Drug Dependence & Abuse
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Drug Dependence & Abuse Overview
Drug abuse and drug dependence represent different ends of the same disease process.
Drug abuse is an intense desire to obtain increasing amounts of a particular substance or substances to the exclusion of all other activities.
Drug dependence is the body's physical need, or addiction, to a specific agent. Over the long term, this dependence results in physical harm, behavior problems, and association with people who also abuse drugs. Stopping the use of the drug can result in a specific withdrawal syndrome.
- Drug abuse is a common problem that plagues all ethnic groups and social classes worldwide. Control of drug abuse is a top priority of the United States Surgeon General as outlined in the Healthy People 2010 goals for the nation.
- Different people will be affected by drugs in different ways. Some people are more prone to addiction than others.
- Drug abuse and dependence is a disease and not a character defect. A person being treated for this condition requires the same respect as a person with any other medical condition.
- A person who abuses drugs may not realize that he or she has a problem. Family members often bring the abuse to the attention of a health care provider. Unfortunately, some people who abuse drugs only realize they have a problem after they have been arrested for a drug-related problem.
- A wide variety of substances can be abused. These take the form of illegal drugs (such as phencyclidine known as PCP and heroin), plant products (such as marijuana or hallucinogenic mushrooms), chemicals (the inhalation of gasoline, for example), or prescription medications. More information can be found at the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
- Substances can be taken into the body in several ways:
- In addition to health care costs from drug abuse, society pays a huge price for this disease.
- Monetary costs from theft by abusers to support their drug habits
- Additional tax money to pay for law enforcement agencies, including the US Coast Guard
- Loss to society of the potential contributions the drug abuser would have made to his or her community had he or she remained sober and productive
Next: Drug Dependence & Abuse Causes »
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What Is Pain?
When you first experience pain, it is a symptom of illness or injury in the part of your body that is having the pain. The sudden onset of pain is called acute pain. It gets your attention and prompts you to take action to prevent further worsening of the condition causing the pain. This could be a simple action such as the reflex that makes you jerk your hand off a hot stove, or it could be more complex such as cooling, resting, or elevating an injured ankle. Or the pain could prompt you to see a doctor.
We take for granted that we will feel good most of the time. When pain strikes, we feel bad. Pain interrupts our work, our recreation, and our relationships with our families. Comfort, that is, not being in pain, is one of your goals if you are sick and should be one of the goals of treatment for the doctor who is treating you for any illness, but especially for an illness associated with chronic pain.
Once the cause of your pain is found and pr...
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