Physical and Mental Effects of Abusing Sleeping Pills (Drugteststrips)

Sleeping pills act as sleeping aid for sleeping disorders, mainly insomnia and sleep apnea. Sleeping pills have some amount of hypnotic drug, which helps in creating a tranquilizing effect on the mind. Due to this, the mind of the person calms down, thus promoting sleep. They are always recommended by doctors in smaller dosages, for shorter periods, however chronic the problem may be. This is because, excess intake of sleeping pills exaggerate the problem further instead of curing it. Excess usage of sleeping tablets makes the individual get addicted to it leading to numerous and severe side effects on the body, sometimes proving to be fatal.

Symptoms of Addiction
A person suffering from sleeping pill addiction shows some symptoms, which are to be identified in order to provide timely medication. Regular consumption and overdose of sleeping tablets makes an individual addicted to it. They get into a situation of drug dependency, leading to severe restlessness on ceasing the intake of the drug. Some of the main symptoms shown by sleeping pill abusers are - deep and uncontrollable craving for drugs, dry mouth, drowsiness, headache, constipation, forgetfulness (on prolong usage may lead to severe amnesia also), anxiety, mood swings, loss of appetite, loss of weight, nausea, negative changes in personal behavior, poor performance at work, short temper, hallucinations, tremors and seizures, etc.

Physical Effects
Sleeping pills abuse causes many ill-effects on major parts of the body. Some of the physical side effects of sleeping pills abuse are:

Addiction: Sleeping pills have very less amount of drug which is used to bring a calming effect on the mind, thus helping the person to fall asleep. Consuming high amounts of pills at once, or continuously using these pills to get euphoric effect may lead to addiction. The abuser cannot think of any other way of curing his disorder - makes himself drug dependent. The major symptoms of drug addiction include uncontrollable desire to consume drug, anxiety, restlessness and uncontrolled anger on forcing to stop drug abuse.

Digestive troubles: Sleeping pills addiction causes many negative effects on digestive system, mainly being loss of appetite, diarrhea, acidity, etc. Due to the irregular sleeping timings, the eating habits and timings also change, leading to the problems in digestive system. Decreased appetite ultimately results in malnutrition, putting the abusers total health at risk.

Nausea: Nausea is seen as a common problem in most of the drug addicts of any kind. This is one of the effects on digestive system. It is sense of uneasiness and also an involuntary urge to vomit. Generally, after an overdose of pills and heavy sleep, the person suffers from the sensation of vomiting, as the stomach of individual is empty, due to loss of appetite.

Drowsiness: Overdose of sleeping pills cause drowsiness or hangovers. After the intake of sleeping pills, the individual suffers from the sleeping effects even during day times. He/she feels sleepy and drowsy all through the day leading to hangover, which results in loss of concentration, lack of coordination, poor performance at workplace, excess tiredness, loss of memory etc.

Constipation: Constipation is a result of poor diet, very common in sleeping pills abusers. Improper eating habits and taking less fluids may lead to constipation. This results in flatulence and laziness.

Emotional Effects
Sleeping pills drug abuse impacts the emotional status of abuser severely. Some of the common emotional effects are as follows:

Parasomnias: Parasomnia is a stage in which the individual does not have any control over his actions, such as walking, talking, eating, and driving in sleep. During this stage, the person has no knowledge of what he is doing.

Delirium: Excess dosage of sleeping tablets results in delirium. Delirium is having a confused state of mind, during which the person undergoes serious delusions, hallucinations, clouded thinking, day dreaming, etc.

Tremors and seizures: Tremors and seizures are mostly occurred after an overdose of sleeping pills. These are sudden and uncontrollable shaking of some of the body parts like legs, arms and fingers. Sometimes the whole body becomes numb and the abuser loses the sense of touch.

Daytime effects: After heavy dose of sleeping pills during night, the effect still continues during daytime too. The effects may be like feeling sleepy, drowsy, and tired, loss of memory, and loss of concentration.

Dependency: There are high chances of an individual being addicted to the sleeping pills, due to the tranquilizing effect they create. A person whenever feels like having a sleeping problem goes for these pills immediately without having a second thought, in order to get relieved. Thus, he becomes addicted and highly dependent on the drug, which causes many side effects and may also lead to death on forcing to stop its intake.

As seen above, addiction of sleeping pills has very dangerous effects on human body. One of the best ways to avoid the harmful effects of abusing sleeping pills is by detecting the symptoms in the early stages and providing medication. Delayed recognition of these symptoms may increase the severity of the problems leading to many physical and emotional side effects on the body and may even result in more dangerous and incurable consequences such as, heart attacks, nervous breakdowns or death.

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Know About the Dangerous Effects of Crack Cocaine on Unborn Fetus (Drugteststrips)

Cocaine is known as one of the most dangerous illicit drugs of abuse throughout the world. According to NSDUH (National Survey on drug Use and Health) 2009, there were about 1.6 million Cocaine users in America. 'Crack' Cocaine is more potent and powerful form of Cocaine. It increases the effects of the drug on the user and is significantly more dangerous than regular Cocaine abuse. An increasing number of people are getting addicted to Crack Cocaine due to its highly addictive nature. Around 94,000 people initiated Crack Cocaine in 2009.

Crack releases a chemical called dopamine from the brain into the body causing the abuser to experience a burst of euphoria. As Crack has large psychological addiction potential, some expectant mothers continue to abuse Crack throughout their pregnancy.

Babies born to mothers who abused Crack Cocaine are predicted to suffer from severe, irreversible damage, which includes reduced intelligence and social skills. Though many people argue that it is a gross exaggeration, some researches are now finding that exposure to Cocaine during fetal development may lead to subtle, yet significant, deficits in some children.

When a pregnant woman abuses crack, it quickly enters her bloodstream and rushes to all parts of her body including to her developing baby. Thus, Crack abuse by mother during pregnancy exposes the baby to dangerous toxins. Mothers abusing Crack, while pregnant are putting their unborn children in terrible danger. The effects of Crack Cocaine are just now beginning to be understood, especially on the unborn fetus. Some of the dangerous effects associated with Crack Cocaine on the unborn fetus include:

Threat on fetus/unborn baby
Crack Cocaine abuse by expecting mothers during pregnancy can affect both the pregnant woman and her unborn baby. It may increase the risk of miscarriage during the early months of pregnancy. It may lead to poor fetal growth, low birth weight, increased risk of birth defects, physical malformations, risk of stroke and heart damage during development.

Low birth-weight
During the later months of pregnancy, Crack Cocaine abuse can trigger preterm labor (labor that occurs before 37 weeks of pregnancy). Crack is a powerful stimulant of the central nervous system. It suppresses the mother's appetite hindering the growth of the fetus. Crack Cocaine exposed babies are more likely to be born with low birthweight (less than 5.5 lb/2.5 kg) compared to unexposed babies. Compared to normal-weight babies, low birth weight babies are 20 times more likely to die in their first month.

Increases life long disabilities
Crack Cocaine exposed babies face an increased risk of lifelong disabilities such as mental retardation and cerebral palsy (lack of oxygen to the brain). Scientists are now finding that exposure to Crack during fetal development may lead to deficits in some aspects of cognitive performance, attention to tasks and information-processing.

Smaller heads leads to smaller brain
Many studies suggest that Crack exposed babies are more prone to birth defects. Crack Cocaine slows fetal growth, and the exposed infants tend to be born with smaller heads compared to unexposed ones. It also results in reduced fetal length and deformations in the heart and lungs.

Heart defects
Many researches have stated that babies exposed to Crack are at increased risk of birth defects, which include deformities in the heart. Crack causes an unborn baby to have a stroke or a heart attack. Cocaine abuse by mothers during pregnancy is linked with abnormalities in the development of the heart both before and after birth.

Irreversible brain damage
Crack Cocaine's worst damage to the fetus is its effect on the brain. It causes the brains of both the mother and the fetus to experience the typical surge of dopamine. Since the fetal brain is still in the process of development, this can result in serious psychological addiction, attention deficit disorders, lack of cognitive abilities and developmental problems. Crack's effects on the fetus result in seizures or cerebral palsy.

A pregnant woman needs to lead a healthy life as a new life will be dependent on her. She should take adequate nourishing food and get plenty of rest. It is also important for her to avoid anything that might harm her or her baby. Therefore, an expectant mother should abstain from using Crack that could be toxic to her baby.

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Dangerous Effects of Smoking on Human Body (Drugteststrips)

Tobacco is considered as the greatest cause of preventable deaths in the United States and throughout the world. According to the American Heart Association and the National Health Interview Survey of 2008, 24.8 million men and 21.1 million women in the United States are smokers. Tobacco smoking causes many diseases affecting major organs of the body including heart, brain, and lungs.

Effects
Nicotine is the most active and important chemical component that causes dangerous effects in human body. It is a major risk factor for heart attacks; lung and mouth cancers and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Here, we will discuss about some of the dangerous effects of smoking on human body.

Oral cancer:
It was revealed by the National Institutes of Health that a variety of cancers including cancers of oral cavity, esophagus, larynx, and lungs are caused by cigar smoking. It was observed that around 90% of the patients with oral cancer are smokers. Laryngeal cancer is caused about 20 to 30 times more in smokers than non-smokers. Smoking causes inflammation around the teeth which is termed as periodontitis. Adherent white plaques and patches occur on the membranes of oral cavity and is called as leukoplakia.

Effect on heart rate and blood pressure:
Increase in rate of heartbeat and a sharp rise in blood pressure are the immediate effects of smoking on heart and blood circulation. The heart rate increases by about 30 times during the first 10 minutes of smoking. Nicotine causes the blood vessels to get narrowed resulting in rise of blood pressure. The oxygen carrying capacity of the blood is decreased by carbon monoxide which increases heart rate. Long term effects of smoking include increase in levels of fibrinogen and cholesterol in blood increasing risk of heart attacks. Coronary heart disease (CHD), Peripheral vascular disease (PVD), aneurysm, artherosclerosis, and others are caused by the heart and circulation attacks.

Effect on lungs:
More than 80% lung cancer cases are accounted by tobacco. Inability of cilia to remove the tar content of cigarette smoke leads to lung and laryngeal cancer. Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is caused by smoking and is characterized by shortness of breath; persistent cough with sputum; and damage to lungs including emphysema and chronic bronchitis.

Effect on liver:
Numerous toxins are present in the cigarettes that lead to chronic inflammation and scarring of liver. This may increase the risk of diseases such as liver cancer, liver fibrosis, and Hepatitis B and C. Chemicals such as N-Nitrosodiethylamine, N-Nitrosopyrrolidine, and arsenic present in cigarettes are responsible for cause of liver tumors. The ability of liver to detoxify dangerous substances gets diminished by smoking.

Effect on brain dysfunction:
Nicotine reaches the brain within 10 seconds after inhalation. Carotid artery is the main artery that supplies blood to the brain. Fatty substances are built up in the carotid artery due to cigarette smoking. This decreases the supply of blood to the brain cells and results in stroke called as cerebral thrombosis. The risk of this stroke in smokers is about 1.5 times to that of non-smokers. Thickening and clotting of blood in brain may also be caused due to smoking.

Effect on digestive system:
Harmful effects of smoking can be seen on all parts of the digestive system. The decrease in strength of lower esophageal valve allows the acids of stomach to reflux into esophagus. This situation is termed as heartburn. The movement of bile salts from intestine to stomach is also promoted by smoking. Smoking increases the rate of formation of peptic ulcers.

Effect of skin and hair:
Collagen, a protein in skin, keeps the skin elastic. As nicotine affects collagen, elasticity of the skin is reduced. The tiny capillaries which nourish the skin are also constricted by nicotine, leading to formation of wrinkles. Healing process also gets affected by smoking and longer time is taken to heal a wound. The immune system is suppressed by the nicotine which leads to increase in susceptibility of viral infections of skin.

Premature thinning and graying of hair is seen in smokers. The chances of people becoming bald are twice in smokers than in non-smokers. Premature graying of hair is also 3 to 6 times common in smokers.

Effect on bone and muscle:
Healing of fractures is delayed by smoking. Blood flow to all tissues is restricted by nicotine. Mostly it is restricted in newly forming tissues, which are involved in bone repair. The chemicals of tobacco are responsible for inhibition of development of new muscle and bone tissue cells. The risk of osteoporosis is increased by smoking. Significantly lower bone densities are seen among women smokers and are more likely to suffer fractures. The risk of osteoporosis among women is 50% more in smokers than non-smokers.

Effect on respiratory system:
Entry of chemicals of tobacco into mouth and trachea causes irritation and chemical burns. It causes sore throat and pain. Cancer causing properties of certain chemicals may cause burns on trachea resulting in throat cancer. Many fatal diseases are caused by smoking including cancers of mouth, nasopharynx, larynx and lung. Increased risk of asthma, cough, bronchitis and pneumonia are seen in children who are exposed to passive smoking.

Psychological effects:
The feeling of euphoria and calmness are considered as the root cause for addiction to cigarettes. Nicotine triggers the release of dopamine in brain giving pleasure reaction. The psychological effects of smoking are dependent on the physical effect of nicotine on brain. When a person quits smoking, the psychological desire for cigarettes can last for many years, whereas the physical desire can be overcome within 2 weeks.

Smoking causes many dangerous effects on human body. American Cancer Society estimated that 168,000 Americans died of cancer due to tobacco smoking in 2007. Yearly smoking causes 1 in 5 deaths in America. Hence, it is necessary to take serious steps for eradication of smoking habits. Many educational programs have to be conducted to make people aware of the harmful effects of smoking on human body.

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Commonly Abused Drugs and Their Effects on Health (Drugteststrips)

Drug abuse is one of the major public health issues affecting the lives of millions of people worldwide. According to a latest study published in the health journal, The Lancet 2012, around 200 million people across the world use illicit drugs every year. Use of illegal drugs is highest in developed countries.

Drug abuse is associated with wide range of physical and mental health consequences. Below mentioned are some commonly abused drugs and their effects on human health.

Tobacco:

Tobacco products such as cigarettes, smokeless tobacco and cigars are widely used substances across the world. Tobacco contains Nicotine, a harmful drug that leads to addiction and other health issues.

Smoking tobacco leads to severe health risks like lung cancer, mouth cancer, high blood pressure, heart diseases, gum diseases, etc. It also reduces blood's ability to carry oxygen.

Alcohol:

Excessive consumption of alcohol results in serious health problems. Alcohol abuse affects every organ of the body - liver, heart, lungs, stomach, kidneys, etc. It also leads to mental health issues like depression, anxiety, impaired memory, etc.

Cannabinoids:

Cannabinoids are widely consumed illegal drugs especially by teenagers. There are two main categories of drugs in Cannabinoids - marijuana and hashish. According to the Monitoring the Future 2012 survey, 36.4% of 12th graders are using marijuana, which equates to around 11 students in an average class.

Cannabinoid abuse leads to lung damage, increased heart rate and blood pressure, and respiratory infections. It also leads to psychological issues like addiction, difficulty in thinking, anxiety, impaired memory, psychosis, etc.

Opioids:

Opioids include various drugs like heroin, opium, morphine, codeine and oxycontin. These drugs are depressant drugs and they affect the nervous system.

High doses of these drugs damage the heart, lungs, liver and brain, and also lead to depression, anxiety, nausea, etc.

Stimulants:

Stimulants such as cocaine, amphetamine and methamphetamine are very addictive drugs. Physical effects of these stimulant drugs are increased blood pressure and heart rate, weight loss, cardiac complications, stroke, nausea, fatigue, etc. Psychological effects include impaired decision-making and increased anxiety. Snorting of Cocaine causes nasal damage and methamphetamine also causes dental problems.

Club drugs:

Club drugs come in different types such as MDMA and GHB. These drugs are abused by teens and young adults at nightclubs, bars, rave parties.

The harmful effects of club drugs are impaired memory, muscle breakdown, kidney failure, loss of consciousness, drowsiness, nausea, high blood pressure, depression, decreased appetite.

Hallucinogens:

There are three kinds of hallucinogen drugs - LSD, psilocybin and mescaline. Hallucinogens impair the functioning of the brain, increases heart rate and blood pressure and lead to loss of coordination, appetite loss, memory loss, headaches, sweating, flashbacks, tremors and blurred vision to mention a few.

Above mentioned are just some of the illicit drugs, there are many more illegal drugs that are available in the market and are consumed by people. As an old saying, 'Prevention is better than cure', try to keep yourself away from these harmful drugs to lead a health life.

Drug Test Strips is an online store offering reliable, easy to use and FDA approved drug test kits at affordable prices. Our marijuana drug testing strip is a rapid urine screening test that can be performed without the use of an instrument. Our cotinine test kit is a device used for the detection of cotinine in human urine.

Often victims of drug abuse and their effects on health (Drugteststrips)

Drug abuse is one of the major public health issues that affect the lives of millions of people in the world. According to a recent study published in the journal of health, The Lancet 2012, approximately 200 million people around the world use illicit drugs each year. Illicit drug use is higher than in developed countries.

Drug abuse is associated with a wide range of physical and mental health consequences. Listed below are commonly abused drugs and their effects on human health.

Tobacco:

Smoking such as cigarettes, cigars and smokeless tobacco products are substances widely used around the world. Tobacco contains nicotine, a harmful drug that leads to addiction and other health problems.

Smoking tobacco leads to serious risks such as cancer of the lung, cancer of the mouth, high blood pressure, heart disease, gum disease, etc. It also reduces the ability of blood to carry oxygen.

Alcohol:

Excessive consumption of alcohol leads to serious health problems. Alcohol abuse affects all organs of the body - liver, heart, lungs, stomach, kidneys, etc. It also leads to problems of mental health such as depression, anxiety, memory disorders, etc.

Cannabinoids:

Cannabinoids are widely consumed illicit drug in particular adolescents. There are two main categories of drugs in cannabinoids - marijuana and hashish. According to the Observatory of the future 2012 survey, 36.4% grade students use marijuana, which is equivalent to about 11 students in a middle class.

Cannabinoid abuse leads to pulmonary injury increase heart rate and blood pressure, and respiratory infections. It also leads to psychological problems such as substance abuse, difficulty in thinking, anxiety, memory disorders, psychosis, etc.

Opioids:

Opioids include various drugs such as heroin, opium, morphine, codeine and oxycontin. These drugs are depressants, and they affect the nervous system.

High doses of these medicines damage the heart, lungs, liver and brain and also lead to depression, anxiety, nausea, etc.

Stimulants:

Stimulants such as cocaine, amphetamine and methamphetamine are very addictive drugs. The physical effects of such stimulants increased blood pressure and heart rhythm, loss of weight, cardiac complications, stroke, nausea, fatigue, etc. Psychological effects include anxiety of decision making and an increase in impaired driving. Snorting cocaine causes nasal damage and methamphetamine also causes dental problems.

Club drugs:

Club drugs come in different types, such as MDMA and GHB. These drugs are abused by teenagers and young adults in night clubs, bars, parties raves.

The harmful effects of club drugs are muscle degradation, loss of consciousness, drowsiness, nausea, hypertension, depression, memory impairment, loss of appetite, kidney failure.

Hallucinogens:

There are three kinds of hallucinogenic drugs - LSD, mescaline, and psilocybin. Hallucinogens affect the functioning of the brain, increases the heart rate and blood pressure and lead to a loss of coordination, loss of appetite, memory loss, headaches, sweating, flashbacks, earthquakes and blurred vision to name a few.

Above are some of the illicit drugs, there is much more illegal drugs that are available on the market and are consumed by people. As an old saying, 'prevention is better than cure', try to keep away from these harmful drugs for a life of health.

Drug Test Strips is a boutique online offering reliable, easy to use and approved by the FDA Drug affordable kits. Our band of marijuana drug testing are testing rapid urine which can be done without the use of an instrument. Our cotinine test kit is a device used for the detection of cotinine in human urine.