More than 64,000 people lose their lives per year due to drug use. In fact, the numbers are rising with every passing year. That’s how common drug abuse has become. Also, this does not only include banned drugs like weed, but prescription drugs as well since people can get addicted to them, too.
A lot of drug abusers continue to entertain their addiction despite knowing the negative health effects it can bring. Health experts have associated drug abuse with a number of dangerous illnesses that can cause disability and even death in the worst case scenario.
The vital organs of the body are directly attacked upon when a person abuses drugs. Therefore, it is important to direct the person in the right direction, that being, treatment in a rehab center and counselling sessions.
Let’s learn about four chronic diseases that are associated with drug abuse:
- Lung Diseases
Prescription opioids and ketamine (anesthesia) medication are two of the most abused drugs. Most people abuse these drugs without even knowing how dangerous they can get.
Abusing drug for a long time can cause permanent breathing problems. Now imagine a life where you feel something is permanently stuck in your throat.
People abuse drugs in many ways. Cigarettes that contain nicotine are the number one cause of lung cancer around the world. Other than this, people use objects like bongs to smoke other types of drugs as well.
A lot of abusers also turn medications into powdery form and inhale it. This causes respiratory problems.
The most dangerous illness one can suffer from is lung cancer which takes a few years to develop in the lungs. Other than that, chronic bronchitis, emphysema, and pneumonia are the diseases that accompany when a person abuses drugs.
- Heart Problems
There are many medications that can control the heart rate and make it beat normally which is 60 to 100 beats for an adult. There are some medications too which are used as blood thinners to perform surgeries and to prevent formation of clots in the body.
These medication are highly abused by people, especially teenagers because they calm the mind and one can get addicted to this calmness. You want to feel this calm and as a result you start to abuse the drug, i.e: consume it when when you do not need it. This starts to cause serious problems.
Drug abuse can cause irreversible damage to the cardiovascular system overtime. It starts off by attacking individual parts of the cardiovascular system including arteries, veins and the heart itself. This results in various problems such as abnormal heart rate, infection in the blood vessels causing blockages, collapsed veins and damaged valves.
Excessive drug abuse can cause heart seizure and kill a person sooner than they think.
- Skin Diseases
The skin is a layer that protects our internal organs from outside dangers. However, certain medications such as amphetamines which are used to control obesity and are also used as stimulants can damage the skin tissues badly.
Abusing of such drugs can trigger dermatitis, an infection that causes wart like growths on the skin. It’s a dangerous diseases and can lead to several other illnesses if not controlled in the initial stages.
Another cause of skin diseases is the use of non-sterile and unhygienic needles to inject drugs into the body. These can transmit infection into your body and cause you to fall ill.
- Mental Illness
Conditions like depression, anxiety, hypersensitivity, rash mood, behavioral changes all point towards drug abuse. This happens when the body gets used to the drugs which a person is taking for a long time.
If you fear that a family member or a friend is abusing drugs then talk to them about the dangers it can bring and convince them to withdraw the addiction while there’s still time.
Remember that people can get addicted to everything. If you take any medication, even life saving drugs like Lantus, you need to be careful. For example, always use generic version of Lantus so that the risk is low.