we can classify drugs addiction to: (look at the figure)

1. Drugs that have a depressant effect

BARBITURATES

Street names: Amytal, Nembutal, Seconal, Phenobarbital; barbs, reds, red birds, phennies, tooies, yellows, yellow jackets.

Barbiturates are prescribe for sedative and hyponotic effect, also used to reduced pain. Addiction of Barbiturates usually mild. And tolerance developed when the patient can take it without becoming sleepy.

Features of dependence are :

·  dizziness

·  tremor

·  nausea

·  postural hypotension

·  ataxia

·  irritability

Withdrawals of Barbiturates are produced:

·  anxiety

·  sweating

·  palpitation

·  and insomnia

Sudden withdrawal: after large doses have been taken can produce a major epileptic fit.

MORPHINE

Streets Names: Roxanol, Duramorph; M, Miss Emma, monkey, white stuff.

Addiction to morphine is most likely in those who have access to it doctors, nurses and pharmacists. It is liable to produce:

·  loss of efficiency

·  neglect of appearance

·  disregard of social conventions

·  rambling remarks

·  sudden changes of mood

·  decline in physical health

·  anaemia

·  constipation

·  low resistance to infection

Withdrawal features: include

·  headache

·  anxiety

·  depression

·  insomnia

·  muscular cramps

·  sneezing

·  yawning

·  and crying

HEROIN

Also called diamorphine hydrochloride .

Street Names: Smack, H, ska, junk, and many others.

Heroin easily produces addiction. It may be preferred to morphine because of the intensity of the euphoria it produces and the absence of the vomiting and constipation likely to produced by morphine.

Symptoms of addiction

·  headache

·  anxiety

·  depression

·  insomnia

·  muscular cramps

·  sneezing

·  yawning

·  crying

·  sever mental and physical deterioration

·  And the addict is likely to die young of sepsis, pneumonia or pulmonary oedema

2. Drugs that have a stimulating effect

AMPHETAMINE

Street Names: Biphetamine, Dexedrine: bennies, black beauties, crosses, hearts, LA turnaround, speed, truck drivers, uppers.

Amphetamine drug produce an addiction , characterize by

·  euphoria

·  restlessness

·  insomnia

·  over activity

·  psychotic reactions with delusions of persecution and hallucinations

·  exhaustion

·  aplastic anaemia

·  excitement

COCAINE

Street Names: Coke, snow, flake, blow, and many others.

Cocaine is usually taken by injection, put it can be sniffad up the nose. It taken by morphine and heroin addicts to counteract the depressive effects of these drugs. It is likely to produce:

·  elation

·  over activity

·  freedom from fatigue

·  facile thought

·  glibness

·  restlessness

·  short psychoses with confusion

·  delusions

·  and hallucination

Cocaine addict are often gross psychopaths, alcoholics, multiple drug takers, female or male prostitutes and treatment is usually unsuccessful.

3. Drugs liable to produce hallucinations

CANNABIS

Cannabis can produce acute or chronic reaction usually by dose related, but a novice may get one after smoking a single cigarette. Features are:

·  ideas of depersonalization

·  paranoid ideas

·  delusions

·  hallucinations

·  confusion

·  restlessness

·  excitement

·  sever panic

·  delirium

·  and disorientation

Chronic reactions are apathy, indifference to current affairs, decline in observance of social conventions and deterioration in behaviour. Also a short paranoid psychoses can occur.

LSD

Street Names: Acid, blotter, and many others.

LSD ( lysergic acid diethylamide) is a hallucinogenic drug more dangerous than cannabis. It produces:

·  A dream like state

·  Disorders or perception

·  Hallucination

·  Emotional disturbance

·  Loss of control of behaviour leading to violence, murder and suicide

Chronic addiction causes apathy and mental deterioration.

Treatment

Treatment for drug abuse or dependence begins with recognizing the problem. Though "denial" used to be considered a symptom of addiction, recent research has shown that people who are addicted have far less denial if they are treated with empathy and respect, rather than told what to do or "confronted."

Treatment of drug dependency involves weaning off the drug gradually (detoxification), support, and stopping the drug (abstinence). People with acute intoxication or drug overdose may need emergency treatment. Sometimes, the person loses consciousness and might need to be on a breathing machine (mechanical respirator) temporarily. The treatment depends on the drug being used.

Detoxification is the gradual withdrawal of an abused substance in a controlled environment. Sometimes a drug with a similar action is taken instead, to reduce the side effects and risks of withdrawal. Detoxification can be done on an inpatient or outpatient basis.

If the person also has depression or another mood disorder, it should be treated. Very often, people start abusing drugs in their effort to self-treat mental illness.

For narcotic dependence, some people are treated with methadone or similar drugs to prevent withdrawal and abuse. The goal is to enable the person to live as normal a life as possible.

Nursing Management

1. Addiction screening tools and clinical measures

Addiction screening tools are used to assist the addiction worker and the client during the initial assessment process.

Goal to use screening tools: The goal is to discover potential risk areas so the addiction worker selects tools that are designed to assess the risk that is being screening for. Screening tools are not designed to make clinical diagnosis; their role is to educate and identify potential risk.

To assess ours elf in screening and measures we can use (ADS) – 7©.

** The (ADS) – 7© is:

One of the new and exciting challenges of teaching addiction counseling in 2005 is that we no longer are just teaching our students how to assess and treat drug and alcohol concerns.

The (ADS) – 7© is contain 49 questions , the lest below contain these questions.

1. Have family or peers expressed a concern about your drug use?

2. Have you tried to stop gambling and been unsuccessful?

3. Have you thought you have a problem with alcohol?

4. Have you worried about food and calories?

5. Have you not bought groceries or paid bills because of your

buying habits?

6. Have you lost interest in friends, hobbies, school, work, or other pursuits because of your drug use?

7. Have partners, peers, or family members expressed a concern about your sexual behavior?

8. Have you noticed a connection between your financial problems and gambling?

9. Have you purged food or used laxatives or diuretics as a strategy for maintaining body weight?

10. Have you noticed that during weekends you cannot relax unless you are working?

11. Have you missed work or family functions because of your sexual behaviors (e.g., people or cyber sex)?

12. Have you driven any kind of motor powered vehicle under the influence of alcohol?

13. Have family or friends suggested you have an eating disorder (anorexia or bulimia)?

14. Have you started the day drinking to avoid feeling sick?

15. Have you used sex (people or cyber sex) as a way to get away from the stress of the world?

16. Have any relationships failed as a result of work?

17. Have you felt depressed after a buying spree?

18. Have you acted on an internal drive to eat large amounts of food at one sitting?

19. Have you noticed that food seems to be a major source of pleasure for you?

20. Have you lost time (e.g., blackouts) during a drinking episode?

21. Have you lied about your sexual behaviors?

22. Have you ever committed a crime to obtain drugs (e.g., stealing)?

23. Have peers or family expressed a concern over the amount of time you work?

24. Have you used sex as a way to escape from the world?

25. Have you noticed you gamble to escape or as a means of excitement?

26. Have you noticed it takes more alcohol to feel good?

27. Have you lied about your eating habits?

28. Have you lied about your buying habits?

29. Have you chosen drugs over people or work?

30. Have you noticed that your sense of self-worth is directly related to your work?

31. Have peers personally or professionally expressed concern about your drinking?

32. Have you tried to control your sexual behavior (people or cyber sex) and failed?

33. Have you tried to stop drinking?

34. Have you lied about your gambling?

35. Have you felt regret, guilt, or remorse over your drug use?

36. Have noticed gambling is causing stress at home, but you continue to gamble?

37. Have you found yourself buying things knowing you cannot afford them?

38. Have your buying habits created money problems for you?

39. Have you experimented with different kinds of drugs to find a better high?

40. Have you noticed that you feel most in control when you are working?

41. Have you felt a deep sense of depression after sex (people or cyber sex)?

42. Have you attempted to keep your buying secretive?

43. Have you lied to family or peers to stay at work longer?

44. Have you used a system to increase your chances of winning when you gamble?

45. Have you lost money gambling and felt OK?

46. Have you spent the majority of a day obtaining drugs?

47. Have you made projects more complex and time consuming than they need to be?

48. Have you attempted to control your eating habits and failed?

49. Have you noticed buying helps you feel a sense of control?

Keys of (ADS) – 7© screening and measures

Types of addictions / Questions screening
Drug dependency / 1
6
22
29
35
39
46
Alcohol dependency / 3
12
14
20
26
31
33
Compulsive Buying / 5
17
28
37
38
42
49
Compulsive Gambling / 2
8
25
34
36
44
45
Food Addictions / 4
9
13
18
19
27
48
Workaholism / 10
16
23
30
40
43
47
Sex Addiction / 7
11
15
21
24
32
41

·  Note: through screening we used dark keys in the table.

2. Rehabilitation of client

We can rehabilitation addicts client by isolation and privacy in the treatment.

3. Drug treatment centers “detoxification”

To management addicts client it is important connected of drug treatment to consulting about clients conditions.

4. Use Specific antidotes “for use in overdose”, e.g. Naltrexone in opiates overdoses.

5. Use Specific medications for withdrawal symptoms, e.g. Benzodiazepine and Methadone.

6. Harm minimization, e.g. clean needles, needle exchange

Complication of addiction

The complications of drug abuse and dependence include:

• Depression

• Relapse of drug abuse

• Drug overdose

• Bacterial endocarditis, hepatitis, thrombophlebitis, pulmonary emboli, malnutrition, or respiratory infections, caused by drug use through a vein (intravenous)

• Infection with HIV through shared needles

• Unsafe sexual practices, which may result in unwanted pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases, HIV, or hepatitis.

• Problems with the law

• Increase in various cancer rates, for example, lung and pharynx cancer are linked to nicotine use, mouth and stomach cancer are associated with alcohol abuse and dependence

• Problems with memory and concentration, for example with hallucinogen use, including marijuana (THC).

Summary

1.  drug abuse and addictions can caused mental disorders.

2.  family and friends are important materials of treatment the addicts client.

Alcoholism (Alcohol Abuse)

Introduction

Alcoholism is a term with multiple and sometimes conflicting definitions. In common and historic usage, alcoholism refers to any condition that results in the continued consumption of alcoholic beverages despite the health problems and negative social consequences it causes. Medical definitions describe alcoholism as a disease which results in a persistent use of alcohol despite negative consequences. Alcoholism may also refer to a preoccupation with or compulsion toward the consumption of alcohol and/or an impaired ability to recognize the negative effects of excessive alcohol consumption. Although not all of these definitions specify current and on-going use of alcohol as a qualifier, some do, as well as remarking on the long-term effects of consistent, heavy alcohol use, include dependence and symptoms of withdrawal.