In recent years, a new trend had seen in many countries, an alarming trend, specifically amongst teenagers in the form of sharing prescription medication. Because of this, many different studies have been performed to determine the extent of the problem so it can be addressed and resolved. The results of these studies were even more alarming than the fact that prescription medication sharing occurs at all.
Studies have already found that more teenage girls, than boys are doing this. Why is not quite known, but over 13% of teenage girls say they have either taken someone else’s prescription, or have given their own prescription to someone else. The sharing of prescriptions start out innocently enough most times. Someone has a friend who’s in pain or “stressed out” and another friend offers up what they take to relieve them of the same problem.
The girls claim they share their meds with a friend because she takes the same meds and is out at the time needed, or a parent uses the same meds and they don’t feel that sharing is bad because the medication is the same. It’s still not understood why girls do this more than boys, other than girls seem to go through more “growing pains” than boys do.
Even though the intention of sharing the medications with friends starts out innocently enough, it can still be a costly mistake because doses may be different for one person and not the other. Even vitamins should not be hared with others because what works for one may cause health problems for another. For example, if medicine is prescribed to work with that person’s own chemistry. Another person’s chemistry may be different and if given the same type of medicine, could cause a terrible reaction with another person’s chemistry.
A really dangerous medication is a teratogenic prescription. This medication causes birth defects and if a girl who doesn’t know she’s pregnant yet, it can cause serious damage to the child she’s carrying. Many teenagers are turning away from the street drugs such as crack, heroin, pot, and even crystal meth because they can use their parents painkillers to get high from, and they can usually get these for free. It’s starting to become a very serious problem for our teenagers today. They’ve even given themselves like Generation X.
Many home medicine cabinets are full of all kinds of different prescription drugs. With mom or dad suffering from anxiety, migraines, depression, and back pain, these kids have a huge choice on what to take today. If you have a teenager in your home today, sit them down and talk to them about this. Don’t accuse, but talk to them about the dangers of using someone else’s prescription drugs. Many teenagers are ending up in emergency rooms today from taking someone’s meds. They have different reactions, but many teenagers fall into unconsciousness and sometimes never wake up again, or causing brain damage so server that the ability to learn anything ever again is gone.
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