Archive for January 24th, 2012
Crack Addiction Rehabilitation – A Crucial Need
Tuesday, January 24th, 2012Though the urban crack wars of the 1980s have passed into legend, there is still today a pressing need for crack cocaine treatment program. The drug is so strong that just one smoke can turn a would-be recreational user into a hardened addict. One use can also kill. Since the drug is notoriously inexpensive, it preys upon those least able to fend it off, damaging entire neighborhoods.
Source
The South American cocoa leaf is the source for cocaine and all its derivatives. The Indians habitually sucked or chewed the leaf for its stimulant properties. Those properties were relatively weak. However, chemists discovered the active ingredient and processed the leaf into true cocaine in the mid 19th Century. It wasn’t till the 1980s that drug dealers derived a form that could be smoked without risking blowing themselves up.
Effects
Once the user smokes crack, it only takes 8 to 10 seconds before a huge dopamine spike asserts itself. The expression of this spike is a strong feeling of elation. That elation doesn’t last long, though, perhaps 10 minutes. What follows is an equally huge “crash” that leaves the user eager to have that just-passed elation return, which seemed to obliterate all the user’s worldly concerns if only for a few minutes.
Responsibility
Tantalizingly, that feeling only takes a few dollars, so it’s never far away. The user quickly gets caught in a treadmill of going from hit to hit, with the greatest terror being the possibility of ever touching the ground. The drug becomes all the user cares about. Any earlier commitment, up to and including the family bond, loses all importance. Addicts have been known to sell off everything of value, to steal and borrow from others, or become prostitutes, rather than give up their high.
Physical Symptoms
Numerous physical afflictions join this deterioration of life. These include everything from seizures to strokes. Addicts are subject to auditory hallucinations. They might have trouble breathing and after a time, their lungs might collapse. The use of the drug also damages the heart and circulatory system. The heartbeat itself might grow irregular. Addicts are also subject to heart attracts.
Treatment
Treatment begins with detoxification, which takes place on an inpatient basis in a controlled environment such as a hospital. Withdrawal from any cocaine addiction can continue for several days to a week, and is indicated by craving the drug, irritability, sleep problems and loss of appetite. The patient may be administered propranolol to ease the withdrawal and vigabatrin to treat seizures.
Psychological Help
After medical detox, the psychological aspects of the abuse must be treated as well. Those without permanent damage or whose addiction had been less pernicious, can be treated through counseling on an outpatient basis. However, others will have to come to “rehab” or a treatment center as an inpatient client. Afterward, the patient might be placed in a group home for recovering addicts, monitored by a social worker or therapist.
Discretizations
Tuesday, January 24th, 2012Our cooties would make beautiful music together.
This is the difference between case series and cohort studies.
Why does socioeconomic status influence cancer survival?
Caffeine and endometrial cancer: Drink up.
Happy New Year Again Columbus
Tuesday, January 24th, 2012
Happy Chinese New Year… Columbus.
The Chinese New Year is the Spring Festival. Doesn’t it feel like spring out there this morning? The thermometer here says 48 degrees. The sky is blue. I hear rain and high winds are on their way!!!!
I wish I had a dragon photo to post here but I do not. Last year was the year of the rabbit so I had photos.
Happy Chinese New Year Columbus!
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