Teenagers Addiction to Opioids and the Adverse Effects - Teenage Drug Abuse

Teenagers may become physically or psychologically addicted to opioids and in the long run, they will still be the ones who will suffer the dire consequences of addiction. Deciding to stop the excessive or addictive intake of opioids may be enlightening, but the effects of withdrawal may be otherwise. Sometimes, withdrawal to this substance may reinforce the addiction, which intensifies the need and desire of an individual to take the drug. People who use opioids for recreational use are more prone to opioid addiction rather than those individuals who just use opioids for medical use.

Teenagers who take opioids in excess are prone to its adverse effects on the health. Common adverse effects of opioids include nausea, drowsiness, miosis, vomiting, orthostatic hypotension, urinary retention, respiratory depression and constipation. Reversing the adverse effects of opioids can be done with substances such as naloxone or naltrexone.

These substances are called competitive antagonists and they work by binding the opioid receptors with agonists that have higher affinity without necessarily activating the receptors directly.

Opioids must only be used by people who are suffering from extreme and severe pain because people who are not suffering pain may experience fatal effects if they continue using opioids especially in high dosages.

Teenagers who have experienced taking analgesics and opioids are candidates of becoming addicted to these substances especially if they have proven to be very effective in instantly removing or alleviating pain. Although some teenagers abuse these drugs as a means of recreation, some teens are addicted to these substances because of the comfort and relief that it brings.

Admittedly, abusive and excessive use of opioids and analgesics may be a bit hard to detect by parents and teachers, especially if teenagers are good in hiding the drugs.

Heightened vigilance and sensitivity to the health condition and performance of teenagers must be observed so as to stop the addiction and prevent further health deterioration.