Usually, young Americans go to the emergency room for minor injuries or illnesses. But recently, emergency physicians have observed a new worrying trend among teens: consultations for drug overdose. At least 1 in 10 teens went to the emergency room for abusing a painkiller or sedative during the year, a University of Michigan survey published in the journal Pediatrics found.
To carry out their survey, the researchers interviewed 2,135 people aged 14 to 20 who consulted the emergency room in 2010 and 2011. All painkillers and sedatives taken into account were subject to prescription.
However, 85% of young people affected by an overdose of drugs had not had a prescription for these drugs. These illicit use of opioids or sedatives are often associated with risky behaviors in young people, putting them at additional risk to their health.
Among the risk behaviors linked to this overconsumption of drugs, the survey mentions the taking marijuana, the alcohol or the consumption of non-prescription drugs such as cough syrups.
Better identify teens at risk
Another problem noted in the survey, the ignorance of young people about the use of prescription drugs. Since they are sold in pharmacies, they say to themselves, they are less dangerous than the drugs that are sold under wraps. This error in judgment is common among teens. It is also shared by half of them.
Lead author Dr. Lauren Whiteside recommends better training for physicians in identifying adolescents at risk for drug overdoses.
