Editor’s Note: Dr. Scott Hadland is simply a pediatrician and adept connected teen substance use. He is the main of teen medicine astatine MassGeneral Hospital for Children and Harvard Medical School. Follow him connected Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn. The views expressed present are his own. Read more opinion connected CNN.
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Pediatricians similar maine aren’t utilized to our patients dying. Most children and teens are steadfast and thrive, and though immoderate mightiness experimentation with drugs, teen overdoses are comparatively uncommon. A rising threat, however, is forcing each of america – particularly parents – to grapple with a caller reality.
Just-released data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention amusement that successful 2021 much teens than ever earlier died of overdoses, driven by progressively potent and unsafe drugs. Overdoses are present the third starring origin of death successful US children nether property 20, killing much than 1,100 teens each twelvemonth – the equivalent of a schoolhouse schoolroom each week.
Here’s what parents request to cognize astir cause overdoses and however to forestall them.
The caller CDC information paints a grim representation of however teens are overdosing. Opioids origin 9 retired of 10 teen deaths, and fentanyl is the astir communal opioid involved. In galore cases, teens are dying from counterfeit medicine pills that incorporate fentanyl, an opioid 50 times much potent than heroin.
These fake pills are made to look similar real opioid painkillers specified arsenic Percocet oregon OxyContin, anti-anxiety medications similar Xanax oregon different medicine tablets. But, instead, these phony versions incorporate fentanyl due to the fact that it is sedating, eliciting a akin effect to the existent pills they mimic.
Counterfeit pills are everyplace successful America. The Drug Enforcement Administration precocious announced that its seizures of fake pills doubled from 2021 to 2022. When a teen buys a pill from a person oregon dealer, it is present much apt than not that it volition beryllium a counterfeit and incorporate a lethal magnitude of fentanyl. Counterfeit pills present origin astatine slightest one retired of each 4 teen overdose deaths, though this is apt an underestimate due to the fact that pills recovered astatine decease scenes are seldom tested.
As a pediatrician, I’ve seen that teens crook to pills for a scope of reasons. Some effort pills due to the fact that they’re experimenting. However, contempt an all-time precocious successful overdose deaths, rates of cause usage experimentation (including opioids) among teens are astatine a historical low. Other teens question retired pills due to the fact that they’re struggling with mental wellness concerns – astir commonly depression, anxiety, oregon suicidality – and misusing sedating medications temporarily relieves their symptoms. Some teens person untreated carnal pain, starring them to usage opioids. And immoderate teens person an underlying opioid addiction. Regardless of the underlying crushed for taking pills, teens are often unaware that what they’re buying is simply a counterfeit containing fentanyl.
Parents are cardinal to keeping teens safe. The caller CDC information tells america that teens most commonly overdose astatine home. Tragically, two-thirds of the time, their genitor oregon idiosyncratic other is besides location and the teen dies unsocial successful a antithetic country (e.g., their bedroom), with the imaginable bystander unaware that the teen is adjacent utilizing drugs. This whitethorn explicate wherefore astir teens who dice of an overdose ne'er person naloxone, a lifesaving overdose antidote.
So, what tin parents do?
First, speech to your teen astir fentanyl. Have an unfastened dialogue, asking questions astir whether they’ve heard astir fentanyl and are alert of fake pills. Know that galore drug income hap done societal media, and inquire whether your teen has been approached connected TikTok, Snapchat, oregon different platforms. Spend much clip listening than lecturing. Counsel them astir the risks of fentanyl but debar fear-mongering. Teens payment astir erstwhile we empower them to marque harmless decisions, and commonly tune america retired if we usage scare tactics.
Second, beryllium prepared. Know the signs of an overdose. Teens who overdose initially look groggy and pale, past rapidly suffer consciousness and go limp. Their breathing slows oregon stops, and their lips and fingernails crook blue.
Know how to respond to an overdose. Call 911 instantly and springiness naloxone if you person it. Naloxone is an easy-to-administer spray that rapidly reverses overdoses from fentanyl and different opioids. Like a occurrence extinguisher, naloxone is thing to person on-hand, adjacent if you anticipation to ne'er person to usage it. Your wellness attraction supplier tin prescribe naloxone, and galore section wellness departments administer it for free. Increasingly, schools person it connected their premises, too.
Third, code immoderate underlying hazard factors your teen has. At slightest two retired of each 5 teens who overdose person struggled with their intelligence health. Depression and anxiousness person go alarmingly common successful the aftermath of Covid-19, reaching rates of 25% and 20%, respectively, among teens. To support teens from self-treating with illicit pills that are apt to beryllium counterfeit, parents should speech to their child’s doctor, who tin assistance link them to counseling and, erstwhile needed, prescribe medication. Despite the information that illicit pills pose, anti-depressant and anti-anxiety medications prescribed by a doc and dispensed astatine a pharmacy are harmless and effectual for teens.
Parents should besides code immoderate preexisting substance use. One-third of teens who dice of an overdose person misused opioids before, and 1 successful 7 has had a anterior overdose that they survived. Many already misuse different drugs oregon alcohol. All of these are informing signs that should beryllium urgently addressed by a aesculapian professional.
For teens who person an opioid addiction, evidence-based treatments are available, including safe-to-use medications that prevention lives. Although we purpose to assistance astir teens halt utilizing opioids altogether, teens who bash usage should beryllium counseled to ne'er usage them unsocial (so that idiosyncratic tin intervene if an overdose occurs), and to debar mixing opioids with different sedatives similar intoxicant oregon different medications. In immoderate locations, test strips are disposable to assistance teens recognize whether their drugs incorporate fentanyl, which besides sometimes contaminates different drugs similar cocaine.
Unfortunately, I’ve met countless families who person struggled to get needed intelligence wellness and addiction attraction for their teen. Locating high-quality care is difficult, waitlists are common, and security sum is often poor. Many families don’t question attraction due to the fact that of the tremendous stigma surrounding intelligence wellness and substance use.
But getting these services is imaginable – and critical. As a archetypal step, speech to your teen’s doctor, whose occupation it is to assistance you navigate the attraction system. To assistance families and doctors find care, the US authorities maintains progressive lists of intelligence wellness and addiction attraction programs successful a searchable database. Many states besides person telephone hotlines. The US has a nationalist 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline families tin telephone oregon text. A wealthiness of acquisition for parents and high-quality tools are disposable done the Partnership to End Addiction.
The nationalist overdose situation is not new. In fact, the US is present softly surpassing a acheronian milestone: its millionth overdose death since the crook of the century. Sadly, arsenic a pediatrician, I’ve watched arsenic immoderate of my patients were calved during these past 2 decades and died young from an overdose – their full childhoods bookended by a nationalist wellness situation we person yet to solve.
But fentanyl is simply a caller menace for teens, and determination are cardinal steps parents tin take: Talk to teens astir fentanyl, beryllium prepared to code an overdose, and question retired intelligence wellness and addiction attraction erstwhile teens request it.
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