Conjointly they are simple to induce, often from friends or a parents medicine cabinet. Here are some info and tips on what to do if you believe your teenager is abusing prescription drugs.What is prescription drug abuse?The National Institute of Drug Addiction describes prescription drug abuse as “the nonmedical use of prescription drugs.” Whereas several usually associate prescription drug abuse with pain pills, it also refers back to the abuse of depressants and stimulants.What are the signs and symptoms of a narcotic addiction?There are many signs and symptoms for drug abuse. Here are some things to appear for over a amount of time. Remember each of those alone will not mean you r teenager is abusing drugs.

1. increased absences from faculty or work

2. drop in grades, or the caliber of their work

3. a need for a lot additional cash, and possibly doing illegal things to urge cash

4. amendment in their mood, impulsive remarks, moody, angry

5. associating with known drug users, or suspicious friends

6. decreased care in physical appearance, dress, or hygiene

7. unexplained missing prescription drugs from your prescriptionWhat do I do if I suspect my teenager is abusing pharmaceuticals?Speak to them and share your concerns. Specify why you think that they’re abusing prescription drugs.

Some will be honest and tell the truth about their behavior. Others might deny it, and tell you that you are crazy. You are not crazy. Regardless of their answer, the following step is to get a substance abuse assessment. This will also relieve you from showing the burden of proof for your suspicions of their drug abuse.Where do we tend to get facilitate?Contact a local treatment center that conducts substance abuse assessments.

Sometimes they can do mobile assessments, where they can come to you. If you can not realize one, then contact your physician’s office for a referral. Or if the symptoms are severe then visit the nearest emergency room. The level of care that will be counseled will be primarily based upon the drug of alternative, frequency of use, history of abuse, and if there are other substances that are being ingested.It is not simple to admit the chance that your teenager might be abusing prescription drugs.

Nor is it simple to accept that this may be happening. But, your teenager features a greater probability of recovery if they receive treatment now, rather than waiting. Usually abuse can flip into a lively addiction. Do what you need to try to to to induce them the assistance they have, similarly because the support you need.

Teen treatment centers on a daily basis treat hundreds of cases wherein teenagers are addicted to a variety of drugs and alcohol. In fact, the amount and variety of drugs that they take are no different from what adults consume.  The symptoms and signs of drug abuse among teens have a bearing on the kind of drugs that they abuse.  Here are some of the symptoms and signs shown by them when take variety of drugs:

Alcohol abuse: Some of the common signs of alcohol abuse in teens include smell of alcohol on their breath or body, bloodshot eyes, erratic behavior, abusive demeanor, lying, stealing, mood swings, having things that are related to alcohol abuse like alcohol bottles etc, change in the group of friends that he has.
Tobacco addiction or smoking: The signs are discolored lips and stained teeth, frequent smell of tobacco from his breath, cigarette butts at various places in his room or paraphernalia like ash-tray.
Cannabinoids:  Signs of cannabinoid abuse includes sleepiness, increased appetite, lethargy, increased state of excitement or happiness, paranoia and reddish tine in the whites of eyes.
Inhalant addiction: Example of inhalant addiction among teens is visible in the form of confused mindset, irritability, smell of gasoline or other solvent in the body and runny nose
Depressants: Signs of addiction to depressants, according to a famous teen treatment program, is in the form of lowered inhibitions, slowed heart rate, low blood pressure, inability to sleep, dizziness and even going into the state of coma.
Cold medication: if a teenager is addicted to prescription drug addiction like cold medications for instance, Benadryl; the signs exhibited include anxiety, rapid or fluctuating heart-beats and inability to sleep.
Narcotics:  The symptoms of narcotic abuse include increased tolerance towards pain, overexcited behavior, lethargy, slowed heart beats etc.
Hallucinogens: Teens who are addicted to hallucinogens tend to have problems sleeping; their perceptions are blurred, they are not in touch with their emotional responses and they experience a sense of paranoia.
Dissociatives: Teens who are into abusing ‘dissociative anesthetics’ tend to experience high blood pressure, increased heart rate, loss of memory, aggressiveness, irritability and even vomiting
Club Drugs: Teens who take club drugs like Ecstasy tend to get increasingly intimate with people, experience euphoria, is not able to sweat and gives in easily to sexual overtures.
Anabolic steroids: Teens who consume anabolic steroids tend to get irritated easily, experience rapid growth in muscle, loss of scalp hair, increase in acne etc.

As we know, drug addiction can be so highly embedded in the body and mind of the victim that when there is a withdrawal, the physical symptoms tend to be just about the opposite of how a person feels when getting high on these.  Parents have to make sure that they are in close watch about the changing behavior of their teens once they are addicted to drugs. They should not hesitate to bring their kids to teen rehab centers where comprehensive treatment is given to break their addiction and lead a drug free life as quickly as possible.

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As a parent you may surprised to see your teen being pulled for drinking. But that is not much to be surprised considering that a reputed teen treatment center at Oklahoma has pointed out that teenage drinking cases are on a definite rise.  So how do you know if your teenage child is abusing alcohol?

Symptoms and signs of alcohol abuse:

 Smell of alcohol on the body and breath:  One of the evident signs is the smell of alcohol on the breath and body of your child. However, it goes without saying that teens today are more proficient in covering this up.
 Bunking school: If your teen is bunking school and is not at home, you can be sure that he or she is up to something. One of them could be joining a group of friends and drinking at his or her place. It has been seen that boys tend to drink at nights or at a time between 3 pm and 6pm well before the parents could reach home from work.
 Change in the behavior:  Teenagers tends to behave in a brash manner, they tend to rebel and become verbally and physically abuse. Complaints of your son getting into fights with local kids and other boys from the school become frequent.
Lying: When the teen lies and makes excuses, there are apprehensions that some of them are related to alcohol abuse on the sly.
Alcohol paraphernalia:  Presence of alcohol paraphernalia like bottle tops, bottles, bills from a beer or liquor shop etc can definitely rouse suspicions.
Stealing: This happens when the teenager is so addicted that he would do anything to get his finances in place to buy a bottle or two. He may even steal things from home or a friend’s place to get money.
Change in friends: The alcohol addict will move to another set of friends who entertain him and encourage his drinking habits.

The risk factors for a teenager to drink at such an early age are due to the following factors according to information given by various teenage rehab programs:

Low parental supervision:   The parents are way too lenient and do not monitor or supervise on the kid’s activity, due to which he or she takes undue advantage.
Broken family: If the teenager comes from a broken family where people are always bickering and fighting or when there are physical and emotional tirades between his parents, the teenager may resort to drinking as an escape from the troubles at home.
 Strict parental discipline: As much as leniency on the part of parent is to be faulted, so is the tendency of parents to be very strict with the children. If you are too strict, the teenager begins to feel subdued. When he gets his advantage, he exploits it to the maximum, drinks a lot and then finds ways and means to feed his interest.
 Peer pressure: Teenagers succumb to peer pressure easily. Though this is a general statement and does not apply to all, there are quite a few who give into drinks, smoking drugs with little coaxing and egging.
 Thrill seeking attitude: Teenagers take to drinking because they want to feel like adults as they have seen their fathers and other adults drinking and making merry.
Family history of alcohol abuse: If a teen comes from the family of alcohol abuse, it is possible that he or she may also drink easily as a way to ‘get back’ at the people who drank heavily.
 Girls watch their mothers who drink and follow suit: Girls tend to be influenced by their mother’s attitude toward drinking. If they see their moms drinking, the teenage daughter also finds it ‘cool’ to drink and soon the addiction develops.

As parents, you have to closely supervise your teenage son and daughter’s behavior. If found drinking, instead of being very angry and livid, be cool and explain to them firmly but lovingly about how alcohol can harm their health and reputation. If things are out of control, it is better to take these children to adolescent treatment centers where due counseling and treatment can be given to make them sober and healthier soon. 

Alcohol addiction according to a leading teen treatment center is a negative habit of alcohol use that leads to a variety of problems which affected one’s health, society, interpersonal interactions, professions, and even one’s life. Teen alcohol addiction is something that cannot be brushed aside given the fact that there are rising incidences of alcohol abuse among adolescents. Cases of drunken driving and killing people are high among teenagers and people in their 20s and so are the health issues that a teenager faces like lack of zest for life, depression, teenage suicides etc.

 The teenager usually falls into the temptation of drinking alcohol by watching others doing it.  Subsequent rounds of drinking leads to a variety of problems like taking more alcohol to feel intoxicated, difficulties that happen due to alcohol withdrawal, the menace to the society, the violent behavior and the fact that most people shun off the company of an alcoholic are other effects that manifest from drinking too much alcohol.

 Like drugs, there are phases in which a teenager takes to alcohol. They are described here in a simple manner:

 Access to alcohol: This is the phase where a person may not actually consume it, but still he or she comes in contact with a place where drinks flow freely.  This can be in the form of a pub, a club, a friend’s place where people meet together for a round of drinks etc.
Experimentation with alcohol:  This phase is marked by the teenager trying to get into the habit of drinking alcohol. He tastes liquor and begins to like it. He then decides to frequent parties or join get-togethers where he has an opportunity to celebrate with rounds of booze.
 Increase in the frequency of alcohol: He starts to gel with other alcoholics and whenever they meet up, which is more often than not, there is alcohol flowing liberally.  The teenager finds it a lot of fun and thrilling to be party to alcohol and guzzle it with these ‘friends’ rather than be with sober friends. It is at this phase where he even mixes drinks with smoke or even drugs. At this stage, the teenager who does not have access to money may just steal money or ask some other friend to lend him money so that he could blow it on alcohol.
The fourth stage of alcohol addiction according to a teen rehab facility, is characterized by teens getting heavily intoxicated and developing health problems, educational problems, social problems and family problems.   The teen begins to fall sick and may even suffer from a weak immune system. The educational problem is in the form of falling grades and even suspension from the school.  Social problems happen when the society begins to not only shun the child but even the parents for fostering a drunken teenager that can be a bad influence to other kids.  Family problems is even worse when the parents reprimand, abuse or even slap their kids for drinking, something that the child may revolt by leaving the home and drinking even more.
The fifth stage is when the teenager actually feels normal and better by drinking. The sober state of life actually makes him feel uneasy and breathless, so much that he finds his sanity only by drinking. This can be a life-threatening state where the teen can take play with his life and even entertain suicidal thoughts.

It is better to take cognizance of the situation, act promptly and take your teenage son or daughter to the best adolescent treatment program and get treated in the best manner possible.