The short-term effects of drug abuse can feel positive. Euphoric highs, feelings of invincibility, and lush visions may all seem attractive. However, drug abuse over time can impact multiple areas of health and wellness, so all areas of personal well-being should be monitored for changes by a physician. Understanding the long-term effects of drug abuse may help individuals make more informed decisions.
If you take one or more prescription medications to manage a health condition, special attention should be paid to how the drugs you take affect your nutritional status.
The abuse of prescription and illegal narcotic drugs can have devastating effects on both the user and the family. These adverse effects include physical, mental and emotional damage as well as the loss of financial independenc...
Drug abuse can result in serious behavioral and emotional changes that ultimately destroy a person's life. The negative effects from drug abuse can have immediate and long-term consequences. Careers have been ruined and familie...
Inhalants such as glue or aerosols have been abused to this end, with disastrous consequences. At other times, legitimate pharmaceutical products are used in excessive dosages by persons to whom they haven't been prescribed. ...
Oxycodone is an opioid that has become notorious of late due to several well-publicized instances of celebrity drug abuse involving this particular mediation. Opioids attach to receptors in the brain to diminish the feeling of ...
According to MedlinePlus, drug abuse is any improper use of medication that is ongoing for at least a year and has negative consequences for the abuser. The medical text "Addiction Medicine: An Evidence-Based Handbook" explains...
Drug abuse causes significant mental and physical side effects in users. Frequently starting from recreational use, drug abuse can become a habit that causes problems in relationships, the workplace and with the law. Common si...
Drug abuse has a number of negative effects on a family, which include tearing the family apart, loss of employment, failure in school, increasing domestic violence, child abuse, and other crimes. It is a complex disorder that ...
population. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration noted in 2008 that 20 million Americans age 12 and older use illegal drugs. Drug abuse alters the brain, impairs the body and creates a vicious cycle of ...
Abuse of any type of drug, regardless of whether the drug is legal or illegal, can have an effect on the nervous system. The nervous system consists of the brain, spinal cord, nerve fibers and specialized nerve cells throughout...
Substances such as marijuana, cocaine, heroin, abused painkillers and alcohol, taken regularly for extended periods, will damage a person's body. Unless the person seeks treatment for his drug addiction, the damage will continue.
Dextromethorphan works by inhibiting the nerves involved in the cough reflex, which lessens the urge to cough. Despite its presence in over-the-counter medications, there are a number of risks associated with dextromethorphan u...
Some drugs, such as alcohol, caffeine and nicotine, are legally sanctioned. Others are used illicitly. Regardless of whether a mind-altering substance is used legally or illegally, its abuse can produce damaging effects on ...
Drugs are limited not only to psychological effects but also can be detrimental to the body. The damage caused by drug abuse can be widespread and possibly long-term. In some instances, the relation between drug intake and phys...
Intravenous drug use can cause many health problems; disease processes flourish with this type of drug self-administration. Continued abuse of intravenous, or IV, drugs--whether street drugs or prescription pharmaceuticals--can...
People 65 and older may increase their risks for drug abuse because they become more likely to use long-term prescription medicine as well as multiple medications. Elderly people may also take over-the-counter medicine and diet...
Drug abuse can affect individuals, relationships and society, but the specific effects depend on the specific drug of abuse. Both street drugs and legal drugs, such as prescription medication or legally purchased alcohol, can b...
Drug abuse negatively affects all aspects of people's lives and even though they are aware of these bad effects, their desire to use the drug overpowers their desire for positive relationships and success in work or school.
Medical effects may vary with the drug abused. For example, Dr. Gwinnell says cocaine abusers risk stroke, kidney failure and respiratory failure. Chronic marijuana abusers risk bronchitis and lung cancer. Anabolic steroid ...
Drug abuse can be devastating to family life, economics, physical health and productivity. A great deal of federal and state money is dedicated to treating those addicted to illegal drugs each year. Drug abuse is a serious pub...
About 9 percent of all children live in a home with at least one parent who abuses or is addicted to alcohol or an illicit drug, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, or SAMHSA. When a pare...
In 2008, 47 percent of Americans over the age of 12 had tried an illicit drug, according to Drug War Facts. Prescription drug abuse in adolescents, older adults and women is on the rise, says the National Institute on Drug Abus...
This represents 8 percent of the population age 12 and older using drugs such as marijuana, hashish, cocaine, crack, hallucinogens, inhalants and prescription drugs. The effects of drug abuse can be far reaching for every age g...
Three million women use prescription drugs illicitly. The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecology, or ACOG, reports that 1 in 10 babies are born to mothers who abused drugs during pregnancy. Substance abuse can have d...
People who suffer from drug abuse tend to develop an addiction to the drug, or they have a compulsion to use it. The effects of drug abuse involve the person who takes the drug and those around her.
Maternal drug abuse with legal or illegal drugs has continued to rise over time. All drugs of abuse reach the fetus during pregnancy. Once the umbilical cord is cut in the delivery room, the baby must be closely monitored for s...
Drugs can also lead to child neglect and other problems that some states classify as child abuse. For this reason, it is important that parents with substance abuse problems be entered into treatment as fast as possible to mini...
Marijuana is the most frequently abused illegal drug in America. It's derived from the plant Cannabis sativa and its primary chemical is tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). To receive the desired effect, you either smoke or orally inge...
According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, results from a 2001 national household survey on drug abuse found that 2.5 million women are estimated to be alcohol dependent and 12 percent of pregna...
Hair follicle tests determine if individuals use illegal substances or performance enhancing medications. These tests prove useful for testing employees, athletes and students. Hair follicle tests can detect substances used for...
Drug abuse during pregnancy is responsible for a surprising amount of birth defects and other adverse outcomes for the baby. The types of defects that can occur depend on which drug is used, how much is used and the timing duri...
The effects of substance or drug abuse on a family are multi-faceted, and effects may vary from family to family based on a myriad of factors. Despite this, families affected by drug abuse share one thing in common---they live ...
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, drugs will alter gene expression and the way in which the brain functions. These changes interfere with your ability to make a voluntary decision and will lead to compulsive be...
Perinatal substance abuse is a public health problem with complex issues and enormous social costs. Not all drug use should be stopped abruptly during pregnancy; there may be less harmful effects from weaning off slowly under m...
Drug abuse is an increasingly common problem in the United States that affects up to 8 percent of Americans. According to the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, drug abuse is a "maladap...
Someone who abuses drugs is affected emotionally and physically. Drug abuse can take over a person's life, wreaking havoc on the person's health, career and relationships. Many times, drug abuse is linked with other mental heal...
Abuse of drugs, whether prescription or "street" drugs, has a range of deleterious effects on the user, the people surrounding him and even society at large. It is one of the most serious problems affecting almost every society...
The quest for a pleasant high or escape may seem appealing to users when first indulging in the distorted world of drugs. But drugs can produce negative effects and carry long-term consequences ranging from permanent damage to ...
Drug abuse can damage many parts of the body, including the respiratory system. While smoking is a well-known cause of lung disease, injecting drugs can lead to life-threatening respiratory conditions as well. Avoiding drug a...
Drug abuse can be harmful to a person's health on a mental, emotional and physical level, and it can affect other people besides the drug abuser. All drugs come with their own set of health problems when they are used and abuse...
Once the patent on a "name brand" medication expires, it allows other companies to make the same medication in "generic" form. These medications are commonly much cheaper, but the price difference as well as perceived problems ...
