5 Common Health Conditions Caused by Substance Abuse
In certain cases, persons who struggle with addiction to any drug, legal or illegal, may have serious physical consequences. Tragically, drug abuse and addiction have reached pandemic proportions in many countries throughout the world, including the United States. For example, in the United States in 2017, an estimated 11.2% of persons aged 12 and older had used a prohibited drug that had an intoxicated effect in the preceding month.
Even though it is allowed for those above a certain age to use alcohol and nicotine, a significant number of people continue to battle with addiction to these drugs. These substances include alcohol and nicotine. Synthetic medications and inhalants are two more examples of potentially dangerous chemicals since their effects on users are often unpredictable and severe.
In this article, we’ll take a look at a few of the potentially fatal diseases that may either be brought on by drug misuse or made far worse by it that can be cured by the Orange County rehab.
- Infections as well as Damage to the Immune System
Viruses like HIV and hepatitis B and C, as well as bacterial infections that may develop from sharing contaminated needles, pose a serious threat when narcotics are injected intravenously. The risk of catching an upper respiratory infection, for example, may be increased by the use of other medicines, particularly those that are snorted or inhaled.
The euphoria caused by many intoxicating drugs, particularly alcohol, cocaine, and opioids, may lessen inhibitions, which can raise the likelihood of engaging in risky sexual behavior and acquiring a sexually transmitted infection (STI). Cocaine, like other drugs, may directly suppress white blood cell production, which weakens the immune system’s ability to fight off infections.
According to estimates provided by various experts, about one-half of all adult patients diagnosed with pneumonia have a history of alcohol consumption. Patients diagnosed with pneumococcal pneumonia who have a history of alcohol addiction have a greater risk of death and have more severe consequences than patients diagnosed with pneumonia who have never consumed alcohol.
- Cardiovascular Problems
A person who takes stimulants may experience a quickening of their heart rate, while a person who takes CNS depressants may experience a slowing of their heart rate. The presence of persistently high or low blood pressure may be associated with an increased risk of blood clots, ischemic damage, and other circulatory disorders such as aortic or coronary artery dissection. This is because blood clots form when platelets in the blood clump together and prevent blood from flowing normally through the body.
A range of intoxicating substances, including drugs, have the potential to cause an irregular pulse. Stimulants like cocaine and methamphetamine have the potential to induce deadly overdoses that result in cardiac arrest for the user.
- Gastrointestinal Issues
Alcohol and other prescription drugs, such as opioids and some ADHD medications, may harm the digestive tract if taken orally. The misuse of the system might potentially result in this kind of harm. Constipation is a common side effect of opioid usage, and other drugs have been proven to cause indigestion, nausea, and vomiting.
- Issues with the Respiratory System
Any kind of substance that is smoked may cause damage to the alveoli in the lungs and can make the upper respiratory system more prone to infections. Delays in breathing or shallow, irregular breathing may result with the use of central nervous system depressants such opioids. Overdosing on opioids or any CNS depressant may be fatal because of the lack of oxygen in the blood. On the other side, an individual’s body may become oxygen-starved if they have a lowered or depressed breathing pattern over an extended length of time owing to addiction. Hypoxia can lead to death.
- Liver Damage
In addition to its role in nutrition metabolization, the liver is also an important detoxification site for a wide variety of chemicals. The liver’s ability to perform its metabolic functions may be compromised when confronted with persistently high doses of certain medications, leading to tissue breakdown in the organ. Fast liver damage due to cirrhosis or hepatitis may be caused by alcohol, inhalants, heroin, and steroids.
Specifically, alcohol use is linked to a wide variety of liver diseases, from the comparatively moderate (alcoholic steatohepatitis, often known as fatty liver) to the more severe (alcoholic hepatitis), to progressive (and ultimately fatal) fibrosis and scarring of the liver parenchyma (cirrhosis). There is a correlation between cirrhosis and the development of cancer in the liver.
