How to Spot Signs of Drug Abuse
Drug abuse involving someone we love is something we all would like to ignore and just stick our heads in the sand; but this is a sign that the person needs help. The drug abuse can escalate and become life threatening. No one wants to suspect their teen of abuse, but this is an age when peer pressure sometimes outweighs the wise parenting you have done. Recognizing signs of drug abuse may be difficult. Sometimes the erratic behavior is just a result of a tough time the person is experiencing. There are tactics you can use to spot drug abuse, whether it involves your child, a friend or other family member.
Instructions
Look for a sudden apathy regarding the person's appearance. Drug abusers often do not take time for personal hygiene or appropriate clothing choices. Check for a red face or flushed cheeks. Notate any track marks on the arms or legs or burned or sooty appearing fingertips. Abusers may wear long sleeves when the weather is hot to cover track marks. Pay attention to a change in personal habits according to the drugfree.org website. You may see the person clenching his teeth more than usual. The abuser may smell funny, avoid eye contact, seem to constantly be eating something, or use a lot of mints or gum to cover up mouth odor. A person who is into drugs may be often short of cash, break curfews, and be involved in car accidents or unexplained scratches or dents in his vehicle. The person may start acting secretively, staying behind a locked door a great deal, leaving the room to take phone calls and go out more than usual. Abusers use eye drops a lot to get the redness out of their eyes and tend to overindulge in sprays to reduce irritations in the nose. Watch for changes in how the person relates to friends and family. The person may be withdrawn, uncommunicative, get angry over little things, be secretive or disappear for extended periods without explanation. The abuser may start acting in a way that is not normal for him, being obnoxious or loud, stumbling, slurring words, acting extremely tired or having unexplained periods of elation. Notate if the person loses interest in work or school activities. The abuser may skip work or school, or all of a sudden start being late often, and just not care about his quality of work. Teachers or co-workers may start complaining about the way the person performs his job or acts around others. People may suspect the person is high or intoxicated while at school or at work. Document how often the person claims to feel bad or calls in sick. Abusers suffer from many symptoms such as seizures, vomiting, depression, sweating, headaches and nausea. Signs you may see are constantly wetting his lips, or excessive drinking of water due to a dry mouth; sores around the mouth; nosebleeds; a constant runny nose; cuts and bruises and unexplained accidents; and sudden weight gain or loss. Suspect drug abuse when you notice missing valuables, money or other items in the house. If you find unusual things such as Frisbee's with seeds in it, strange looking pipes, or unusual wrappers or containers, these are likely drug paraphernalia. Drug pipes can be made out of aluminum foil and even toilet paper rolls.
