Dr. Roxanne Dryden-Edwards is an adult, child, and adolescent psychiatrist. She is a former Chair of the Committee on Developmental Disabilities for the American Psychiatric Association, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, and Medical Director of the National Center for Children and Families in Bethesda, Maryland.
Dr. Shiel received a Bachelor of Science degree with honors from the University of Notre Dame. There he was involved in research in radiation biology and received the Huisking Scholarship. After graduating from St. Louis University School of Medicine, he completed his Internal Medicine residency and Rheumatology fellowship at the University of California, Irvine. He is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Rheumatology.
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, in 2006, 16.2 million Americans aged 12 and older had taken a prescription pain reliever, tranquilizer, stimulant, or sedative for nonmedical purposes at least once in the year prior to being surveyed. Up to 7 million people, or 2.8% of the U.S. population age 12 or older, had used prescription medications for nonmedical purposes in the month prior to the survey.
Although any type of medication has the potential to be abused, certain
groups of prescription drugs are most commonly abused.
CNS depressants: Drugs in the
benzodiazepine class are central nervous system (CNS) depressants used to treat
anxiety disorders and sometimes for the short-term treatment of insomnia.
Examples include alprazolam (Xanax), diazepam (Valium), and triazolam (Halcion).
There are many stages of drug abuse, ultimately leading to difficulty in
managing one's life as a result of using drugs.
Individuals who begin using
drugs as juveniles are at greater risk of becoming addicted compared to those
who begin drug use as an adult due to the immaturity of the teenage brain,
particularly of that part of the brain that controls impulses.
The symptoms of
drug abuse include tolerance to a substance, withdrawal episodes, using more
drugs for longer periods of time, and problems managing life issues due to the
use of a drug.
Substance abuse is caused by a number of individual, family,
genetic, and social factors rather than by any one cause.
Although a number of
genes play a role in the development of substance abuse, this is a disease in
which other factors more strongly influence its occurrence.
Substance-abuse
treatment is usually treated based on the stage of the addiction, ranging from
management of risk factors and education to intensive residential treatment
followed by long-term outpatient care and support.
What drugs are abused by teenagers?
Virtually every drug that is abused by adults is also abused by adolescents.
In addition to alcohol, common categories of drugs of abuse include
the following:
Cannabinoids (for example, marijuana, hashish), sometimes called "pot, weed,
Mary Jane, or herb" and is smoked in a "joint," "blunt," "bong," "backwood," or pipe
Inhalants (for example, gasoline, ammonia), the use of which is
often referred to as "huffing"
Depressants (for example, barbiturates,
benzodiazepines), sometimes called "reds, yellows, yellow jackets, downers or roofies"
Stimulants (for example, amphetamines, cocaine, methamphetamine), sometimes
called "bennies, black beauties, speed, uppers, blow, crack, rock, toot, crank,
crystal, or skippy"
Hallucinogens (for example LSD, "mushrooms"), sometimes called "acid, yellow sunshines,
buttons, or shrooms"
Dissociative anesthetics (for example, phencyclidine/PCP,
ketamine), sometimes called "lovely, boat, Love Boat, angel dust, K, vitamin K, or cat" and
whose use is often referred to as "getting wet"
HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is the cause of AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome). HIV is a type of virus called a retrovirus, which infects humans when it comes in contact with a break in the skin or tissues such as those that line the vagina, anal area, mouth, or eyes.
Alcoholism is a disease that includes alcohol craving and continued drinking despite repeated alcohol-related problems, such as losing a job or getting into trouble with the law.
Drug-induced liver diseases are diseases of the liver that are caused by physician-prescribed medications, OTC medications, vitamins, hormones, herbs, illicit (“recreational”) drugs, and environmental toxins. There are three types of liver toxicity; dose-dependent toxicity, idiosyncratic toxicity, and drug allergy. The types of liver disease drugs cause include: mild elevations of blood levels of liver enzymes, hepatitis, necrosis, cholestasis, steatosis, cirrhosis, mixed disease, fulminant hepatitis, and blood clots.
Suicide is the process of intentionally ending one's own life. Approximately 1 million people worldwide commit suicide each year, and 10 million to 20 million attempt suicide annually.
Drug addiction is a chronic disease that causes drug-seeking behavior and drug use despite negative consequences to the user and those around him. Though the initial decision to use drugs is voluntary, changes in the brain caused by repeated drug abuse can affect a person's self-control and ability to make the right decisions and increase the urge to take drugs. Drug abuse and addiction are preventable.
Smoking is an addiction. More than 430,000 deaths occur each year in the U.S. from smoking related illnesses. Secondhand smoke or "passive smoke" also harm family members, coworkers, and others around smokers. There are a number of techniques available to assist people who want to quit smoking.
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a behavioral disorder characterized by the symptoms hyperactivity, impulsivity, and inattention. Treatment for ADHD may involve behavioral therapy and psychostimulant or antidepressant medication.
Alcohol is the most frequently used drug by American teenagers. Teens that drink are more likely to drive under the influence, have unprotected sex, and use other drugs, like marijuana, cocaine, and heroin. Symptoms of alcohol abuse in teens include lying, breaking curfew, becoming verbally or physically abusive toward others, making excuses, smelling like alcohol, having mood swings, and stealing.
Child abuse falls into four categories: neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse, and emotional abuse. There are certain risk factors that predispose a child to being abused and an adult to abusing a child. Risk factors for children are age, children with learning disabilities, adopted and foster children, children with congenital abnormalities, and a past history of abuse. Parental risk factors include young or single parents, those who suffered abuse themselves, adults with substance-abuse problems or psychiatric disease, and those who didn't graduate from high school.
Childhood depression can interfere with social activities, interests, schoolwork and family life. Symptoms and signs include anger, social withdrawal, vocal outbursts, fatigue, physical complaints, and thoughts of suicide. Treatment may involve psychotherapy and medication.
Good parenting helps foster empathy, honesty, self-reliance, self-control, kindness, cooperation, and cheerfulness, says Steinberg, a distinguished professor of psychology at Temple University in Philadelphia. It also promotes intellectual curiosity, motivation, and desire to achieve. It helps protect children from developing anxiety, depression, eating disorders, antisocial behavior, and alcohol and drug abuse.
About 5 million children and adolescents in the U.S. suffer from a serious mental illness such as eating disorders, anxiety disorders, disruptive behavior disorders, pervasive development disorders, elimination disorders, learning disorders, schizophrenia, tic disorders, and mood disorders. Symptoms of mental illness include frequent outbursts of anger, hyperactivity, fear of gaining weight, excessive worrying, frequent temper tantrums, and hearing voices that aren't there. Treatment may involve medication, psychotherapy, and creative therapies.
Anabolic steroids are synthetic substances that are related to testosterone and promote skeletal muscle growth and the development of male sexual characteristics in both men and women. In the 1930s, it was discovered that anabolic steroids could promote skeletal muscle growth in lab animals, which lead to anabolic steroid abuse by bodybuilders and weight lifters.
Nicotine is delivered to the brain through smoking, chewing, or sniffing tobacco. Nicotine is an addictive agent. Common names for nicotine products include smokes, cigs, butts, chew, dip, spit, or snuff. Habitual nicotine use leads to many debilitating medical conditions.
Depression in teenagers may be caused by many factors. Symptoms of teen depression include apathy, irresponsible behavior, sadness, sudden drop in grades, withdrawal from friends, and alcohol and drug use. Treatment of depression in adolescents may involve psychotherapy and medications.
Children's health is focused on the well-being of children from conception through adolescence. There are many aspects of children's health, including growth and development, illnesses, injuries, behavior, mental illness, family health and community health.
Teenagers recognize that they are developmentally between child and adult. Teen health prevention includes maintaining a healthy diet, exercising regularly, preventing injuries and screening annually for potential health conditions that could adversely affect teenage health.
Drug-induced liver diseases are diseases of the liver
that are caused by physician-prescribed medications, over-the-counter
medications, vitamins,
hormones, herbs, illicit ("recreational") drugs, and environmental toxins.
What is the liver?
The liver is an organ that is located in the upper right
hand side of the abdomen, mostly behind the
rib cage. The liver of an adult normally weighs close
to three pounds and has many functions.
The liver produces and secretes bile into the
intestine where the bile
assists with the digestion of dietary fat.
The liver helps purify the blood by changing potentially harmful chemicals
into harmless ones. The sources of these chemicals can be outside the body (for
example, medications or alcohol), or inside the body (for example, ammonia,
which is produced from the break-up of proteins; or bilirubin, which is produced
from ...
According to the National Institute on 
Kids Health RSS
Healthy Living Tips
This site complies with the