Addiction is a terrible disease. It is one that is both mental and physiological. Like other diseases, it has its roots in genetics and environmental factors. Many people are susceptible to becoming addicted to drugs, nicotine, or alcohol because of a combination of these factors along with their own unique circumstances. When a person becomes addicted to a substance, the brain literally changes its chemistry, making it extremely difficult to give it up.
Cocaine addiction is the term used to describe the combined effects of a physical dependence on the illegal drug cocaine and ongoing involvement in behaviors designed to support that dependence. Current evidence indicates that female cocaine addicts commonly begin their involvement with the drug for different reasons than male cocaine addicts. Once addicted to the drug, women also typically experience escalations of their cocaine cravings under different circumstances than the circumstances that increase cravings in men. As a result of these gender-based distinctions, female cocaine addicts may respond better to different treatments than those commonly used to treat male cocaine addicts.
Having a healthy pregnancy is essential to delivering a healthy child. The early stages of pregnancy are especially delicate as the brain and many of the body’s vital systems are starting to take formation. It’s no secret that substance abuse during pregnancy disturbs this process and can result in complications, premature delivery, problems after birth, and even death.
Read more about Marijuana in Pregnancy Linked to Preeclampsia and Placenta Problems
Diet pills can be a useful tool in the battle for weight loss. Many people benefit from taking a diet pill in addition to getting exercise and eating a healthful diet. For some, diet pills are like a kick start that gets the weight loss momentum going. For others, they help get those last few tricky pounds off. Taking diet pills can be very risky, however, and they are not a long term solution to weight loss. Diet pills are a drug, and although they are over the counter, that does not mean they are always safe. Most are not recommended or regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and some have been pulled from shelves for causing dangerous side effects and even death. Even if the drug is relatively safe, the user can become addicted and the results can be devastating.
Drug and alcohol use during pregnancy is dangerous for the unborn child, but some mothers-to-be continue to put their babies at risk.
Read more about Substance Abuse Among Pregnant Women Prevalent
Thirty years ago, the nation was witnessing a generation of babies who were being born addicted to crack cocaine. Mothers who had been hooked on cocaine during their pregnancy were passing it on to their unborn children. Today, babies are being subjected to drugs at an even higher rate, but by different drugs. A new study shows that prescription painkillers, known to be highly addictive in adults, are now causing addiction in unborn babies.
Read more about Babies Born With Prescription Drug Addiction
Children whose mothers used methamphetamine when they were pregnant with them are more depressed and anxious, and have more symptoms of attention deficit disorder/hyperactivity (ADHD) than children without such exposure, according to a new study from Brown University School of Medicine.
Read more about Babies of “Meth Moms” Prone to ADHD, Depression, and Anxiety
The number of infants suffering from drug-related affects after birth has increased nearly 45 percent in the past 15 years, according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. What are the options to helping those children exposed to drugs while in the womb?
Read more about Guidelines For Treating Children Born to Drug-Addicted Mothers is Revised
An estimated 20 percent of people in the United States have taken prescription pills for non-prescription use. This problem of prescription drug abuse is a growing epidemic.
While many believe that prescription drug abuse only affects the addict, it is important to realize friends and families are affected – and unfortunately, they aren’t the only ones. Newborn babies are suffering from their mother’s addiction. In 2010, Florida reported that 635 of the births that year were to newborns that were already addicted to prescription pills.
A recent U.S. government report shows that the time lapsed between the beginning of substance abuse and the first trip to the doctor for treatment is shorter for women than it is for men.
Read more about Study Shows That Men Tend to Wait Longer Than Women to Seek Help for Drugs
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