Drug

The Time Has Come for a Drug Intercession

When someone close to you is caught in the downwardly spiral of addiction, it may be very difficult for that person to distinguish exactly what is happening to his or her life. People with substance abuse problems are living in abnegation, making promises to themselves and others that they can’t keep. When heart-to-heart talks haven’t helped, a formal drug intervention may be necessitated.

Preparation is the key to a productive drug intervention. Use the imaginations available on the internet to find an intervention specialist. You will then gather together a group of people who care profoundly about the addict. You will practice the intervention process at least once, making sure that everyone knows how to proceed.

 Appropriate things to say during an intercession are:

• How you feel about what’s happening to the addict.
• How his or her actions are affecting you.
• A clear affirmation that you will not tolerate drug use any longer.
• An explanation of the effects for continued use.

The intervention advocate will help you distinguish objections the addict might make, and help you learn how to respond to them.

The Goal of a Drug Intervention Is Contiguous Treatment

When confronted, the addict may make devout promises to stop using, but this cannot be accepted as an outcome. The goal of intervention is to get the addict into treatment without detain. Therefore, you must have made formulations before beginning the intervention. The treatment center will be expecting him or her, payment placements have been made, transportation prepared, and even a suitcase packed.

A drug intervention is a difficult and painful process both for the addict and for those who participate in the brush. However, that excruciation is well worth it if the result is a person you love finally freed from addiction.

Information about Alcohol and Drug Addiction

 

Alcohol and drug addiction are very serious illnesses. Whether you have an addiction to alcohol, drugs, or both, you need to seek treatment to avoid the kismet crash your life will take. These drugs take over your mind, and you are no longer the same person you were before you started using. People will do anything to feed their addiction. Many people who are addicts can lose their jobs over their addiction. They will appeal to stealing and other law-breaking activities to get their fix. Drugs and alcohol will kill you if treatment isn’t started soon.

The main point of treating alcohol and drug addiction is to rid the person of the chemical dependency they have on whichever substance they abuse. This is called detoxification, or detox. Treatment programs work with users to deal with the emotional and physical pain involved in ridding the body of destructive chemicals. Once the drugs are out of the system, you can finally start the healing process.

Seeking Treatment for Alcohol and Drug Addiction

Achieving dispassion is a long road. It takes determination and a solid support system. Understanding your specific addiction will help you to resolve which treatment plan is the best for you. You can start by asking your family doctor about treatment programs or you can get onto the internet and start searching for facilities that can assist you. Many hospitals offer programs, and if you can’t find a free-standing clinic in your area, the local hospital may be a great option to contact. Whichever you chose, seeking treatment for alcohol and drug addiction is a brave step to take, and the sooner you’ve admitted that you have a problem, the sooner you can start to recover.

Brief on hallucinogens, stimulants and narcotics

During the late 1990s, the anticipated 3% of pregnant ladies used unauthorized drugs in early gestation, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Pregnancy complications and poor fetal outcomes are common in these women. However, drug abuse may not be exclusively responsible for these adverse outcomes; other contributing factors in this population include a lack of prenatal care, violence, and sexually transmitted diseases. Breast-feeding is advised with all of the following agents: Marijuana

This drug disrupts neurodevelopment, but there is no evidence that it is a structural teratogen. Exposure in utero can cause fetal growth subnormality and subtle, long-lasting neurobehavioral abnormalities related to effects in the prefrontal cortical regions of the brain. Marijuana also has been linked to ephemeral irritability, tremors, and an exaggerated startle reflex in neonates, but after this early period, there is little evidence of adverse neuro behavior in children followed up to age three years. In studies of older children up to twelve years of age, however, exposure in utero, especially if heavy and/or long term, is associated with inattention, hyperactivity, increased capricious and delinquency, and deficits in short-term memory tasks and problem resolution.

Cocaine

Cocaine is a human teratogen that causes anomalies of the genitourinary tract, heart, limbs, face, and bowel. The toxicity of cocaine in the mother and fetus is associated to the dose taken and duration of use. Toxicities result from the drug’s sympathomimetic properties, which lead to hypertension and vasoconstriction, causing diminished uterine blood flow and fetal hypoxia.

Maternal toxicities include oral abortions, premature labor and delivery, premature rupture of membranes, placenta previa, and abruptio placentae. Fetal and neonatal toxicities can result from maternal use at any point during gestation and include growth retardation, fetal distress, in utero cerebrovascular accidents, and unnatural neonatal neurobehavior.

Amphetamines

This group of drugs includes amphetamine, dextroamphetamine, methamphetamine, Ecstasy (MDMA), and the structurally related agents mescaline (from peyote) and STP (4-methyl-2,5-dimethoxyamphetamine, or DOM). Amphetamine-induced deformities have been observed in some animals (pregnancy category C), but only at eminent doses. Various birth defects, such as oral clefts, cardiac defects, and biliary atresia, have been noted in the progeny of women taking amphetamines for therapeutic reasons or recreational use. A actuating association has not been based, but the risk, even if it is eventually proved, appears to be low Mild neonatal withdrawal has also been observed. There is practically no information on the use of peyote during pregnancy, but it is teratogenic in one animal species. On the other hand, there is ample evidence that recreational use can present significant risks, including intrauterine growth retardation, decreased head circumference, premature delivery, and increased maternal, fetal, and neonatal morbidity. Amphetamine abuse during pregnancy, which is often combined with alcohol consumption, use of other drugs, and smoking, may cause altered growth and neuro behavior that are still apparent after puberty.

LSD

LSD is a potent hallucinogen, but there is no published evidence that the pure chemical causes chromosomal abnormalities, spontaneous abortions, or major inborn malformations. Reports of adverse pregnancy consequences in women using LSD were probably related to simultaneous ingestion of other drugs of abuse, selective reporting, and other elements not related to drug abuse.

Narcotics

These agents, which cross the placenta quickly, do not cause structural defects, but neonatal withdrawal may occur at birth if the mother is addicted. Among newborns whose mothers have been on methadone, the incidence and asperity of withdrawal were related to the dose. Lowering the maternal dose of methadone to less than 20 mg/day significantly reduced neonatal backdown and length of hospital stay.

Phencyclidine (PCP)

In animals, PCP causes both structural defects and neurobehavioral effects. Congenital defects have been described in children of women who used PCP while pregnant, but a causative association has not been proved, largely because PCP, a hallucinogen, is seldom used alone. Neonatal neurobehavioral dysfunction (irritability, jitteriness, depression, hypotonia, poor feeding, and poor sucking reflex) may be a effects of abuse during pregnancy, but these poor effects have not been observed at age 2 years in children disclosed in utero.

Creating a drug-free office            

Productivity, safety, absenteeism and medical expense are some of the problems that require correction. Workers who experienced drugs and alcohol are 25% less productive than those who abstain. They also threaten the safety of fellow employees and the general public and can run up enormous medical and rehabilitation disbursals for their employers.

Drug use causes fatigue, paranoia, difficulty in concentrating, impaired judgment, slowed reaction time, poor coordination, and disarray. Alcohol abusers have high absenteeism, frequently arrive late and leave early, display verbal and physical hostility, often sleep on the job, and are a drag on productivity and character.

As a result, accidents are three to five times more likely among alcohol and drug users, and when accidents do occur, druggies and alcoholics are five times more likely to file Workers’ Comp claims. Drug and alcohol abuse is the basic cause of 47% of industrial injuries and deaths.

The problem is not obscure among a few bad apples. Studies have shown that 85 million Americans have experimented with illegal drugs. Seventy percent of outlaw drug users are employed, as are 85% to 90% of alcohol users. In a typical work force, 80% of the employees know someone who drinks, or buys or sells drugs at work.

Why workers turn to drugs and alcohol

If you understand the reasons why workers turn to drugs and alcohol, you stand a much better chance of changing attitudes and altering habits through health promotion programs.

Essentially, people take drugs because of low job satisfaction, job insecurity, dangerous working conditions, job stress, and isolation from friends and family, and to try to stay awake while performing boring and repetitious jobs. Alcoholics, on the other hand, drink because they have low job autonomy and lack control over work conditions and products, are bored, stressed out and sexually harassed, and frequently have to put up with verbal and physical aggression from fellow employees or management. Many also are in insurrection against workplace alcohol policies.

Researchers have begun to look not just at the effectiveness of workplace alcohol programs in intervening in drinking problems, but also at the culture of the workplace itself as a causal factor in both drinking and non-drinking behavior of employees.

While alcohol testing is able to immediately measure the level of worker intoxication at the time of testing, drug testing does not measure impairment, and there is usually detain of several days in getting a laboratory report. Drug testing also does not determine the quantity of the drug consumed, or when it was depleted.

Although alcohol programs in the workplace are now the rule rather than the exception, creating a drug-free workplace seems to take priority over establishing a workplace free from both drugs and alcohol. The main reason is that the Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1998 requires mandatory testing of federal employees and requires that all federal contractors must provide a drug-free workplace as a presumption of receiving contracts or grants. Also, in 1995-96, the federal Department of Transportation broached alcohol and drug testing and requires annual random testing of all commercial drivers.

There is no corresponding law for alcohol abuse, and historically most male-dominated workplace cultures accept the use of alcohol. Many even encourage drinking as a way to build solidarity and show abidance to the group. As a result, most firms are “tough” on illicit drugs but “soft” on alcohol, and it is common knowledge among workers that anti-drinking indemnities are rarely enforced.

Even if a firm is not dependent on government contracts, it still makes sense to establish a policy on drugs and alcohol. The reason: failure to do so could constitute a breach of the Occupational Safety & Health Administration’s General Duty clause requirement to maintain a safe workplace. Establishing a substance abuse program also demonstrates an employer’s commitment to maintaining a safe workplace and high product quality. And, finally, lost productivity related to alcohol alone has been estimated to cost industry $70 billion to $120 billion a year.

To formulate and implement a drug free job environment, an employer should establish a representative group of employees to develop a policy. The policy should include provisions to provide assistance for rehabilitation and counseling, even though only 27% of small businesses currently offer employee assistance programs. Confidentiality also should be a major concern.

Employee assistance programs (EAP’s) work better if they are conducted at the work site rather than someplace else. Employees are more likely to take advantage of an internal EAP rather than an external one.

Drugs to be covered by the policy should include cannabis (marijuana and hashish), heroin, cocaine, MDMA (Ecstasy), opium, amphetamine morphine, and hallucinogens (LSD and PCP).

A sample drug-free workplace policy that also covers alcohol can be found on the Web and is a good starting point. The prototype policy was prepared by the New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse. Substance abuse policies should include education, training, and healthy lifestyle programs, as these can have a positive effect on a person’s behavior. But they also must clearly state that anyone reporting to work under the influence of alcohol or other unauthorized drugs may be released without any caution.

General information on Lidocaine Injection

LIDOCAINE USES

Lidocaine is a useful drug which can be injected to numb your area before surgery or any another medical treatment. Its brand name is Xylocaine.

HOW TO USE LIDOCAINE

This medication is injected into the body (e.g., into a muscle or under the skin) as directed by your doctor. The dosage and location of the injection depends on your condition and response to the drug. Before using, check this product visually for particles or stain. If either is present, do not use the liquid. Learn all formulation and usage instructions in the product package. If any of the information is unclear, consult your doctor or pharmacist. Learn how to store and discard needles and medical supplies safely. Consult your pharmacist.

LIDOCAINE SIDE EFFECTS

Nausea may occur. If this effect persists or worsens, contact your doctor or pharmacist promptly. Tell your doctor immediately if any of these unlikely but serious side effects occur: drowsiness, mental/mood changes, ringing in the ears, dizziness, vision changes, tremors, numbness, headache, and backache. Tell your doctor immediately if any of these highly unlikely but very serious side effects occur: fever, unusually fast or slow pulse, trouble breathing, seizures, and chest pain. An allergic reaction to this drug is unlikely, but seeks immediate medical attention if it occurs. Symptoms of an allergic reaction include: rash, itching, swelling, dizziness, trouble breathing. If you notice other effects not listed above, contact your doctor or pharmacist.

LIDOCAINE PRECAUTIONS

Tell your doctor your medical history, especially: heart problems (e.g., heart block, heart failure), high or low blood pressure, liver problems, kidney problems, any allergies. This medication is not recommended for use if you have the following medical conditions: nerve disease, spine problems. This drug may make you dizzy or drowsy; use caution engaging in activities requiring alertness such as driving or using machinery. Avoid alcoholic beverages. Depending on how and where this drug is interposed into the body, you may experience temporary weakness. To minimize dizziness and lightheadedness, get up slowly when rising from a seated or lying position. Notify your doctor if weakness or problems with muscle control persist. Caution is advised when using this drug in the elderly because they may be more medium to the effects of the drug. Caution is advised when using this drug in children because they may be more sensitive to the effects the drug. Tell your doctor if you are pregnant before using this medication. This medication passes into breast milk. Consult your doctor before breast-feeding.

LIDOCAINE DRUG INTERACTIONS

This drug is not advocated for use with: dofetilide, arbutamine, pimozide, halofantrine. Tell your doctor or pharmacist of all ethical drug and nonprescription drugs you may use, especially: other anesthetics (e.g., bupivacaine), procainamide, tocainide, cimetidine, beta- blockers (e.g. propranolol, atenolol, metoprolol), amiodarone, mexilitine, succinylcholine, vasopressor drugs (e.g., dobutamine), ergot-type oxytocic (e.g. ergonovine). Tell your doctor if you take drugs that cause drowsiness such as: medicine for sleep, sedatives, tranquilizers, anti-anxiety drugs (e.g. diazepam), narcotic pain relievers (e.g., codeine), psychiatric medicines (e.g., phenothiazines or tricyclics), anti- seizure drugs (e.g., carbamazepine), muscle relaxants, antihistamines that cause drowsiness (e.g., diphenhydramine). Check the tags on all your medicines (e.g., cough-and-cold products) because they may contain drowsiness-causing components. Ask your pharmacist about the safe use of those products. This product can interpose with certain lab tests. Inform laboratory personnel that you are using this medication. Do not start or stop any medicine without doctor or pharmacist commendation.

LIDOCAINE OVERDOSE

If overdose is distrusted, contact your local poison control center or emergency room or any other medical expert directly. Symptoms of overdose may include restlessness, anxiety, ringing in the ears, blurred vision, tremors; or severe dizziness or drowsiness.

NOTES

Do not contribute this medication with others. Laboratory and/or medical tests would be conducted to monitor for side effects and response to treatment.

MISSED DOSE

If the dose is disrupted, contact your medical professional or pharmacist immediately to establish new dosing.

LIDOCAINE STORAGE

Store at room temperature between 59o and 77o F (15 to 25o C) away from sun light and moisture.