✅Substance abuse: symptoms, consequences, treatment

Causes of substance abuse

It is obvious that using household and chemical substances for other purposes is dangerous to life. But most often, substance abuse develops in childhood and adolescence, when they simply don’t think about the consequences.

The main reasons for use can be called:

desire to try new things;
"bad Company;
emotional instability;
inability to refuse;
imitation of peers, the majority,
bad manners;
weak will;
lack of education;
dysfunctional family;
misunderstanding and mistrust in the family;
lack of love from parents;
lack of funds for drugs or alcohol.

Literature:

Fundamentals of social medicine [Text]: educational and methodological manual for organizing independent work of students / Z. N. Khismatullina; Kazan State Technological University - Kazan: KSTU, 2011. – 84 p.
Addictology (Federal State Educational Standard of Higher Professional Education): an illustrated textbook for students of higher educational institutions of the humanities (all levels of training) / B. R. Mandel. — Moscow: DirectMEDIA, 2014. — 535 p.
Psychiatry for everyone: popular. reference / O. F. Eryshev, A. M. Sprints. - St. Petersburg. ; M.: Neva, 2005. – 376 p.

How does substance abuse develop?

Inhalation of volatile vapors from gasoline, glue, paint, and solvent causes colorful hallucinations. For the first time, a person experiences real pleasure, the severity of which depends on the concentration of the substance and the depth of inspiration. Then negative consequences appear: nausea, vomiting, headache. Gradually, each time, the body learns to cope with unpleasant symptoms and substance abuse becomes a habit, causing addiction. Euphoria takes over a person's consciousness. Tolerance develops. And after some time, refusing to inhale chemicals causes real withdrawal.

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Specialists at our medical center provide anonymous treatment in Moscow for various types of addiction.
We treat alcohol addiction, code, and get rid of binge drinking. Our drug addiction specialists also treat patients suffering from drug addiction and substance abuse. We take an individual approach to the treatment of each patient and guarantee fast, stable results. During the treatment process, our specialists use medications, psychological influences and other modern therapeutic methods.

What do substance abusers use?

Most often, substance abusers, due to lack of funds, use easily accessible household products, such as:

Remote

With prolonged use of toxic gases, the following develops:

lung diseases - from chronic runny nose, pharyngitis to lung cancer;
the bone marrow is affected, which leads to leukemia and a sharp weakening of the immune system;
the liver is destroyed - cirrhosis is a common cause of death for substance abusers;
toxic encephalopathy of the brain is observed.

Lighter gas addicts often become victims of accidents at home, on the roadway. It is not uncommon among them to die from suffocation due to blockage of the respiratory tract with vomit, pulmonary edema in response to the penetration of lighter gas vapors into the bronchi and alveoli.

Symptoms of substance abuse

The euphoria of substance abuse does not last long. In a short period of time, a person manages to experience 3 phases of exposure to the substance. At first, the mood rises, a pleasant warmth spreads throughout the body, and there is a little noise in the head. If you interrupt the session, the euphoria will pass and only negative feelings will remain. If you continue to inhale, the second phrase of unbridled joy begins. Many teenagers stop the session at this phase. At the third stage, cartoons appear - vivid hallucinations. This phase is life-threatening because the substance completely takes over the consciousness of the user.

After the so-called session, withdrawal syndrome develops. The whole body feels broken. My head hurts. The person feels sick and vomits.

Treatment of toxic addiction

It is dealt with by a narcologist. It includes:

avoiding the use of poisons;
elimination of withdrawal symptoms;
restoration of damaged organs and systems;
work with mental dependence.

At first, inpatient treatment is recommended. It allows you to isolate the patient from their usual environment, prevents the possibility of use, eliminates intoxication, and helps to more easily survive the consequences of withdrawal.

Additionally, the doctor may prescribe a complex of vitamins in injections, medications to support the liver, heart, and medications to correct mental disorders.

After discharge, the patient awaits a long course of work with a psychotherapist and monitoring by a narcologist. The rehabilitation course is long, because the harm of substance abuse on the development of the body and psyche (especially when it comes to minor patients) is enormous. Parents need to keep the situation under control and follow all recommendations of specialists.

Health implications

Substance abuse harms not only a person’s physical health, but also a person’s social status. The use of chemical substances damages the human psyche.

With constant inhalation the following develop:

chronic intoxication of the body,
insomnia,
chemical burns of the respiratory system,
degeneration of organ structure,
various diseases of the cardiovascular system,
depression,
brain damage.

There is a high risk of delirium and dementia. But the worst thing is that many of the consequences are irreversible.

(for parents with teenage children)

Substance abuse among adolescents is a serious problem for modern society, although there is an opinion that this phenomenon is much less dangerous than drug addiction. But due to its destructive effect on the body of children and adolescents, the availability of toxic substances used, and the speed of development of mental dependence, this disease poses a serious threat.

It is not customary among narcologists to divide patients into substance abusers and drug addicts: both diseases develop according to similar principles and are subject to serious professional treatment. The only difference is in the drugs used - drug addicts take non-narcotic chemicals.

Types of substance abuse

In substance abuse, a person uses chemical compounds with hallucinogenic and intoxicating effects. The method of introducing them into the body is through the lungs, by inhaling vapors. Thus, the toxic compound directly affects the brain, poisoning it and causing the death of nerve cells - neurons, resulting in intoxication. When administered by other methods, this chemical compound is usually too toxic or does not produce a hallucinogenic effect.

The following types of substance abuse are distinguished depending on the substances used:

Household and industrial chemicals: solvents, paints, varnishes, gasoline, ether, glue containing toluene.
Gas addiction: propane, butane, isobutane. When the vapors of these substances are inhaled, the hydrocarbons they contain poison the central nervous system. They quickly destroy brain barriers, causing irreversible changes in the cerebral cortex and loss of intelligence. Some of them are also present in laundry or detergents.
Drug addiction: sleeping pills and tranquilizers, central nervous system stimulants, antihistamines, anticholinergics. The harm in this case depends on the type of medicine taken.
In general, when they talk about this problem, they mean substance abuse with gasoline and other readily available substances from the group of hydrocarbons: varnishes, paints, gases.

The harm of substance abuse

Toxic substances cause chronic poisoning of the body, mental and physical dependence develops. From the point of view of biological processes, substance abuse is no different from drug addiction. Gasoline addiction, for example, its consequences are as dangerous as heroin addiction.

According to statistics, a significant part of substance abusers are teenagers aged 10 to 16 years. They begin to use toxic substances, seeking new sensations. As a rule, children are drawn into this activity by an older, experienced drug addict. The main harm of substance abuse to society lies in the targeting of the disease to the younger generation.

The physical danger lies in the irreversible destruction of the organic structures of the brain, disruption of the lungs, heart, liver and kidneys, and the death of adolescents from an overdose. Substance abuse and its consequences have great social significance: a teenager’s psyche is disturbed, he lags behind his peers in development, does not master the school curriculum and stops attending school. As a result, he becomes isolated in his addiction and completely falls out of society.

A drug addict cannot return to normal life even if he is cured - irreversible damage to the cerebral cortex makes him disabled.

How does substance abuse manifest?

Externally, the state after consuming toxic substances is similar to intoxication from alcohol. Signs of substance abuse are also similar to behavioral disorders in drug addicts. There are also symptoms that develop as a result of the effects of poison on the body as a whole. A few days after the first sessions, substance abusers develop a runny nose, inflammation of the mucous membrane of the eyes, and then bronchitis may develop. Also characteristic:

lethargy;
sudden mood swings;
developmental delay;
•dependence on substances used.

The social consequences of substance abuse are visible: the social circle changes, it includes the same substance abusers or children with delayed mental development. Unmotivated aggression develops, and reports to the police are not uncommon.

How addiction develops

When a toxic substance is inhaled, the first signs appear after 5 minutes - dizziness, tinnitus, fog in the head. After 7–10 minutes, coordination disorder develops. After another 3 minutes, euphoria, nervous excitement, and unbridled fun sets in. Then hallucinations occur for 10–15 minutes. In this case, subjective time is stretched. Then a decline occurs, and the drug addict inhales the substance again, doing up to 7-8 such cycles.

Mental dependence in substance abuse can develop after 2-3 uses. The teenager is overcome by the desire to experience euphoria and hallucinations again; without such sensations, discomfort arises. The drug addict forgets the phase between inhalation and the appearance of hallucinations - he does not remember the unpleasant sensations, but he remembers the euphoria. He begins to regularly inhale toxic substances, seeks means to fulfill his mania, it becomes the meaning of his life.

Physical dependence develops more slowly, over 1–2 months. At first, it is enough for substance abusers to use once every 3-4 days, then they quickly slip into daily use. As a result, the toxic substance is taken twice a day - morning and evening. Substance abuse is characterized by a rapid increase in dose - within a month it increases 4–5 times, and the state of intoxication is shortened to 1–2 hours. At the same time, the body’s reaction to the toxin weakens - inflammation of the mucous membranes, palpitations and shortness of breath are less pronounced.

Lung cancer is a consequence of substance abuse

As a result of cessation of use, disorders of the central and autonomic nervous system occur - withdrawal syndrome, or withdrawal syndrome. It is one of the consequences of substance abuse. Drug addicts call it withdrawal. It develops after the inhalation of the substance has stopped and lasts until the next dose; if the toxic drug is not available, it lasts for about 5 days.

Consequences of substance abuse

The disease has serious consequences both for the individual and for society as a whole. As a result of the use of toxic substances, the need to experience euphoria quickly develops, and due to the body’s addiction to the toxic effect, even significant doses are no longer effective. Therefore, those substance abusers who did not die from exposure to poison become drug addicts, that is, they switch to using narcotic drugs.

The physical health consequences of substance abuse may include:

respiratory tract burns;
cirrhosis of the liver;
lungs' cancer;
lung abscess and its complications - pulmonary hemorrhages, degeneration of lung tissue, degeneration of the structure of internal organs;
pathology of cardiac activity - heart attack, hypertension, heart defects;
benign and malignant kidney tumors;
inflammation of the mucous membrane of the stomach and intestines.

Propane, butane, and isobutane, when inhaled, can cause atrial fibrillation, which can be followed by death.

In 2 years, toxins, if they do not kill, then make a person disabled, suffering from dementia. The brain, liver, and lungs suffer most from poisons.

Chronic gas poisoning of the brain leads to toxic encephalopathy. Outwardly, this is manifested by delayed development and a catastrophic decline in intelligence. The teenager's range of interests is limited to a single desire - to breathe in a couple of poisons again.

Teenagers are unable to concentrate on the lesson, fall sharply behind the program, and are unable to master new material.

Passive intoxication

There is such a thing as passive substance abuse. A person may be exposed to chemicals without wanting it, for example, during renovation work in a residential area, etc. As a result of inhaling fumes of toxic substances, intoxication and hallucinations may develop. As a rule, this happens in a closed, unventilated room.

To avoid passive poisoning, it is recommended to use personal protective equipment - gas masks and respirators when handling chemical products. There are many cases where, after renovation with low-quality finishing materials, a closed room turned into a gas chamber. That is, people living in these conditions may well become victims of toxic poisoning.