If you develop an after-hours toothache and head to the emergency room in search of relief, you may have a hard sell on your hands. What’s the problem? ER docs are being inundated with fake patients complaining of tooth pain in hopes of scoring some prescription narcotics to feed their drug habit. This growing trend means that patients in legitimate pain may be turned away empty-handed.

Since many poor patients forgo preventative dental care because they can’t afford it, it’s not improbable that they could end up in the emergency room in extreme pain. But how do doctors tell those in need from the ones who are merely making the rounds, looking for whatever meds they can get? They can’t. As a result, most physicians err on the side of treating pain, knowing that route often leads to abuse.

It’s such a growing problem that for the first time, the frequent prescription of narcotics in emergency departments for dental pain is being studied in a research project financed by the National Institutes of Health.

From 1997 to 2007, painkillers were prescribed in three of four visits to the emergency department for dental complaints, according to a new analysis of the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey. Over that period, the number of painkiller prescriptions for dental patients in emergency departments rose 26 percent, according to the report, published January 2012 in the journal Medical Care.

It’s a system that is likely creating more addicts, but many ER doctors feel like their hands are tied. They lack the diagnostic tools to determine if a tooth’s nerve is infected and they don’t have the training to provide alternative treatment methods, like a localized anesthetic injection, which can provide immediate relief for up to 16 hours.

Monitoring programs have been set up to help doctors determine whether patients have recently been given painkillers (40 states have these programs and eight have enacted legislation to create them), but they are not used often enough.

Prescription Drug Addiction Help at La Paloma

If you or someone you love needs help with prescription drug addiction, call La Paloma at the toll-free number on our homepage. Someone is there to take your call 24 hours a day and answer any questions you have about treatment, financing or insurance.

ABC24 in Memphis, along with other media outlets across the country, recently reported on an alarming trend: Teens are drinking hand sanitizer to get high. Who knew this seemingly harmless substance – a favorite of busy moms to try to keep their kids germ-free – could be abused by kids to get a quick, cheap high?

Six Southern California teenagers showed up in emergency rooms recently, suffering from alcohol poisoning due to ingesting hand sanitizer. Some of the teenagers even took it a step further, using salt to separate the alcohol from the sanitizer, making a potent drink that is similar to a shot of hard liquor.

Liquid hand sanitizer is 62 percent ethyl alcohol and can easily be made into a 120-proof liquid. It also has all the hallmarks of big trouble: It’s cheap, it’s easily accessible and it produces a quick high.

The number of concentrated cases has health experts worried that it’s a sign of a growing trend. Of course, it’s not the first time teens have misused a common household substance to get high. In the past, teens have misused mouthwash, cough syrup and vanilla extract all for the same reason, and chances are they’ll continue to find new substances to try.

In the meantime, health officials recommend that parents who buy hand sanitizer opt for the foam version because it is harder to extract the alcohol and teenagers may be less likely to drink it. Parents also shouldn’t leave hand sanitizer around the house and should monitor it like any other liquor or medicine.

Alcohol Abuse Help at La Paloma

If you or someone you love needs help with alcohol abuse, call La Paloma at the toll-free number on our homepage. Someone is there to take your call 24 hours a day and answer any questions you have about treatment, financing or insurance.

We’re one of the richest, most highly-developed countries in the world, and yet American teens are killing themselves by binge drinking at one of the highest rates in the world. Irish and Austrian youths share that dubious distinction with us, according to a recent study.

The study was part of the British medical journal The Lancet’s “Adolescent Health Series.” It examined the behavior of teens in developed, higher income countries, showing that the teens in these countries tend to live fast and die younger than in other countries.

According to the report, Irish and Americans between the ages of 10-24 are more likely to die violent deaths due to their overindulgence of pot and alcohol. Binge drinking is most prevalent in Austria and Ireland, but the US is not far behind, according to the study. (A binge in this study is defined by having more than five alcoholic drinks in one day.) The study also found that more girls aged 13 to 15 in the US drink excessively, in comparison to their peers anywhere else in the world.

For those outside the US, it’s not time to breathe a sigh of relief. Youth around the world are at risk. The editors of the study call adolescent health still a “marginalized sub-specialty” and advocate for it to be elevated into “mainstream global health agendas.”

Alcohol Addiction Help at La Paloma

Teen addiction rates continue to rise, but there is also more help available than ever before. If you or someone you love needs help with alcohol addiction, call La Paloma at the toll-free number on our homepage. Someone is there to take your call 24 hours a day and answer any questions you have about treatment, financing or insurance.

Britain’s popular Daily Mail recently told the story of a mother who sought help for her alcoholism only after her 15-year-old daughter took a photo of her passed out clutching a vodka bottle.

Samm Veevers, 45, admits she was consuming a liter of vodka each ay as well as gallons of beer and cider. Those who loved her most could see she was slowly drinking herself to death during marathon binges that could last for more than a week at a time.

It was far from her days as a model. Veevers’ life spiraled out of control following the death of her father eight years earlier, and she found herself turning to alcohol to cope. After being forced to quit work as a care home manager when her husband’s job had forced them to move away from London, Veevers became bored and depressed. She began drinking a little wine to help her get through the day, but soon she found herself drinking more and more. She experienced a dramatic weight loss and her health deteriorated to the point that she was given just five years to live due to severe cirrhosis of the liver.

Her marriage fell apart and her husband was awarded custody of their three children.
“I didn’t stop to think what I was doing to my family, I just drank to blot out the pain,” She said. She lived on the living room couch and had alcohol delivered to her door. Sometimes she would be passed out for up to 36 hours. She lost entire blocks of days.

Her daughter Hannah would occasionally stop by to check on her mom and plead with her to stop drinking. It was on one of these visits that she found her mom lying comatose on the floor, clutching a bottle of vodka. A desperate Hannah decided to take a picture, hoping to help her mom finally wake up to the severity of her situation.

“I was mortified when Hannah showed me the picture of me unconscious, clutching an empty bottle, and it shocked me into making a change in my life,” Veevers told The Daily Mail. “My addiction came out of nowhere and completely took over.”

After receiving professional help, quitting drinking and doing some local charity work, Veevers now runs her own cake company. Her daughter has moved back home and they are closer than ever.

Addiction Rehab at La Paloma

Not every story has this type of happy ending, but yours can. It’s not too late. Help is just a phone call away. If you or someone you love needs help with drug or alcohol addiction, call La Paloma at the toll-free number on our homepage. Someone is there to take your call 24 hours a day and answer any questions you have about treatment, financing or insurance.

If you’re in recovery, what was your wake-up call? Tell us below.

“The tourism and alcohol industries promote heavy drinking and sex, creating an environment that can lead to rape, fatal injuries and death by alcohol poisoning. We agree with parents that we must put an end to these promotions that target students, most of whom are underage,” said J. Edward Hill, MD, AMA chair-elect in a news release.

Then there are the parents who are unaware that tourism companies market to students with promises of a wild week featuring excessive drinking and sex. And it’s not just US destinations that are doing this. American tourism companies, in partnership with alcohol producers, promote destinations outside the country where the drinking age is 18, making them a big draw for underage students who can’t drink legally back home.

The poll showed that a whopping 80 percent of parents were concerned about college students drinking alcohol during spring break, while 70 percent were worried about students driving while intoxicated or with a drunken driver. Meanwhile, 88 percent of parents said they think that spring break is primarily a problem of underage drinking, because many college students are younger than the legal drinking age of 21, and 61 percent believe that underage students are more likely to drink than 21-year-olds.

Networks like MTV and reality shows also add to the idea that spring break should be one big alcohol-fueled party. It’s unlikely that parents will be able to stop these spring break trips altogether, but awareness is the first step. Students need to be clear on the dangers, too.

Alcohol Abuse Help at La Paloma

If you or someone you love needs help with alcohol abuse or addiction, call La Paloma at the toll-free number on our homepage. Someone is there to take your call 24 hours a day and answer any questions you have about treatment, financing or insurance.

Drugs are dangerous enough when we know exactly what’s in them, but what if the pills you’re buying aren’t what you think they are? Street drugs don’t come with a guarantee, and those manufacturing them have plenty of incentive to cut their expensive illegal substances with cheaper ingredients – despite the health risks these fillers may pose.

A Dallas rave club, Afterlife, was shut down recently after officials claimed drugs were being sold freely inside. During the hearing to determine if the club’s license would be permanently revoked, police officers testified about going undercover to buy Ecstasy (aka MDMA) inside the nightclub. One officer called the club “an open-air, free-for-all drug-trading den,” according to The Dallas Observer.

While the club owner flatly denied allegations that he’d knowingly allowed drugs to be sold at the club, officers talked about easily scoring a variety of pills in the club. These varieties of Ecstasy were later found to contain an assortment of additional substances as well. One pill, marketed to the undercover officer as “Molly,” was supposed to be pure MDMA, but when it was analyzed, it contained a substance the officer couldn’t identify.

The Dallas Observer found a local chemist, willing to speak on the condition of anonymity, who shed some light on the issue. According to the chemist, “the only thing that’s predictable about Ecstasy, really, is how unpredictable it is.” The percentage of actual MDMA found in each pill varies wildly. While it’s all sold as Ecstasy, those who indulge have no idea what they’re really putting in their mouths.

That’s the common with all drugs, though, isn’t it? Not exactly. That same chemist said that “compared to meth and cocaine, the purity of ecstasy is very low,” adding, “the pills we get are generally 5 to 10 percent pure.” (By contrast, cocaine is commonly 80-90 percent pure.) It’s even possible that something sold as Ecstasy could contain no MDMA at all.

So what exactly are those partygoers taking?

Often, it’s mixed with meth. In fact, the chemist interviewed guesses that 15 to 20 percent of Ecstasy tabs contain methamphetamine. While uncommon, some pills actually contain only meth. Ecstasy is also frequently cut with caffeine. When combined with meth, there’s a danger of overheating, even to the point of death. “The drug increases metabolism, body temperature, they’re dancing at these raves, they start overheating and they literally die from that,” according to The Observer’s chemist. It’s also become common to see designer drugs from Europe and Australia being sold as Ecstasy. The effects are similar, but these drugs may be cheaper or easier to make than MDMA.

Afterlife may be closed, but that’s just a drop of water in the ocean that is the problem of drug abuse.

Drug Abuse Help at La Paloma

If you or someone you love is battling drug abuse, call La Paloma at the toll-free number on our homepage. Someone is there to take your call 24 hours a day and answer any questions you have about treatment, financing or insurance.

It’s a question often asked by those battling addiction as well as family and friends: Why do some people seem to have no problem saying “no” to drugs, while others can’t stop once they start?

It turns out that many addicts inherit a brain that has trouble just saying no to drugs. We’ve long known that there is some sort of genetic component to addiction, but new studies continue to discover more specifics. The latest research from the publication Science shows that cocaine addicts have abnormalities in areas of the brain involved in self-control, and these abnormalities appear to predate any drug abuse.

The study, done by a team at the University of Cambridge in the UK looked at 50 pairs of siblings. One member of each pair was a cocaine addict. The other had no history of drug abuse. Interestingly, brain scans showed that both siblings had brains unlike those of typical people, and fibers that connect the different parts of the brain were less efficient in both, researches explain.

The fibers in question connect areas involved in emotion with areas that tell us when to stop doing something. When these fibers aren’t working efficiently, it takes longer for a “stop” message to get through. The research team found that in various experiments both siblings took longer than a typical person to respond to a signal telling them to stop performing a task.

It’s the fact that siblings without drug problems also had impaired self-control that presents strong evidence that these brain abnormalities are inherited. It also raises the question how one sibling can manage this brain abnormality without using drugs while the other sibling can’t.

In reporting on studies like these, it’s always important to remind everyone that a predisposition to use drugs does not mean a person is predestined to use drugs. There is an element of choice for everyone, and no matter what traits you’ve inherited, it IS possible to say “no.”

Drug Addiction Help at La Paloma

If you or someone you love needs help with drug addiction, call La Paloma at the toll-free number on our homepage. Someone is there to take your call 24 hours a day and answer any questions you have about drug treatment, financing or insurance.

In this day and age, when we have more information than ever before about the dangers of drinking and more help for the problem of substance abuse or alcoholism, it’s surprising to hear that binge drinking is a bigger problem than previously thought.

It’s surprising, but it’s true, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). According to the new Vital Signs report issued Jan. 12, 2012 from the CDC, more than 38 million U.S. adults binge drink an average of four times a month consuming up to eight drinks at a time, on average. And this dangerous pastime isn’t just the indulgence of the young. While binge drinking is more common among young adults ages 18–34, of those age 65 and older who report binge drinking, they do so more often than their young counterparts – an average of five to six times a month.

Income may play a role in binge drinking, too. The study showed it’s more common among those with household incomes of $75,000 or more, but the largest number of drinks consumed per occasion is significantly higher among binge drinkers with household incomes of less than $25,000 – an average of eight to nine drinks, the report said.

Just what constitutes binge drinking? The practice is defined as consuming four or more drinks for women and five or more drinks for men on any occasion. Binge drinkers also put themselves and others at risk for many health and social problems, including car crashes, other unintentional injuries, violence, liver disease, certain cancers, heart disease, sexually transmitted diseases and both unintended and alcohol–exposed pregnancies.

Drinking too much, including binge drinking, causes more than 80,000 deaths in the United States each year, making it the third leading preventable cause of death, and was responsible for more than $223.5 billion in economic costs in 2006. Over half of these deaths result from injuries that disproportionately involve young people.

“Binge drinking causes a wide range of health, social and economic problems and this report confirms the problem is really widespread,” said CDC Director Thomas R. Frieden, MD, MPH, adding, “We need to work together to implement proven measures to reduce binge drinking at national, state and community levels.”

Binge Drinking Help at La Paloma

If you or someone you love needs help with alcohol addiction or binge drinking issues, call La Paloma at the toll-free number on our homepage. Someone is there to take your call 24 hours a day and answer any questions you have about treatment, financing or insurance.

To many teens, pot seems harmless. Smoking a little marijuana is almost a right of passage. But drugs are dangerous in any form, as the recent death of a 13-year-old reminds us.

The young teen became ill after smoking synthetic marijuana and would later require a double lung transplant. Unfortunately, those heroic efforts weren’t enough to save him. The boy, Brandon Rice, died in October 2011 at a Pennsylvania hospital, according to his mother, Tonya Rice.

According to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, the trouble began last summer when the boy smoked the fake marijuana out of a plastic candy dispenser, suffering chemical burns to both lungs. He was put on a respirator in June and had a double lung transplant in September. Anti-rejection drugs he’s taken since the transplants weakened Brandon’s immune system and made him unable to fight off a recent infection, his mother says.

A ban outlawing such substances took effect in August, signed into law by Gov. Tom Corbett just a few days after the tragic incident was first reported. It was too late to save Brandon, but hopefully it will keep other kids from meeting the same tragic fate.

Drug Addiction Treatment

If you or someone you love is in need of help with drug addiction treatment for any substance abuse issues, call La Paloma at our toll-free number. Someone is there to take your call 24 hours a day and answer any questions you have about treatment, financing or insurance.

The state of Missouri’s public image is really taking a hit lately. First, it was unofficially named the Meth Capital of the United States. Then, as if to drive home that point, a kindergartner in western Missouri recently brought his mom’s crack pipe and $3,700 worth of crystal meth to school for show-and-tell.

According to local news affiliate KCTV, the boy was told to bring important family items to share with his classmates. Teachers and authorities in the small town of Sweet Springs were shocked when the boy pulled the illegal drugs out of his backpack.

“When I called the prosecutor about it, they said, ‘You’re kidding me, aren’t you?” Sweet Springs Police Chief Richard Downing told KCTV.

Not surprisingly, the boy’s 32-year-old mother was charged with possession of a controlled substance and child endangerment. The child is in the custody of “loved ones” and the mom quickly posted bail. She was later treated for complications from a recent gastrointestinal surgery.

Crystal Meth Treatment

While this family is getting help, there are countless more like it, where children are placed in dangerous situations as a result of their parents’ addictions. If you or someone you love is in need of crystal meth treatment or help with any other substance abuse issue, call La Paloma at our toll-free number. Someone is there to take your call 24 hours a day and answer any questions you have about treatment, financing or insurance.