Naloxone has saved thousands of lives. But can patients be safely discharged from the Emergency Department (ED) just an hour after they receive the medication that curtails drug overdoses? According to the St. Paul’s Early Discharge Rule developed in 2000, that’s how long providers should observe patients after naloxone treatment, so long as their vital… Continue reading After Naloxone, When Can Opioid Overdose Patients Be Safely Discharged?
Category: Alcoholism and Drug Abuse
Alcohol, Not Drugs, Most Popular Among College Students
A federal survey on substance use among teens transitioning to adulthood showed that 13 percent of non-college young adults report daily, or near daily, use of marijuana. Among full-time college students, alcohol use is much more common. Those figures come from The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and its latest Monitoring the Future (MTF)… Continue reading Alcohol, Not Drugs, Most Popular Among College Students
How Nutrition Helps Recovery from Addiction
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, drug addiction is a chronic, relapsing brain disease. It is considered a brain disease because studies have shown that drugs and alcohol physically change the structure of the brain and how the brain works. Research has shown that a majority of addicts suffer from biochemical, nutritional, and… Continue reading How Nutrition Helps Recovery from Addiction
Stress and Habitual Drinking
Researchers are discovering more about the brain chemistry interactions between stress and alcohol. A team led by John Dani, PhD, chair of the department of Neuroscience in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, found that rodents that had been exposed to stress had a weakened alcohol-induced dopamine response and voluntarily drank… Continue reading Stress and Habitual Drinking
Stereotype about Native Americans’ Alcohol Abuse Is Wrong
Although conventional wisdom has long held that Native Americans have extremely high rates of alcohol abuse, University of Arizona researchers have found that Native Americans’ binge and heavy drinking rates actually match those of whites. According to a news release from the university, the groups did differ regarding abstinence: Native Americans were more likely to… Continue reading Stereotype about Native Americans’ Alcohol Abuse Is Wrong
Could “Dry January” Do More Harm Than Good?
Could alcohol abstinence campaigns like “Dry January” do more harm than good? Two experts debated the issue in a January 2016 issue of The BMJ . A release from the publisher explains that lack of evidence that such campaigns work and don’t have unintended consequences concerns Ian Hamilton, a lecturer at York University. The “Dry… Continue reading Could “Dry January” Do More Harm Than Good?
How to Drink Safely at Your Next Celebration
Whether it’s a friend’s birthday party, wedding reception or a company fete, celebratory events often have one thing in common: alcohol. Even for those who don’t normally have a problem with high-risk drinking, overdoing it at special occasions is almost accepted today as a societal norm—but that doesn’t mean it’s safe. According to Randy Haveson,… Continue reading How to Drink Safely at Your Next Celebration
6 Tips for Staying Sober This Holiday
Holidays can be a particularly trying time for those in recovery from addiction. Family stress and parties filled with temptation can make this time of year a true test of willpower. To help those faced with addiction this holiday season, Sober Grid is providing helpful tips for staying sober. Sober Grid is a free smartphone… Continue reading 6 Tips for Staying Sober This Holiday
A Better Understanding of Alcoholism
A cure for alcoholism and other addiction could be closer to realization thanks to researchers’ discovery of a neuron that determines whether one drink leads to two. A study, published in the Journal of Neuroscience by researchers at the Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine, finds that alcohol consumption alters the structure and… Continue reading A Better Understanding of Alcoholism
Alcohol Awareness Month: How Much Are You Drinking?
Editor’s Note: April is Alcohol Awareness Month, a good time to increase awareness of the public-health issue that is alcohol misuse. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), in 2006 alcohol misuse problems cost the U.S. the staggering amount of $224 billion, primarily from los productivity but also from health care… Continue reading Alcohol Awareness Month: How Much Are You Drinking?
The Drug/Alcohol Combination: Are You Putting Yourself in Danger?
Although it’s well known that certain drugs can interact with each other (that’s why it’s important that health-care providers know all the medications a patient is taking), the interaction of medicine with alcohol presents an equal, if not greater, problem. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), many common prescription medicines can interact badly… Continue reading The Drug/Alcohol Combination: Are You Putting Yourself in Danger?
Retirees Need Help in Addressing Substance-Abuse Issues
Researchers say that older Americans suffering from substance abuse often do so not because of retirement alone but because of many circumstances, such as the death of loved ones, that occur at that stage of life. Currently, close to three million Americans aged 55 and older suffer from alcohol abuse — and that is expected… Continue reading Retirees Need Help in Addressing Substance-Abuse Issues
Should You Rethink How You Drink?
Developing alcoholism isn’t something that happens overnight. According to the National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse (NIAA), which has a program called “Rethinking Your Drinking,” there are deceptively mild symptoms that can indicate the start of a drinking problem. If you’re aware of the signs, you can recognize them early enough to make a… Continue reading Should You Rethink How You Drink?