When a person is experiencing heart problems there are ways to determine why it’s happening. You can do an EKG or use a pulse oximeter to determine things about the heart. You can test the blood pressure and do some cardiovascular tests to figure out what the problem is. The point being, with the heart there are clear cut tests to figure out why things happen the way they do.

But what about the tests you can perform when someone is suffering from a crippling drug addiction? Those tests are not that easy to figure out. Here are some of the theories and how researches examine those theories.

The most widely used theory is that a disease or addiction is hereditary. This means that it’s in the genes of a person and is passed down from the mother, father, or both. This is pretty common but those who have their doubts wonder if it has more to do with a learned behavior or if it’s simply an unavoidable gene?

So how do researchers determine the difference between a learned behavior and that which is hereditary? The first thing they have to do is discover the household in which an addict was raised. If a parent battled with addiction and the child was there to witness the addiction, then it is believed that the addiction is a learned behavior more than it is a hereditary effect. However, in the situation that the parents were severe alcoholics but the addict grows up to be addicted to prescription medications, there is some truth to the idea that it is more in the genes than it is anything else because why not mimic the exact pattern of addiction if it were a learned behavior. But so long as there are addicts there will be researchers trying to figure them out.

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Prescription addiction is increasing in society today. Those caught up in it come from all subcultures and ages, however studies behind addiction show that self medicating quickly spirals out of control. The most commonly abused medications are painkillers, stimulants which treat disorders like ADHD, and central nervous system depressants which treat behavioral conditions. Because the medicines were once prescribed by a doctor, people feel that they are not addictive.

What begins as pain relief escalates to dependence and becomes addiction. Prescription addicts come to depend on the drugs to feel better and crave them in between doses. An example would be when a doctor prescribes tranquilisers after a trauma. The person feels calmer and is able to sleep better, so he takes it more often than the doctor prescribed. When it is finished, he returns to the doctor for more, and the cycle begins, possibly leading to addiction.

Sometimes it is difficult to tell whether it is addiction or whether the physical condition causing the need for the drugs has worsened and so increased dosages are needed. The problem with painkillers is that their purpose is to eliminate the debilitating pain that the individual is living with, however the symptom is treated, rather than the cause. Because the symptom persists, painkillers are often prescribed over a lengthy period of time, which can cause a dependence on them.

Prescription drug rehab centers help with addiction to prescription drugs. Inpatient treatment ensures that medication given is monitored while the individual receives help. Treatments for prescription drugs are similar to treatments for illegal drugs, both give patients a second chance.

Prescription drug abuse is not a new problem and it is vital that we are aware of the dangers associated with the abuse of prescription medications. Help is available, so it is not necessary to remain trapped in the vicious cycle of prescription addiction.

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Addictions and Probable Causes

No one knows for sure what can cause a person to become addicted to a substance. There are two potential causes:

• Exposure to the substance may increase the chances of an addiction. The constant display of it can overwhelm a person, reducing the will to resist. Coping mechanisms can include reducing the person’s exposure to the substance. This may include changing the people the person is around who may ignite a desire for the substance.

• No available alternative or options to replace the addiction. For example, this can mean replacing alcoholic beverages with beverages that have a reduced alcoholic content or no alcohol at all. For smoker’s, an alternative is using products from an electronic cigarette company in place of cigarettes. These options can help a person reduce the dependency on the substance or eliminate it altogether.

How to Help Those Who Suffer with Addictions

For those who have family members suffering from addictions, there are certain things they can do to help the person cope with the issue:

• Place them in some form of counseling to help remedy the problem. It can be drug abuse counseling, behavioral counseling, or psychological counseling. Getting professional help for the individual is one of the first things to do in order to handle the problem effectively.

• Become actively involved in the rehabilitation and help the person find ways and strategies to effectively cope with the addiction. Enlist the efforts of all family members and friends. A total group effort ensures the person has support at all times.

• Continue to educate the addicted person and those around her about the dangers of addiction and alternative options to help her overcome the dependency and damaging behavior she’s adopted. Doing this will help the individual find and enjoy a long-term, successful recovery from the addiction.

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It seems that the people who are affected the most by an addiction is not the person who suffers from the illness, but those around him. Family, friends and other loved ones are sometimes the helpless victims who have to watch the one they care about be overtaken in an overwhelming addiction. They may feel that there’s nothing they can do to help them, or it may seem to them that the person is so far beyond help, that any intervention is useless.

Addiction of any kind is not a state of complete helplessness. There is something that interested family and loved ones can do to help the person with the addiction find relief and help for their circumstances.  If you are a chain smoker and not able to quit smoking, use electronic cigarette as its less harmful than ordinary cigarettes.

- Intervention
Family members getting involved with the addict is one of the key things that they can do to help them towards a path to recovery. Face the addicted person and let them know that you’re willing to help in any way that you can. It may also help, depending on the situation, to be aggressive in your intervention tactics as you convey to them that you’re willing to do whatever it takes to help them get well.

- Find Resources
Oftentimes, what lacks most in helping an addict recover is a lack of available resources. Family members should seek out and ask for referrals to specialized clinics to help the addicted person in their recovery. If they become involved with professional counselors who are trained to specifically deal with their situation, there’s likely to be a better chance towards recovery success.

- Be Consistent
This means to always follow up with resources, make sure the addict goes to their appointments as scheduled, enforce the recovery plan as needed and help them to keep a schedule of things to do to retain their recovery.

All three of these plans of action are important and family members are a large part of their success. The addicts problem affects everyone, including family, and recovery can and should be enjoyed by everyone as well.

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Mood-altering drugs are medications that alters a person’s behavior or reaction to a situation, or they can create a euphoric feeling and even make the person hallucinogenic.

There are several different types of mood-altering drugs that have various effects on the body. Physicians may subscribe particular drugs to patients to help them with stress, pain or sleeplessness. Drugs can and are also frequently found on the black market, meaning, they’re gained illegally and are used for illegal purposes.

Following is a list of popular mood-altering drugs, some of which have their clinical names and descriptions and some with the popular street names that they’re known by.

Stimulants

This is a class of drugs that is known to stimulate a person or cause hyperactivity. They’re taken specifically for the purposes of gaining energy and are known to increase the heart rate. Most often, stimulants can be addictive if taken over a long period of time. Some stimulants include:

- Caffeine (found in coffee, soft drinks and energy sport drinks)
- Nicotine (cigarette and tobacco products)
- Cocaine (also known as crack and is highly addictive; also illegal
- Methamphetamine (found mostly in diet drugs)

Psycho-Stimulants

Psycho-stimulants are also stimulator drugs that both increase a person’s hear rate and produces a euphoric feeling. These medications include:

- Amphetamines
- Methylphenadate
- Cylert
- Dexadrine
- Diet pills (both prescription and over-the-counter pills)

Opioid (a.k.a. pain killers)

Opioids are found within medication as a chemical that binds to the opioid receptors in the brain and are found primarily i the central nervous system. They work to decrease the perception and the tolerance level of pain in the body. Opioids can be either legally prescribed or sold as illegal drugs. Opioids also give a euphoric feeling. They include:

- Codeine
- Morphine
- Oxycodone
- Methadone

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Unfortunately, many times people look for good health in a pill, potion, drink or salve. They may pursue the latest and greatest thing on the market, only to find that the marketing worked quite well, but they did not get the results they expected. Although in some cases, people may experience great results from using a particular product, it is by far the exception to the rule. Most attempts at achieving quick results fast are disappointing and frustrating. The road to good health is simple and very basic, and won’t cost a lot of money to find.

Good health starts with understanding basic things like exercise, healthy eating and proper rest. While the average person may have heard these things said numerous times, here’s why they are so basic:

Exercise
It stimulates growth hormones in the body, especially muscles and energizes the body to perform at its optimal best. If a person exercises on a consistent basis, they are likely to see long-term results that are going to last. Exercises that are performed at a consistent, routine pace are better for the body than quick, hard exercises that are done on occasion.

Healthy Eating
Eating right is not a one-time deal, but it is a lifestyle change. It should be incorporated into a person’s life slowly and deliberately. If it’s done too quick, it’s likely to not last. For instance, instead of giving up soft drinks altogether, slowly decrease them to one a day, then three times a week, twice a week and so on until they are completely eliminated.

Proper Rest
Getting enough rest is the key to good health. When the body is resting, it builds and restores itself and strengthens its immune system. This is why rest is prescribed when a person is sick.

Good health doesn’t have to be hard to find. By implementing a few tips, the road to good living is close by.

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The common cold occurs more frequently than the flu, but both exhibit similar symptoms that make them appear to be the same illness. The cold will likely last on average seven to ten days for a person whereas the flu is likely to linger on with symptoms that don’t seem to improve.

Determining the difference between the cold and the flu can help you decide whether or not your illness needs a trip to the emergency room or can be treated with over-the-counter medications. For instance, if your illness has an accompanying fever that lasts anywhere from 24-48 hours, it could be symptomatic of a cold and is treatable with fever-reducing drugs. If the fever persists and lingers and seems to spike within hours, it could be something a little more serious and may require a visit to your doctor.

There are a few things that you can do to reduce a flu-like occurence:

1.) Avoid exposure to people who have a cold or the flu if at all possible.
2.) Wash your hands frequently and thoroughly after each (possible) exposure to an infected person.
3.) Drink lots of fluids to keep the body well-hydrated.
4.) Get proper rest. This increases the body’s immune system and helps to decrease any chances of infection.

The flu also makes a person feel tired, sluggish and achy along with a feeling of lethargy and slight dehydration. When these symptoms are present and home medications don’t alleviate them, the flu could be the culprit and prescribed medication may be needed. The muscle aches, headaches and soreness are all indications of the flu and can also result from a lingering cold that hasn’t been properly treated. Addressing the flu symptoms early on so as to avoid an onslaught of the flu can keep you feeling better and stronger for longer.

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