The Abuse of Cough Medicine is On the Rise
With fall on its way and the cold and flu season coming around, Federal regulators are taking a close look at the abuse of some cough medicines.
As you may already remember, the Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act of 2005 regulated the sale of over-the-counter medications that have pseudoephedrine since it is a common ingredient in methamphetamine.
Well now the government is looking into dextromethorphan. It can be found in many common cough suppressants and while it is helpful for someone who is suffering from a cold, it can be dangerous if taken in high doses.
“Robotripping” involves taking over 25 times the normal amount of a cough suppressant that contains this ingredient. This practice has been observed mainly in teens, but that doesn’t mean that emergency room staff have not also seen adults come in after suffering the adverse effects of this type of substance abuse.
Those who do try it may experience an increase in their heart rate and blood pressure and fever. While “robotrippers” hope to experience an altered mental state, they may not realize that cough suppressant has all kinds of ingredients that they are taking at a high dosage, along with the dextromethorphan. For example, so cough syrups contain acetominophen to relieve aches and pains; a high dosage of this can damage the liver. And if they decide to mix another drug into the cough suppressant, they can suffer from combining substances that should not be taken together.
Unfortunately, as this example shows, the possibility of substance abuse is all around. A person does not have to take an illegal substance to end up with a substance abuse problem.
At Transitions Drug and Alcohol Rehab Center, we work to get to the root cause of substance abuse, so whether it is drug abuse, alcohol abuse or an eating disorder, we help our clients develop a new outlook on life so they do not have to use a substance to cope. We understand that every addict deserves a fresh start. We work on building strong human will, balancing lifestyle and putting our patients back on track. We offer hope and assistance to those who want to take back their lives from substance abuse, drug addiction and alcoholism.
