Teens With Drug & Alcohol Problems

Teenagers with drug and alcohol problems face many challenges. Because their bodies are still growing and developing, drug and alcohol problems can cause or worsen physical conditions. Drug and alcohol use can also make teenagers more vulnerable to danger.

Emotional and mental health can also be affected by drug and alcohol problems. For this reason, parents should try to seek help for their teens as soon as possible.

Binge Drinking

• Binge drinking is a common practice among teens, even with those who are not considered to have an alcohol problem. Binge drinking is defined as drinking five or more drinks one after another, in a period of less than two weeks. When these numbers are increased, it is considered heavy binge drinking.

  Binge drinking can lead to a number of problems caused by drinking an excessive amount of alcohol in a short period of time. The most dangerous one is alcohol poisoning.

  Alcohol poisoning causes the autonamic reflexes in a person's body to shut down. These include the breathing and gag reflexes. When the breathing reflex is suppressed, a person can die from lack of oxygen. When the gag reflex is suppressed, a person can choke on his own vomit, which can cause death.

Abuse of Illegal Drugs

• Teens often abuse drugs that are illegal to possess and use, such as marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamines and alcohol. It is true that alcohol is legal; however, that only pertains to it being sold and consumed by someone who is of legal drinking age. In most states, that age is 21 years old.

  Teens who abuse other illegal drugs, sometimes referred to as street drugs, will often feel they must do desperate things in order to obtain those drugs. These can include committing violent crimes, such as robbery or stealing from family members or others.

Abuse of Prescription Drugs

• Many teens with drug or alcohol problems sometimes do not have to go any further than their own house to obtain these drugs. Parents who drink may leave alcohol in places where it can be accessed by teens, and prescription drugs are as close as the medicine cabinet or a grandparent's purse or medication case.

  Abusing prescription drugs can be deadly, especially if teens simply collects a number of different ones and takes them all at once or one right after another. Certain medications can react with others, and these reactions can sometimes cause a coma or death.

Recognizing Teens with Drug and Alcohol Problems

• Parents will sometimes use the excuse that they didn't know their teen had a drug or alcohol problem, they just thought he was acting like a typical adolescent. They attributed mood swings, falling grades, and being secretive to normal teenage behavior or rebellion, when actually these and other things are signs of possible drug and alcohol problems.

  Other signs include change in dress and hygiene. Clothes may have themes that reflect drug use and teens with drug or alcohol problems may stop caring about their personal appearance.

  Teens may use eye drops in an effort to clear eyes that are bloodshot due to drug use, or may use heavy scents, both in their environment and on themselves, to mask the odor of drug use.

  Parents may find drug paraphernalia or other evidence of drug use or notice that prescription drugs are missing or have decreased in number. All these and more are signs of drug abuse.

Getting Help

• Help is available for teens with drug and alcohol problems. There are rehab programs specifically for adolescents, both inpatient and outpatient, and there are support groups for families of teens with drug and alcohol problems. Agencies such as Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous can help parents find the resources they need to get help for their teen and themselves.